Think about the last three times you became upset about something in your personal life.  It's almost a certainty that at least one of those situations was caused by the fact that your limits were crossed.  You probably didn't articulate those limits in advance.  For example, your neighbor comes over unannounced to chat.  You have only a few minutes to spare, but you fail to tell your visitor.  Out of kindness, you listen while your blood pressure rises as the neighbor talks for an hour.  

-Michael C. Donaldson, Negotiating for Dummies

A top executive in a public relations firm has a favorite saying for clients who are at a loss about what to reveal: "When all else fails, try the truth."  In business, as in life, telling the truth—no matter the short-term consequences—is far more beneficial than getting caught in a deception.  People are generally forgiving, almost to a fault.  But deceive them and they will remember it for a long, long time.  "Try the truth" applies to everyone in the workplace: the boss, the manager, the new employee, the client, the contractor.

- Emily Post's The Etiquette Advantage in Business

You are in business, which means you have customers.  Where there are customers, there are difficult customers.  We have all been put in that tough position of dealing with a very unhappy customer, and at times, we have a hard time keeping our cool.  Here are some simple quotes, along with my take on them, which will give you advice and tips for handling these tough customers and situations...

Business disappointments come in many different forms, and problem resolution is a dangerous one. Some disappointments you can anticipate, and the recovery is handled well, while others take you by complete surprise and leave you baffled at how the company has stayed in business. I, sadly, have one such story that has left us baffled. Often we share stories about how a service recovery situation saved us as a customer. The initial challenge was frustrating, but the company's response to the situation was well handled and feelings were neutralized.  This story does not have this result.

When you look for the positive qualities of your challenging customer, you increase your ability to connect with that customer and enjoy your time together.  How you think about your customers influences how you respond to them.  When you begin noticing the positive qualities, your clients will start responding to your differently, because how you act is determined by how you think.

- Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest, Who's Your Gladys?

As we continue to evolve in the ever changing world of technology, my hope is that businesses keep their eye on the customer. There is no question that technology has improved, enhanced, and simplified many processes. But, what I am talking about is customer processes that should always stay manual and personal. 

"Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it."  - Peter Drucker