the last word

Something which I find hilariously funny happened to me again today. I was buying a couple of new pens.

Me (picking up my bag): "Thanks very much,"
Sales associate: "You're welcome,"
Me (walking away): "Have a good day,"
S.A.: "You, too,"
Me: "Thanks, see ya,"
S.A. (as I'm across the store and almost out the door, she's leaning over the counter): "Bye!"

She's one of the 'must have the last word' people who absolutely have to say the last word, and interject extra "Bye"s at the end just to make their point.

It seems like a ridiculously long-winded farewell to share with someone you don't even know. To what lengths will I go to be polite? I want these people to know that I see them as real people, not just robots there to do my bidding, which is why I try to make a point to be polite. Which leads to me trying to get the last word, which draws out these au revoirs to a ridiculous length. Perhaps the real problem is that I'm a must-have-the-last-word-er and it's when I run into another one of my kind that things get really long. Either way, it's funny.