When my daughter was young, I always told her 'Don't do anything you wouldn't want me to know about, because it will beat you home'! Those that live in a small town know how this works and it's so true. As a business owner, the way you treat your customers should be based on the same philosophy.
My first job when I was a teenager was with a local Sears department store. During our new employees training, the motto 'The Customer Is Always Right' was pounded into our heads. Now we all know the customers are not always right, but if you approach the situation with that mentality its a win-win for all involved. Customers need to feel validated in their concerns which may simply gain you some common ground and diffuse a bad situation by acknowledging their problem. Simply saying something like 'I'm sorry about the misunderstanding' or 'lets see how we can fix this problem' will satisfy some initial concerns. Sometimes you just need to take a hit to keep the customer relations solid.
We used to say 'Do something good and people tell three others but do something bad and they tell ten'. I think with todays cyber-communications this is woefully inaccurate. This makes doing the right thing, even if their wrong, so critical to customer service. The small town mentality refers to the fact that you will see these people outside of your business, it may be in church, at school functions or other public places but if you have left them with a bad taste in their mouth, they will spread the word everytime they see you, your employees or your business. So fix it quick, don't ignore their concerns and take the high road as much as you can. It's good business so don't give them the chance to make it personal. The good part about the small town mentality is they will build a sense of loyalty to your business because you've treated them with compassion and respect.
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