Richard, you state
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Sometimes a customer may be verbally abusive for good reason
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Why is it, then, that most major companies* train their staff to respond to being verbally abused (on the telephone or over a counter) by informing the customer that it is not acceptable for anyone to be abusive, and if it continues, they will refuse to serve the customer/put the phone down.
There is a huge, huge difference between speaking to customers, employers, colleagues, suppliers etc with courtesy and respect (which I totally agree with), and being expected to accept verbal abuse.
*the companies I know personally who train this way are BT, O2, Next, Asda, Directline, Halifax - others I have been informed of, by people who work there, are the Hilton and Holiday Inn hotel chains, DWP, British Gas, Npower.