I've worked retail/customer service almost all my life (I'm 55). It's only been about the last 3 years that I've been out of it. I know what ya'll are talking about. Been there done that, wore the t-shirt and threw it out! LOL

One of the things I learned early on in my retail career was to take each customer one at a time and then move on to the next. No matter what mood or how mean one customer would be to me, I would look around at the faces of the other customers and could see the disgust or how they couldn't believe how that customer had acted towards me. That helped me to feel a bit better by knowing that it wasn't me that set them off, they were like that when they came in. No matter what mood they were in, I would always treat them with kindness and a smile. I figured I was the goodwill ambassador for my employer. If someone gave me a real hard time, I would ask very nicely, if they would like to speak with my manager about their problem. Usually that would stop them in their tracks (not always) and they would think about things for a moment. Many times I would get an apology from the customer and to be honest, some of them didn't even realize they were being mean and nasty. Some of them of course, didn't give a crap. LOL

The thing is, there is no telling why someone is acting mean. We don't live their lives. They could have lost a loved one the night before. They could have found out they have cancer and only so long to live. They may have forgot to put their big boy or big girl pants on that morning. We just don't know. If I look at mean people in those terms, it's much easier for me to handle their attitude and not let it affect me for the rest of the day. I actually end up feeling a bit sorry for them....no anger, just a little sorrow.

I know, for me, with handling each customer individually, I would take a few cleansing breathes, if needed after a mean person, and go on about my job. It really helped me to do that.

I know people can be crappy sometimes. Retail/CSR's get the brunt of the attitudes. I hope you can find a way to remember the nice ones, the smiles and the goodwill that is out there with most people especially during this time of year. Even though stressors are high during the holidays, there are many with good manners and attitudes!

Wishing you well!