How to handle the customer from hell

[adrianh]

Quoted off another list:

I often "fire" troublesome customers , in the nicest way of course
I refer them to my competition with some excuse like one of my machines has broken down or I don't have stock etc...let them tie up my competition...
If they really persist , we then start a FOAD pricing structure (F... O.. And Die) in that the price is so prohibitive it scares them away or if they do accept the price , there is so much jam and icing on the cake that one can put up with any aggro you gonna have.

[IanF]

I just had one. Haven't fired them but they want to tell me what to charge.
They came in with artwork for a business card ready to print so I print a proof then get told it is the wrong colour and wrong size. They could not understand no matter how I tried to explain it that I just printed what they gave me. Anyway quoted to fix and print then they wanted changes and printed in a specific way but did not want to pay the price and did not want the cheap full colour cards. So I got an email saying they don't like my attitude.
So if they come back I will look at loading the price.

[Blurock]

I have just fired a client, but for other reasons - reputational risk. Their business ethics and the way in which they did business made me reconsider whether the money was worth being dragged down with them.