I had a crackerjack opportunity to be a sucky customer yesterday.

I was at my local Target in the video game aisle in the section where the Wiis would be, if Nintendo had bothered to manufacture enough to keep store shelves stocked. Fortunately for me, I already have my Wii, so I usually just go there to laugh at the small children who sit and stare forlornly at the empty spot. Anyway, as I'm scanning over the games, I happen to notice that Spider-man 3 for the Wii is on the shelves. This is odd because the game wasn't supposed to be released until today. But there it was, so sure as hell, I was gonna buy it.

I wander over to the nearest teenage electronics clerk and ask him to open the case for me. He gets that confused look that most retailers get when you ask them to do something and says he'll be right back. He comes back later with his manager, who has keys in her hands. I ask her if she can open the case and get me out a game. "As long as it's not Spider-man," she says. "I didn't know those were supposed to go out until tomorrow, and I could get in big trouble if I sell any." And with that, she starts grabbing all the copies off the shelf and cramming them into a box.

This here is the point where I could have flexed my muscle as a customer by throwing myself on the ground and throwing a fit. "As a customer, I have the right to buy that product!" I would've screamed. "It's not my fault you put them out early! I want it, I want it, I want it!" And if that had failed, I could have come back home and written up a complaint letter on PlanetFeedback to Target twisting the details to make the manager look like a heartless hose beast who ripped the video game out of my hand and refused to sell it to me just because she had a heart of pure evil. But rather than being "that guy," I just said okay and walked out the door.

So what's the morale of this story, children? It is this. Sometimes shit happens. I probably could've gotten what I wanted by being a dick, but it was a simple mistake, and if forcing Target to sell it to me would've gotten someone in trouble, then I'd really rather not do it. Besides, I'd rather have my pride then some stupid video game any day.

Although I will be buying that game today, even if I might be getting it at Best Buy instead.