Great post, Sean. You probably haven’t noticed but I only follow a few people, but I know who’s worth following.
 Ya know, behind closed doors many people have miserable lives. I’m glad that you decided to make every customer’s experience as pleasant as it could be for them, and in turn, for you. Do you realize that you might have been the only bright spot in the day for some of them? You were. It’s also great for business.
  At my store we call it, “turning lions into lambs”. It’s your job when dealing with the public to be as you would like them to be, despite themselves. Most will become nicer. Always remember something about a customer. Anything. Next time they come in remember what it was and bring it up. They will feel special and you will slowly be making friends of them, not just customers. Once you become a friend with someone, a friend who expects nothing in return, there’s no telling where it could lead you in life.
  When I was around 18, and I just starting out in the sandwich business, people would chap my butt left and right and for many reasons. It would outwardly show too. They’d ask, “Is the tuna fresh?” or they’d wait till they were all the way to the cash register before telling me that they needed another sandwich, or they treated me like I was nothing. In fact, other customers used to sense my frustration and that made them feel uneasy knowing that I would be dealing with them next. Bad for business.  Then one day it hit me like a ton of bricks, like most things do. I realized that they have to be themselves their whole lives and I get to be me. The more insulting they became, the nicer I responded. The customers behind them in line loved this. They could spot the A Hole and it was no longer me. It’s much easier to pray for someone than it is to get mad at them. I think that the true winners in life make a real effort to turn lions into lambs. Be the one who tries to “break” someone nasty into being a nice person. Some of the biggest A Hole customers in my business in the begging have turned out to be amoung my most loyal and even hilarious when given the chance to be understood and appreciated  the way they are. All customers have one common thread. They can choose to go to any business and they all carry green paper on them.