how not to approach a service organization for their help and cooperation

(the last few weeks have seen me cramming for license exams. they are next week, so you still won't see much of me for a bit)

last night before closing, a resident and his friend walked into the office. their issue: the cable wiring in their apartment needed to be redone.

instead of calmly asking for assistance or finding out what their options were, both came into the office in an agressive manner and immediately started screaming in an abusive manner at everyone they encountered.
lession 1: it goes back to the old adage - you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. working to enlist the help of the person you're dealing with goes a long way. when you start off abusive and angry, it will usually set the opposite party into a defensive mode.

the conversations escalated from there, up to the point where they threatened to sue the owners and the company. they refused to leave, and our efforts to get them behind closed doors to carry on a reasonable conversation were in vain as they could be heard throughout the office, including in rooms where two closed doors were between the angry resident and the other employees.
lesson 2: sometimes both parties need a cool down period. there comes a time when further discussions will go no where at that time. it makes sense for both parties to step apart and meet again at a later date. unfortunately, it's usually the less-upset person that needs to initiate this space, and the more-upset person is the one who wants to continue to focus on the problem instead of the solution.

in fact, the situation got to the point where an employee called the police as we all were starting to feel like the situation might escalate to physical violence in a few short minutes.
lesson 3: that is what the police are there for. if you dial 911, even if the person leaves, be sure to wait until the operator answers so that they can arrive and take care of the matter immediately.
lesson 4: document. document. document. let me say it one more time. document! the fact that most everyone in the office had already documented their version of the story in writing by the time that the police arrived said a lot for the company and the situation. for them to ask to hear our version, and then to be able to say, "here's my written statement" meant that we meant business. when the police interviewed the other parties who were asked to leave, there was no such professionalism. (in fact, the one who filed assault charges on us(?!) didn't even have a witness, while we had a whole office full of employees who watched the incident.)
lesson 5: listen to your gut. we almost didn't move these people in 2 weeks ago because the move-in process started off really rough. we should have listened to our instinct, told them this really wasn't going to work out, and decided not to move them in. you can fire your clients. if they're being a pain in the a** - save your sanity and do so. no one needs extra drama in their life!