Pretty much my experience too, though I worked for a big box bookstore. My job was putting together displays and merchandising. That meant I was always out on the floor so I wound up spending much of the day helping customers find stuff, answering questions and recommending books. I enjoyed that part of my job (mostly).
I’m a secretary for a children’s therapy center and am the first person parents see when they come in or talk to when they call. Most of these parents are stressed to some degree because of their child’s physical/cognitive/emotional challenges.
When I started this position almost three years ago I made the decision that a major component of my responsibilities was to make sure that parents know we’re on their side and we will turn the heavens inside and out to help their child be the best person they can be. I want them to know they’ve come to the right place and that we can help. It’s also been my goal to make the paperwork part of the therapists job as smooth and easy as possible so they can focus on the child’s needs.
It’s working! Not only is it working, but the folks I come in contact with are letting my boss know it’s working because she specifically mentioned that in my evaluation this week and backed their comments up with praise and a raise 
Even though traditional customer service is only a small component of my job, it’s become one of the most rewarding. I’m one of the lucky few who actually like to go to work everyday and I try to let that show in every thing I do.
Me!
Well, me in terms of my own business. I make custom products that people are generally thrilled about, and we’re discussing a subject (their pets) that they’re invariably excited about if they’re buying custom products for them. Since it’s my own business I am perfectly free to do business with people or not if I get a hinky feeling about them or I’m unhappy dealing with them, unlike being a retail counter monkey where you are not only obligated to do business with everyone who walks through your door but are also obligated to take any shit they give you.
And actually, when I was a pet store counter monkey, I generally liked my customers too. Animal people can be… well… let’s say Best in Show could have starred some of our customers with absolute seriousness… but interacting with dog or cat or hamster fanatics was an absolutely fantastic way to spend my day when you compare it to food service or just about any other retail/service industry. I have a couple of great “awful customer” stories, but I also have four years of happy memories of working in that pet store. It helped that it was an upscale, locally owned place that didn’t shill live animals like chattel and in those terms operated more like reputable hobby breeders than a pet store, so I could feel good about the way we did business, too. If I felt like someone was impulse buying an animal or wasn’t prepared to adequately care for the animal I could refuse to sell it to them. It didn’t happen very often, but what did happen is that we spent a lot of time with people educating them about the care and husbandry of the animal they wanted, or how to find a reputable hobby breeder if they wanted an animal we refused to sell (ie puppies), and in turn they came back time and again for good advice, supplies, and so on.
So… maybe that’s the key. Stop operating with the “customer is always right” mentality, and your level of real, sincere customer service goes way up.
I work at a costume shop. Like my boss always says, “Nobody rents a costume for a sad occasion.” Generally, our customers and upbeat, happy, and excited about their event. I love helping them pick out just the right outfit, accessories, wig, etc. And I always ask for pictures for our albums. Who doesn’t want to feel like someone special and have their photo displayed for all to see? Plus, I can encourage them to bring in their friends to see the albums.