(FORTUNE Small Business) – As a longtime small-business owner, I have always believed the axiom that "the customer is always right." Why? Because I know that she has the ability to spend her hard-earned money elsewhere. But that is just common sense, right? Wrong! Plenty of business owners and managers treat their customers as if they were an obstacle, or even an enemy. Consider this surreal scene.

At the end of every summer season my partners and I cook up a mini-golf tournament and pizza party for the staff of our miniature golf courses located at the Jersey shore. Most of the employees are high school and college students with a real knack for having fun. To demonstrate our gratitude for their summer of hard work, we end the party by giving each employee the choice of a really cool piece of electronic equipment. So the week before the party, my partner, Mark, and our buddy Ralphie performed the ritual "supermarket sweepstakes" tour in a big electronics superstore. In no time flat they had three shopping carts overflowing with DVD and MP3 players, television sets, monster boomboxes, and mini-component hi-fi systems. It was Christmas in August.

Suddenly a store employee appeared and asked whether he could be of any assistance. Mark shook his head and happily said, "No, thanks. Everything is under control." The store employee then asked, with an air of indignation, "What do you think you're doing taking all this equipment off the shelves?" Dumbfounded, Mark replied, "Buying it!"

"You can't do that," the irritated employee said. "You have to fill out a form, and we'll order it for you. We don't want to lose our inventory." My buddies were stunned. Mark then asked, "Can you get the store manager?" He threw a look toward Ralphie as if to say, Can you believe this clueless clerk? "I am the store manager," the man replied. "Oh," Mark said, now utterly confused. "So, as the manager of this store, you're telling us that this stuff is for sale, but we can't buy it." "That's right," he replied.

Mark considered the problem for a moment. What, exactly, would prevent this guy from wanting to ring up several thousand dollars in sales? So Mark informed the man that the items weren't being purchased for resale, but were to be the highlight of an employee party ... if that made any difference. No luck there.

Mark asked one more question to give the man a last chance to do a brisk $3,500 worth of business. "What if I brought a busload of customers to your store and directed them to each purchase one of these selections. Would that be okay?" "Sure," the store manager replied. "Well," said Mark, "just imagine that they're waiting in the parking lot, and we're doing the buying for them!" No luck. And no clue. Shaking their heads, Mark and Ralphie left the store manager stranded with his three shopping carts full of goods.

Minutes later, when Mark stepped into a Circuit City store, he immediately asked to see the manager. "Can I buy anything and everything I want in here?" The man looked at Mark as if he were nuts, and replied, "Yes, of course." Mark thanked him and pushed Ralphie in the direction of the shopping carts. Our employees are still smiling.