I really don’t mean this in a nasty way at all but if this has shaken you to your core you really need to toughen up a bit.

I’ve run my own small business for about eight years now. People are mostly friendly and appreciative of what I do but there will always be the odd asshole out there who will say unkind or hurtful things and you need to develop a tougher skin to protect yourself from hurt.

The more people you serve, the greater the likelihood that you’ll encounter assholes. Those sorts of people are not worth your time. Most importantly they are not your customers. Focus on the people you do want to sell to or serve.

Miserable moaners are just a fact of life (and I’m sorry to say, more so in the UK than anywhere else I’ve lived). You cannot fix them or get away from them if you want your business to thrive. Kill then kindness or ignore them and move on. You’ll get better at it with practice. It used to bother me a lot too but now I just roll my eyes, share the latest absurd comment or demand with my friends so we can have a good laugh, respond professionally and with firm boundaries and then brush it off and get on with it.