I just... I don't even know what to feel about this, honestly. It's like, I thought I was past this sort of thing, you know? Like, I've worked so hard on my emotional regulation, especially after my last performance review mentioned, you know, "assertiveness" and "managing client expectations." But today, with this woman... it just completely blindsided me, I guess. I'm sitting here at 2 AM, staring at the ceiling, and I just keep replaying it, trying to figure out if I handled it "correctly" or if I just completely failed some kind of implicit social contract. So, I'm at the store, just doing my regular Saturday shift — yeah, I still do retail on weekends, it's just, like, extra income, helps with student loans, helps with, you know, planning for a down payment, all that stuff that everyone my age is supposed to be doing. And this woman comes up, she's got this whole outfit, like, head-to-toe designer, carrying a Birkin bag, just oozing money, right? And she wants to return this, like, really expensive candle, and use an expired 20% off coupon on a new one. It's literally a year old, this coupon. And our system just... it won't take it. And returns after 30 days are store credit only, which is, like, a pretty standard policy. I tried to explain it, really politely, you know? Like, "Ma'am, I'm so sorry, but the system won't accept this coupon, it expired last year," and then about the return, "It's past our 30-day window for a full refund, but I can definitely issue store credit for you." And she just... snapped. Instantly. "Are you telling me I'M an idiot? Because I can clearly read the expiration date, and it says 20% off! Is your system BROKEN, or are YOU just incompetent?" And then she just kept going, "You clearly don't understand how these things work, do you? Maybe you should go get someone who actually knows what they're doing, because this is ridiculous." All with this sort of condescending smile, like she was talking to a particularly slow child, not, like, a functioning adult with a pretty solid understanding of database parameters. And the thing is, I just kept smiling. I kept saying, "I understand your frustration, ma'am, but unfortunately, these are our store policies." My voice, like, didn't even waver. I maintained, I guess, what you'd call a completely neutral affective presentation. She eventually just threw the candle at me, not in a violent way, but like, just *tossed* it onto the counter, said "I'll take my business elsewhere, where people actually have a brain," and stormed out. And I just... I felt nothing in the moment. Just went on to the next customer, you know? But now, hours later, I feel this weird, gnawing anger? And also, like, a deep sense of inadequacy? Like, she really got to me, even though I didn't show it. Is it normal to, like, perform competence so well in the moment and then completely, like, dysregulate later? I genuinely thought I was over needing external validation for doing my job properly. But it's almost like her contempt infected me, or something. Like, if someone that wealthy, that "successful," thinks I'm an idiot, maybe there's, like, a grain of truth to it? Or am I just completely overthinking a basic retail encounter? I just... I don't know what to do with this feeling. It's really unsettling.