The television set he returned was nearly three years old. The customer who brought it back demanded a new TV. "If you don't give me a new set, I'm going to stand in front of your store every day and drive your customers away," he said. What would you do if you owned the appliance store?

The dress was less than a week old when the customer returned it. The clerk pointed out the perspiration stains under the arms and the spot on the front. "I can't take this back because you've worn it," she said. The customer grew angry and shouted, "I did not wear it, those stains were on the dress when I bought it. That's why I'm returning it." What should the clerk do?

The car's odometer showed 7,000 miles when the owner returned it to the dealership for the fourth time. "It still isn't running right," he stated angrily. "If you don't get it right this time, I'm calling the manufacturer and I'll have my attorney invoke the lemon law. I want my money back."

On previous visits, the car had checked out fine. The sales manager and three different mechanics had all driven the car and could find no fault in its performance. The owner of the dealership is certain that nothing is wrong with the car. She also knows the car's owner lost his job just weeks after buying the car and may be struggling financially. What should she do?

The new breed of customer

Today's customers are more demanding and less willing to accept mediocre service. They are value driven and much less tolerant of inconvenience. Customers are getting harder to please and many businesses are feeling the sting of unhappy customers.

I call this new breed of customer the "Four-A Customer." They want anything they want, anytime they want, anyway they want, anywhere they want it. As competition for customer loyalty increases, this new breed of customer is even more likely to get it his way.

This brings us back to the original question: "Is the customer always right? The answer of course is a resounding "NO!" However, our customers - even when dead wrong - are still the only reason our businesses exist. Without enough customers, we quickly become devoid of profit and have to close our doors.

So how do you handle unreasonable customer requests like the true-life examples mentioned earlier in the column? Do you give away the farm? Do you risk litigation? Do you chase away customers with a cat-o'-nine-tails?

Taking care of customers

Here are some suggestions for improving your customer service and for dealing with problems:

• Create a written customer service policy. Nothing makes a customer upset any faster than getting two different stories on how you will resolve an issue. Make certain that all of your employees know and understand your policy.
• Hire good front-line people and train them well. You can solve many problems early on if your customer contact people are good communicators and receive ongoing training on how to deal with difficult customers.
• Decide if a customer is really worth keeping. Some customers are abusers. Some are time wasters. Some require very careful handling. Others are high maintenance, but do generate sales and profits for you. The key factor is: Can you serve this customer and still make a profit? If not, you need to invite them tactfully to do business elsewhere.
• Work hard to find a solution. When a customer has a legitimate complaint you need to solve the problem quickly. You should meet the customer more than halfway. A customer worth keeping is a customer for which you should work hard.