> Ehh, a gripe online years later isn't the same as it living rent free in your head. I was misunderstanding the OP's usage of gripe, and with my understanding

> Ehh, a gripe online years later isn't the same as it living rent free in your head. I was misunderstanding the OP's usage of gripe, and with my understanding being corrected, I largely agree. > Might not have much bearing, but it would be memorable. Experience varies but people simply don't yell at me. If the town is small enough you may simply want to avoid that interaction ever again and not bother stepping on eggshells. From my experience living in a small town, unless it was a constant occurrence it would still be pretty quickly forgotten; As you said, experience varies -- I grew up in a place where cordiality and hospitality from retail workers was not the expectation, and having a worker be mildly rude or sarcastic to you would be a common occurrence. So I've kind of internalized being able to just brush that kind of stuff aside...mostly.