This is what I mean about spotting the signs early, I have plenty of regulars who would never dream of pushing boundaries. The majority of clients I have had problems with have been problematic from the start, and many newbie clients have not gone on to be regulars because of their boundary pushing behaviour. I give the benefit of the doubt for the first booking if after that they are out of order then I will be very plain about what I will and won't accept.
I know there are plenty of perfectly pleasant, absolutely amazing clients, and those are the ones I'm interested in accepting bookings from. Anyone difficult only gets in the way.
1+
I haven't got the tolerance to accept anybody who shows any neg. signs prior to the booking now. I'm old enough to read people quickly and have been in this industry long enough to have dealt with high maintenance men and in civvie life. By accepting these men from whom you picked up something untoward before seeing them, you may be inadvertently sending them a sign that you may tolerate their antics. Men can read you, too and judge your character well before they meet you.
It's your choice, but your intuition will always be right (and your mind is somewhat telling you, "that's not true, see him, he might be Mr nice guy, it won't hurt etc"). They/regs were sometimes always showing signs but sometimes we do get blinded by the need for incomes, too. We have bills to cover, we have emotional needs to be "thoughtful" enough to give them a chance etc. It's complex.