You Don't Have to be...

Sometimes I wonder if I've ever been so rude to someone and just don't remember it, but karma is just getting me back.

A few months ago, I encountered the absolute rudest customer service in my life at Best Buy. BF and I usually get crappy service and I religiously complete the online survey for good and bad service. Last time, it was so bad that I went completely out of my element, lost my cool, and yelled across the way to the customer representative behind the counter as I was already at the exit, "You don't have to be so rude!!!"

Seriously, can you imagine me REALLY yelling that? My friends, on the real, I did. I was that upset. I even filed a formal complaint to the 800 customer service.

Today, I attended a workshop with my grad-co. Afterwards, we stopped by a Costco along the way. We were walking on the sidewalk, when I clumsily knocked off my beautiful Christmas present bracelet that Ate made me, and all the beads fell onto the floor and into the shrubs. Grad-co felt so bad that she immediately crouched down to frantically pick up as many beads as possible. I kept insisting it was okay and tried to get her up. The second time I bent down, I gently pulled her back up. Right when I looked up, an older man and his wife were pushing their cart right toward me. He said in a loud, annoyed voice as others were pushing their carts past, "WATCH WHERE YOU WALK!!" Did you not see that I was picking something up?!

Considering I haven't had much experience nor practice responding back out of impulsiveness nor anger, I couldn't think of a good comeback (which is also why my Best Buy statement across the floor was a glorious, albeit immature, moment for me). Instead, I yelled, "Excuse me!"

I know, that doesn't even qualify as a comeback. Even something like, "Excuse YOU!" would have been 50% better. Random unhappy events like that are hard for me to immediately get over. I kept mulling over it, trying to think of how I could have better responded. Grad-co suggested, "You don't have to be a jerk!"

So I think I'm ready for the next time a stranger says something rude to me and the immature, impulsive Chanel needs to woman up.

Clarification: it'll also be a case-by-case thing. I'd be a little more afraid of picking a fight with a girl my size than an older, bigger man -- I can't imagine the latter getting into a fist fight with me.