I know from my own experience that I tend to get the worst service from the businesses where I am good friends with the owner and am regarded as part of the furniture. Some of my clients have commented on the ease with which they have recently wrested important new customers from old adversaries. He got desperate and tried again, and was quite surprised at the different response. The second opportunity comes with your own staff. They are likely to be well aware of such influential matters as rising unemployment and business failures, and be ready to re-negotiate old values.
Good times tend to make people intractable.
If they think the boss is doing all right they consider their performance to be adequate. When times are obviously bad staff tend to opt for the security of the job they currently hold, and are often prepared to give more in circumstances where they were previously intractable. I have found that staff are quick to grasp the ramifications of the laws of supply and demand in a shrinking market. They can appreciate that if there are substantially more available seats than customers, somebody has to lose. They can also appreciate that the loser will usually be the one who gives the poorest value for money.