I Do Not Like Rude People

Everyday, I encounter at least one rude person. I believe that rudeness is a major epidemic in our country. How difficult is it to be considerate of the person standing next to you, or the woman ringing up your purchases in the store?

This blog is going to chronicle all the rudeness I encounter while I am out around town. Sometimes the things that occur will be quite unbelieveable!

Let me give some background: I am a stay at home mom of two girls, ages 4 1/2 and 4 months. Before my first daughter was born in 2004, I worked in the retail industry for 7 years. During those 7 years I encountered many, many rude people. I started out as a sales associate, whom customers thought they could verbally abuse; thinking that just because i worked in a department store, I was an unintelligent person who had no feelings. Whenever there was an incident I could just pass the customer off to a manager and go about my business. Then I became a manger and then people really thought they could belittle me; after all, I was only a manager in a department store. of course, when someone is in your face yelling at you because they forgot to bring their coupon, it is very easy to yell back and be a smartass. But, in the end, I would have to compose myself and remember my job and "the customer is always right."
Now, I am a customer and I always feel sympathy for the sales associate who is being screamed at for no good reason. And yes, sometimes I do get frustrated and I am not the politest person. I, too have been rude to others. And it needs to stop. Just because you do not know the other person it does not give you permission to be rude to them.

Let me tell you about the rude woman I encountered at Bed, Bath and Beyond this afternoon.
If you have ever shopped there, you know how tight the aisles are and that there is very little space to fit a shopping cart. I was in line to pay for my purchases. My baby, Erica, was in her carseat on the top of the cart and my older daughter, Allie was standing next to me. I moved around the cart to unpack my cart and the woman in line behind me was standing extremely close to Erica. I didn't mind it that much but I really didn't think it was necessary for her to be THAT close. So I moved the cart and stood between them. She put her purchases on the counter(which aren't very big at BB&B) and they got mixed in with my things. Then, this woman was standing so close to me she could have been hugging me. She was in a hurry and I suppose she thought if she pushed her way forward, the cashier would move faster.
Now I have a really big problem with strangers invading my personal space. There is no reason for you to be right on top of me! So in my frustrastion I said, "can you please back it up a little?" I admit it was not the nicest way to say it(I told you, I am guilty of rudeness too!). Well... the woman started yelling at me! She said, "what do you want, the whole store?" and "You should not leave your house of you act like that." I told her that she could leave me some personal space. She then told me " I am standing in line too." which of course was very obvious. The clincher? She put her hand in my face. Yep, that's right! A woman who was clearly a senior citizen, gave me the Talk to the Hand! I was so stunned, I was rendered speechless.

So the next time you are standing in line at the store, make sure you are giving the person in front of you some space. It isn't nice to be so close to someone you don't know. Also, you are not the only one in the store. You have to wait in line like everyone else.