"Do unto others as you would, have others do unto you. Live by this and life is good"

People respond well to the way you treat them.
This applies to customer service in particular. We always return to businesses that treat us with respect.
I asked for a constructive critique for one chapter in my novel from a trusted proof reader and she felt my characters had expressed things well and it wasn't too long, the two main questions I had.  This was a quieter chapter prior to a big action chapter.  It is great to get some feedback part way though the novel's editing.

I was trying to express without preaching, the  'situation' the mixed race children in my novel find themselves in, where everyone in some locations assumes they are going to be thieves.

I have seen it so often from QLD though to WA…you set up a sales display and the first thing you are told is 'don't let the half cast kids come into your shop they are all thieves.'
Well I always did allow everyone in and don't use that offensive directive term myself.  I invited all the children to  handle the best soft toys, was friendly to them…guess what..at the end of the say their mum and dads would eel happy coming back to my store and were often good customers.

I think in five years of trading though those areas I was shoplifted from once and had night time break and enters with valuables stolen, once from someone I didn't know and the other from a fellow store holder.   So I wanted to tell that experience in my novel somehow, try to put it right for those kids.  Yes of course many were making a game stealing from the stores but this was in retaliation, 'you treat me like I'm worthless and I'll show you what I think of you,' behaviour.