Do you believe it's okay to fire a customer?

Absolutely. I only do business with people that I like. Anybody that dragged me down he’s off my list

From 1980-1984 I worked in the Baltimore symphony box office. One customer whose name I will never forget, but wont mention was so abusive to not only the box office but all of the Meyerhoff Hall staff, that the executive director at the time, Joe Leavitt, called him and wrote him a letter. He refunded his entire subscription payment and told him he was no longer welcome at the Meyerhoff Symphony hall. That banishment was well deserved and earned by this most distasteful patron.

HG

Certainly. But how you go about ir is important.  Like criticism of employees, it should not be done in public. Don't make a display of it.
The simplest way is just to never accept any more of their business, assuming you can conclude the existing business in some manner. That may involve a simple refund or it might get more complex, depending on the service or product involved.

I agree. I have fired customers a couple of times.

When a customer goes from being an asset to a liability to your company, jettison that customer and don't look back. Be prepared to replace that revenue.

Absolutely. I've fired customers more than once.Sometimes it's not even a strictly financial decision, it's been for my own mental health.

I agree to disagree. I totally agree with what you are saying about the lack of self respect that you may be exhibiting by allowing somebody to disrupt your meeting and time that you may need to discuss matters with other potential and existing clients. I say, "if the guy is not happy with the service you are providing him, and it was meeting all of his needs, then it is time to stop wasting your money and move on!!" You simply tell the client that there must be a disconnect somewhere between past conversations you have had with each other, and until you can find it and come back with a solution for him, you feel more comfortable if you two just part ways, but leave him a name or two of somebody you would refer him to.  this way if you do find a solution that was not working before, but you feel confident now that it will, it might not be as painful in trying to win him back.

on the other side of the ticket, there are those who are in charge and they have a hard time going face to face with confrontation, and will totally ignore a problem, in hopes that it will go away on its own.

Yes I agree! the old saying is “you have to be comfortable in your own skin”and to be able to deal with people that are never happy no matter what you do. You have to know when it’s time to say, “maybe you’d be better off to move on to someone else”and to be comfortable with that they’ll run their mouth. If you have a good enough reputation it won’t matter anyway. Most likely the people they will be griping to have had the same problems with them.

I agree, as professional we are providing the best to our clients.  However, some people are never satisfied and treat your occupation as a hobby, and therefore do not see their constant demands as overstepping the line and being disrespectful.  I've had to let a few clients go due to their toxic behavior.

Yes. This is why. Sometimes a customer is unreliable in terms of payment so that's a natural ending, but occasionally unreasonable requirements or expectations for your service arise because a client is naive or mentally ill.

Although, it is not their fault and the utmost consideration can be offered, a business has the right to protect itself from potential litigation or unfair demands.