From years of retail experience I can tell you that people don’t say things like “thank you” as often as they should.

Maybe there is a sense of self-entitlement, a feeling that someone working in a store is supposed to help them and thus there’s no need for common courtesy.

So it can as a surprise yesterday when I heard both “thank you” and “you’re welcome” and became curiously annoyed. It probably had to do with the fact that both phrases came from the same person.

I was getting my car inspected, and passed the time sitting inside the gas station reading a magazine. A few customers came in while I was there. I could hear everything they said since they were only 10 feet away, but a display of snacks blocked my view of the counter.

A woman entered the building and asked for $10 worth of gas on pump No. 2. She then asked (rhetorically, in an annoyed tone) “Why is gas so expensive?!” First of all, given recent years, gas isn’t that expensive as to elicit that kind of rant. Plus this station happens to usually have some of the most moderately priced gas in the area.

After she finished the transaction, she walked to the door about four feet away. That’s when she yelled out “Thank you and you’re welcome!” I don’t think I’ve heard those phrases slammed together before. Sure, I get the “thank you.” Maybe there’s a pause where the merchant says something like “no, thank you!” Then you get the “you’re welcome” response.

But putting them both together comes off as a little pretentious, like you’re doing the guy behind the counter a huge favor by stopping in for $10 of gas (and complaining about the price).

That, however, wasn’t even the most “um, what?” moment of the day. Last night I went to the Capitals game and sat next to a 10-year-old kid and a guy who is probably his 20-something brother. At first I thought he was the kid’s dad, but he just didn’t look old enough.

During the first intermission, the guy started talking about this time he got really drunk and all of his friends thought it was so funny we has in that state. He detailed all of the things he drank, and how things didn’t get interesting until he starting mixing beer and liquor.

I thought maybe he was going for some sort of cautionary-tale style of teaching his brother about the dangers of alcohol. Then he started talking about this time in high school — when he “got sooo shitfaced it was ridiculous.” The kid was squirming in his seat, playing with the foam finger he had just picked up at a concession stand. The guy did follow that up with a short statement about being careful who you’re partying with.

With the Caps down by a goal with less than 20 seconds remaining the kid left the seats. Maybe his brother should give a lesson on how to stick around for important moments of sporting events.