When you bump into someone, or need to get past…say you bump them very slightly, either way.
The kind thing to do is say, “excuse, me”. Acoording to to actual degree of the effrontery, maybe add an “I’m sorry”.
What response do you expect to get back?
If it were at a street corner or in line at a store and I said “excuse me - sorry about that”, the other person would probably reply “No problem!” The person could probably see that I’m trying to be neighborly. Did you get perhaps a negative reply instead recently?
I don’t speak to people. Not snobby or unfriendly, speech impediment.
Some one bumped me said the obligitory “well, excuse me, hon”.
I looked at him, and nodded. Started to walk off, he said very loudly “Well, ex-cuuuse the hell outta me!”
I signed “I’m very sorry”. And escaped the area.
I don’t belong in the world, or something. 
Where you went wrong was escaping the area. I would have just stood there and glared at him after signing the apology. See what he had to say for himself.
Maybe. A few years ago I might have.
He was big guy at the Chinese buffet. Don’t mess with big hangry rednecks is a life rule I follow.
Ivy grabbed my elbow and pushed me out the door. We were leaving anyway.
I say “ope, sorry.” This is a thing from Wisconsin:
I’m not from Wisconsin. I haven’t spent more than a day or two there. I’ve lived my whole life in California. So I don’t know where I got it. My parents lived there for a time, so possibly they passed it on to me. But I can’t recall them ever saying it.
I think it’s just convergent evolution. It’s like a shortened version of oops, but it’s all you can get out in the fraction of a second that follows a bump. So it comes out as ope or oop, and then you try to wedge in a sorry as quickly as possible.
I don’t expect anything back. It’s just an acknowledgement that I didn’t mean to bump into them. And really it’s more likely that we are mutually at fault, such as when two people collide when a corridor makes a right angle.
“Excuse me” seems to be a US ideom.
In the UK one says “Sorry”.
In UK parlance “excuse me” means something more like ‘you’re slightly in my way, would you mind moving a bit?’
In either case I don’t think a response is generally expected, though the Aussie “no worries” might be appropriate?
I use “excuse me” to request/notify someone that I am squeezing past them in a narrow area, or cutting them off momentarily when crossing their path. Actual physical contact rates a “sorry”.
If I’m trying to get around someone or accidentally bump them, I say “excuse me”.
I’ve also developed a habit of saying “excuse me” when I yawn. Which is a lot, for some reason. But it’s completely unnecessary. As my granddaughter, who was about five years old at the time, once told me: “Grandpa, you don’t need to say excuse me when you yawn. Only when you burp or fart.”
I’m Canadian, both parties immediately say “Sorry” to the other.
This Canadian favours;
“Excuse me! Pardon me! So sorry!”
And the related, “Ope, let me squeeze past ya once, hey.”
Apparently, he’s not as mannerly as he thinks he is. I also think your nod would’ve been enough to acknowledge him.
Yes, the guy was an asshole. I hope he realized what he’d done and felt suitably chastised when Beck signed to him.
I once spent a couple of weeks in Brussels and on the return trip I changed planes in O’Hare. Walking through the airport I bumped into someone and muttered “excusez-moi”. I was kind of surprised to hear that come out of my mouth.
We should do what the Jr. High kids do, use elbows.
I don’t really recommend this, just kidding 