"Today's customers are tougher and more vocal than they were 12 years ago," said Dr. Thomas Connellan of Performance Research Associates in Ann Arbor, Mich., at the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association meeting at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

Customers also bring greater knowledge to their business relationships thanks to their use of the Internet and networking at industry gatherings they attend. "Many businesses think their competition is the store across town, but it's not that way to the customer," he says. "To be a player in today's marketplace you have to be FedEx fast and Mickey friendly."