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Recently one of my co-workers called a group of customers "all the old people". my boss overheard this, and corrected him saying "Don't refer to my customers an old people, they are senior customers" I'm not allowed to call customers "old people" just "senior citizens". How politically correct can you get?
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Whasup everybody, its chris in the house! -
That's not so bad. You could abbreviate senior customer and get away with calling your more annoying older customers SCs.
But seriously, referring to older customers as "all the old people," especially in their hearing while in a business setting, isn't a good idea. Sometimes it's not a matter of political correctness, it's a matter of good manners.
That said, I think your manager's suggested phrase "senior customer" is a bit over the top. If you have to refer to the customer's age group in a business setting (and most of the time you don't), try "senior citizen," or just "senior."Last edited by Dips; 09-29-2006, 08:38 PM.The best karma is letting a jerk bash himself senseless on the wall of your polite indifference.
The stupid is strong with this one. -
I agree. Even "older people" rather than "old people" would be better. The phrase 'old people' is quite derogatory, and I'm not surprised it was called on.Comment
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Me too. I'd use 'elderly lady' or something myself.
On the topic of PCness on one of the chat room RPG style games I play on, I got a lecture for mentioning the Royal Canadian Air Farce on public channel - because some one may be offended! Oy.
I know who complained to, and they aint canadian and they're jerks as well.
I left the game soon after. I'f I'm not allowed to mention my favorite television shows its too much for me.Do radioactive cats have 18 half-lives?Comment
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Perhaps the complainer didn't realise it was a TV show's title and thought you were personally insulting the RCAF.Comment
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Nah, he knew what it was, cause I mentioned it when talking about it on channel. But apparently each tiem I mention it I MUST say "This is a TV show and not intended to insult any stupid idiots who aren't canadians who may be offended anyways cause they're anal' or something like that.Do radioactive cats have 18 half-lives?Comment
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Last edited by Worker-Intellectual; 09-30-2006, 05:17 AM.free from the evil clutches of crappy tireComment
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Jann Arden was offended? Did they make fun of her or something?Quoth IhateCrappyTire View Post-"One ring to rule them all!"-Elias
-Ask yourself, "WWRKHTSCCJ:TMD?"Comment
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Well, I'm a young person, and if I were among a group of people near my age, one could refer to us as "all those young people." Would that be offensive?You're not doing me a favor by eating here. I'm doing you a favor by feeding you.Comment
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One Fang, I must disagree with you here. The phrase "old people" is not derogatory. It may not be politically correct. It may not even be polite. But it is not derogatory. "Those old farts" is derogatory. "Those fossils" is derogatory. But "old people" is not derogatory. They are old. They are people. It is a truthful statement. It may not be the most diplomatic way to say it, but it IS true.Quoth One-Fang View Post
Heck, I am a short guy. I may not like it when someone refers to me as "that short dude"--but I wouldn't take it as derogatory. I am also of Jewish ancestry. It might not be the most sensitive thing for someone to frefer to me as "that Jewish guy"--but again, I would not take it as derogatory. Of course, if someone was talking about me and said "that pipsqueak kike over there"--THAT would be derogatory!
If the "old people" phrase was said out of earshot of the people in question, I don't even think it is all that insensitive. The coworker was identifying the group of customers in a quick fashion that made them easily identifiable to the listener. Of course, if it was said so they COULD hear it, that is another story....but if it is just the manager having a tizzy, well it is time said manager loosened his panties a tad.
"The Customer Is Always Right...But The Bartender Decides Who Is Still A Customer."
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At my work a common group is "Those Canadians"."Magic sometimes sounds like tape." - The Amazing JohnathanComment
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I have yet to get spoken to when referring to one of the best days of the week as "Old Folks' Day" or "Escape from the old folks home day".Unseen but seeing
oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane-KiaKat
There isn't enough interpretive dance in the workplace these days-Irv
3rd shift needs love, too
RIP, mo bhrionglóidComment
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I used to quite openly call Thursdays "Pension Day" or "Curse Of The Elderly Day" when I worked at the garden centre cuz it was a bloody nightmare that scarred me for life. Even now, I never work Thursdays any more.Comment
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Oh, this is nuts. You have a perfectly ordinary noun and a perfectly ordinary adjective. There is no reason to consider it offensive. They're people and they're old.Quoth One-Fang View PostProud to be a Walmart virgin.Comment
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Since getting radios, we are only allowed to describe customers by clothing and gender, not by ethnicity "to avoid any possible lawsuits." I can understand this since I don't want anybody to feel singled out or targeted if i say "the [insert ethnicity] guy coming your way" over the radio and the customer can't hear a response.
But I like to imagine the carried away scenarios like...
Maybe eventually we won't be allowed to describe clothing. Pants/skirt? No! Those cover LEGS and GENITALIA !!Comment
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