Customers have gotten worse over the years. I see people treating other people very badly. People have lost all respect for others.
I was at the tractor dealer the other day, and a guy comes in complaining about the dump trailer he rented that was not working. Turns out the battery was dead that powered the hydraulics. Customer states the trailer worked for one day and died. The salesman tells him, "Well, I told you that you needed to charge the trailer battery since you didn't have the correct wiring harness on your truck." Salesman gives the customer a discount, but I think the customer was wrong. I wish my stupidity could save me money too.
Anyway, my current job doesn't require me to interface with the general public on a regular basis, and I am grateful for that. Although, I too have gotten customer escalations, and 90% of the time the customer wants something for free or a discount, even when there is no real problem. I love when they scream at me on the phone when I tell them I do not have the power to give them something for free or the ability to discount their bill. People are just plain abusive, and get even nastier when you catch them in a lie. I know this from experience!
Joe