Bad days have a way of making small things feel a lot bigger than they really are.

This shopper learned that after stopping by a grocery store late one evening following a frustrating day at work that had already left him in a sour mood.

By the time he reached the checkout line, all he wanted to do was pay for his groceries and head home.

However, the cashier barely acknowledged him throughout the transaction and seemed annoyed by his attempts to be polite.

So, when the interaction ended with another dismissive response, he decided to say something.

Read on to see what he said to her.

AITA for mildly telling off a cashier for being sort-of rude?

I (38m) stopped by a local grocery store on my way home the other day. It was late and fairly close to their closing time. They were about a half hour from closing by the time I made it to the checkout line.

I had ended up staying late at work that evening trying to clean up a mess, only to end up getting dressed down by my boss right before I left over something that I was unfairly blamed for. I just wanted to go home but had to stop by the store in order to have food for breakfast and lunch the next day.

I mention this to admit that I wasn’t in the best mood and may have been somewhat emotionally reactive that evening.

He tried to end on a friendly note.

So, I got my groceries and then went up to the line and began to put my products on the conveyor belt. I nodded at the cashier (f, probably early to mid-20s) and said, “Hello.”

She just sighed and began to ring up my purchases. Her response struck me as a little antisocial, but I let it go.

After she finished ringing me up, she deadpan told me my total. I paid, and she handed me my receipt.

I then said, “Thank you. Have a nice evening.”

By this point, he was frustrated with her attitude.

She just grunted a vague, “Yep,” in response. For some reason, this bothered me more than it maybe should have.

I said, “Geez, I’ve been polite with you. Would it kill you to do the same with me?”

She just looked at me with a surprised expression and said, “Well, sorry! I did my job.”

I didn’t say anything else. I just bagged up my purchases and left.

The whole thing is still bothering him.

For some reason, this little confrontation is still bothering me. I feel like maybe I gave her a hard time when it wasn’t necessary.

Maybe she was having a bad day.

For all I know, her boyfriend had just broken up with her, or she had just found out that she had a terminal condition, or she had just found out that her parents were getting divorced after 30+ years, etc.

But I hadn’t exactly had a great day myself and still managed to treat her with some basic courtesy, and I just wanted the same in response.

AITA?

Eek! It’s easy to see why he was so frustrated, but you really do never know what someone’s going through.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a barista whose keen eye uncovered a customer scheme for free coffee.

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit feel about his actions.

If you don’t like small talk, you probably shouldn’t be a cashier.

Yet another reader who thinks he should’ve let it go.

For this former cashier, no one was wrong in this story.

It never hurts to show a little kindness, though.

The shopper was probably a little harder on her than he needed to be.

However, at the same time, customer service jobs come with certain expectations, and basic courtesy is one of them.

Nobody is asking cashiers to put on a huge smile and act excited about every transaction.

But, when a customer treats you kindly, most people would expect at least a little kindness in return.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a customer complaint that led to them losing their VIP status.