I thought I was a professional customer...

I thought that after all my experience with customer service, I'd be a halfway decent customer. Turns out I was wrong.

I went to K-Mart the other day with my husband to return some curtains. We were set to go; we had our receipt and it was within the extended return policy. The only thing that worried me was the fact that the curtains were purchased in a different state with a higher sales tax. I figured this would be a problem for the cashier since I had no idea how to fix that at my job. The thought that we wouldn't get what we were entitled to crossed my mind probably half an hour before we even got to the store and I couldn't stop thinking about it and how I would approach with without seeming rude.

By the time we got to the customer service desk, I had all this weird pent-up anxiety about what turned out to be like $.80 because I didn't stop thinking about it. The very helpful employee processed our return with no questions asked other than "Was there anything wrong with them?" There wasn't; we were just one window short.

At the end of the transaction I noticed we didn't get the right amount back for tax. I know how annoying people can be about returns after Christmas,so I wanted to try to be nice to this girl. With all of my built up tension from relentlessly thinking about it, however, it didn't come out so nice.

"Um... I think we're supposed to get more back. The tax is different" is all I was able to mutter to the girl in what I can only describe as the rudest, most condescending tone I can imagine coming out of my face. I have no idea what came over me, only that something had. It became extremely evident too when she glared over to her coworker at my expense. Good for her though, honestly.

I wanted so badly to apologize, but by this point it was kind of too late. I was excited to leave the store. I literally never go to K-Mart so the chances that I'd ever have to see her again were slim. Apparently not non-existant though. She was definitely fixing the carts as we left.

As we approached the door, she said, "Have a good night!" In a last ditch effort to be nice to her, I jumped on the opportunity to say "You too!" but I was a little too eager and it came out more like "YOU TOO!" I mean, it was a little cheery, I guess... But I still sounded like a crazy person with a temper.

If she complained or made fun of me to her coworkers, I'd completely understand. I was inadvertently pretty unbearable.