Empathy goes both ways. That customer clearly had none, and furthermore didn't believe the support person when they repeatedly tried to explain things to her. W

Empathy goes both ways. That customer clearly had none, and furthermore didn't believe the support person when they repeatedly tried to explain things to her. We tend to see things like, say, boxers on their website and we instantly feel a connection to a person where none may be warranted. To unilaterally make that connection with an abusive person is a recipe for unhappiness and disappointment. I feel reminded about my startup time, we had customers like this. "The website you built doesn't work." - "Why, what's wrong?" - "I don't know, but I can't get on the internet today. This is your fault. I want my money back." - "Sir, if your internet is down, that's nothing we can help you with. Also, I thought things were going pretty good with our project." - "If you can't help me, you're clearly incompetent. I'm going to sue you. You broke my emails, too." And so on. A few times we actually sent someone over there to help with (in this example) their faulty DSL connection. This never solves anything. There won't be any gratitude, and the customer will be reinforced in thinking it's your fault. In essence they're being rewarded for abusiveness and unwillingness to think, too. From now on, every time his connection breaks it will be your fault. And you can't bill that time either. Furthermore, while you're sending someone over on the basis of goodwill and empathy, that guy will badmouth you all over town. Of course, people have bad days, and there can be mitigating factors. But if someone is clearly not listening to a single word you say and is incapable of understanding facts, it's time to let that customer go. I can't say this emphatically enough: it's not worth it. Identifying personally with that person will only make you suffer even more - you have to keep in mind that they're certainly not making 1% of the effort you're expending on their problem.