No two complaints are alike. I find the people with the least problems complain the most.

I went back to a job once where the inspector didn't move the drop ceiling tiles and the entire bathroom floor above was totally rotted. The guy had a several thousand dollar repair but was happy to just take his fee back (I've never written a check so fast). In reality, we're not toally required to lift tiles but there were some stains and signs of fresh paint. So, it would have been nice if he would have investigated a bit further... particularly beneath a bathroom.

On the flip side of that is the guy who has a broken garbage disposal and expects you to replace it and compensate him for the meal he had to take his family out to because he couldn't use his kitchen, and he and his wife's emotional distress, etc., etc. - Point being, people can be ridiculous.

Best thing is to never ignore a problem, no matter how trivial it may seem and no matter how hard you beat it into their head on the report.

Get on-site quickly with your checkbook in hand. It's an inexpensive cost of business to shut something down quickly, even if you really didn't do anything wrong.

As for losing a referal base, it can happen but there's really nothing you can do about it. If you deal with things head-on and take care of the problem you will likely minimize the fallout after a problem. It can actually be an oppourtunity to increase people's impression of you if you deal with something quickly and take care of it. That's all a realtor really wants is for the problem to go away and their/your client to be satisfied.