Hey guys, first post here and I’m seeking advice regarding my small business that has a customer that I am having issues with.

For context, the business is owned by 3 individuals (myself included) and while the other 2 are more in an investor/owner role, I am in an owner/operator role. If the shop is open, I’m usually there. We work in an industry with small margins (usually 10% or less) but are typically in the $200+ range. So the items are pricey, but we usually make not much on them.

Our real bread and butter is our “service” related industry where obviously make more. He has partaken in the service side of things before, but rarely.

Anyways, he always comes in, and usually wants a deal on something, or wants to sell us an item and wants retail or slightly below retail, which obviously leaves us with no margin so we usually always decline.

He’s recently complained to the other owners about it and I explained the situation and they obviously understand my side and have left it in my hands to decide what to do. Frankly, I’d rather not deal with him as it takes valuable time away from other customers who are either new clients or more likely to do business with us.

The problem is, the town we operate out of is 3,000 people at best. So, I’m worried that saying something to him will cause him to foul mouth us to others in the area. Obviously we get traffic from other towns too, but our local customers are very important.

What’s the best thing to do here? Tolerate it? Say something? If so, what do I say to soften the blow as much as possible?

TL;DR - Customer comes in and always wants a deal on slim margin items. Recently he has started making more of a fuss. How do I defuse it or inform him we no longer want to serve him?