Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Sign Company Owner Reluctantly Fires Abusive Customer

Both owner and shop employees could feel the change.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 6, 2026

Signs of the Times Staff Signs of the Times April 2026 Issue

Things you wanted to say to frustrating clients, but didn’t.

“Loyalty doesn’t give you a free pass to treat my team like a revolving door of punching bags.”

Every order felt like defusing a bomb, and every phone call had someone in the back room questioning their career choices. I kept saying yes because I was terrified of losing those early dollars and convinced I could somehow “fix” the relationship if I just worked harder or smiled wider. The truth is, the day I finally let that client go, the whole shop breathed out at once. Funny how the jobs we cling to the tightest are often the ones holding us back.

Woulda Coulda Shouldas are collected from the Signs of the Times Brain Squad and shared anonymously.

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Signs of the Times Staff

Signs of the Times has been the world leader in sign information since 1906. Contact Signs of the Times' editors at [email protected].

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