April 22, 2025
By Lara B. Hill

I’ve been sitting with this shame for a while now, trying to figure out how to make it right or at least how to let it go. I don’t even know where to start, but I guess it’s been eating away at me ever since it happened.

A few years ago, I worked in retail, and honestly, it wasn’t a fun environment. We had constant conflicts with customers—things that would have seemed so small to the average person, like expired coupons or a misunderstanding over a sale item, but it all added up. I watched coworkers cry in the breakroom, and customers storm out in frustration. It got to the point where I just started to dislike most of the people who came through the doors.

One day, a customer said something that set me off. I don’t even remember what it was, but in the heat of the moment, I turned to my coworker and said something horrible about them. I vented all my anger and frustration in one careless sentence, not thinking much about it, but I didn’t realize the customer had overheard.

I saw them freeze for a second, their face falling, and I knew instantly what I’d done. They didn’t say anything, but they left the store quietly, and I never saw them again. It’s been years, and I still think about that moment. I was caught up in my own frustration and bitterness, and I ended up taking it out on someone who didn’t deserve it. That customer didn’t do anything to me; they were just another person in a long line of people who didn’t know what was happening behind the scenes.

I’m ashamed of how I handled that, and I wish I could go back and take it all back. If that customer ever sees this, I hope they know how sorry I am. I was wrong, and it’s something I’ll never forget.