The only time I have blown a gasket with a gun store doofus was when I had my (then) 10 year old daughter with me at Turners Outdoorsman in Chino,Ca. (Now closed and moved.) I had a 25-ish kid flailing about, pointing a counter gun all over as his 25-ish buddy behind the counter was blabbing away with him about this gun or that. The one guy was a doofus and the clerk was completely oblivious to what was going on. The attitudes I got when I asked these guys to please quit pointing the gun in our direction while they yapped sent me into a fit.
My only smart-ass clerk experience was at a police-oriented gun store that I would pop in once in a while for oddball consignment gun bargains. (I picked up a nearly-new CZ 550 6.5x55 for $500 bucks, a few weeks later a 7.5” Redhawk .41 came home for $350.) A few years back when 9mm 1911’s started becoming really popular, I asked the young man behind the counter if they had any 9mm 1911’s in the case I could check out. He sort of sneers and said something to the effect that the store only sells 1911’s in .45 because its the only caliber God intended for it, the 9mm 1911 is crap, what “man”would want to be seen shooting one, yadda yadda yadda.
I just smiled, said to the clerk, “Well, I guess the fifteen hundred bucks burning a hole in my pocket would be spent elsewhere” and left. (And it was!)
Unless its a safety issue, I just kindly nod, smile and go about my business when in the gun store. Life is waaaay too short to sweat it all.
Stay safe.