Over familiar customers

[Jester]

I do this sort of stuff all the time.

Due to my younger sister, I have a bad habit of calling people "kiddo", though that is mostly just friends and acquaintances, not customers.

I also, again with just friends and acquaintances, not customers, have an amusing habit of changing people's names, shortening them, lengthening them, or just altering them. "Jennifer" becomes "Jenny", "Frank" becomes "Franklin", "Don" becomes "Don Juan", etc.

Now, as for the "Sir/Ma'am" thing, I refer to people at my bar or in my restaurant as "Sir" or "Ma'am" because I am polite. When they say "Don't call me Ma'am" I usually say, "Okay, babe" and they laugh. Equally, when they say "Don't call me Sir," I say, "Okay, asshole," and they laugh. Of course, when they call ME "Sir", I come right back with "My name's Jester, not Sir. Sir's my father." The few people that call me on it, saying "But you called me Sir", I respond with, "I'm working, you're on vacation." I also use the above response if someone calls me "Mr. My Last Name." I never want to be called Mr. My Last Name unless it is a boy dating one of my nieces. Then again, those guys may as well refer to me as their Lord Master.

And then there is the dude/darlin' thing. I am from the West. I also know far more people than I can remember. Or rather, far more people know me than I can keep up with. And they all expect me to remember them. A completely impossible task. So I just fall back on my slight Western drawl and call just about everyone "dude" or "darlin'" and I seem to get away with it.

For the record, ReformedWaitress has NEVER called me kiddo.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Don't mind it in some circumstances; ie, little old ladies, yes. Dirty old men in string vests, NO!

[Posture Moll]

I don't like being called "ma'am". I'm only 26 yrs old, I'm too young for "ma'am"! I do make a point of trying not to call women (older or younger than me) ma'am, either.

Heh, I first got 'ma'am'ed when I was only 15 years old.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I never get that; I get a lot of "duck" and "dear" from little old ladies and the occasional nasty old man hitting on me... ew. I don't like people using my name tho, I wish I didn't even have to wear a name tag.

[Becks]

Heh, I first got 'ma'am'ed when I was only 15 years old.

I think I was 14ish at my first "ma'am"ing. It was in a small town where my mommy grew up, so I was pretty OK with it, but still weirded out.

[Noelegy]

I'm not bothered by over-familiar terms of endearment, especially when it's a generational thing. The people who call me "dear" or "honey" or the like on the phone are usually the same people who are surprised that I say "Yes ma'am" and "No sir."

What bothered me as a retail slave was the number of customers to whom personal space meant nothing. We had a podium in each department with a computer station (no Internet, no games, nothing but the inventory and ordering system) at which we could look up titles, authors, availability, etc. I always wished these podiums were elevated on a dais just large enough for the employee, because so many people wanted to stand at my elbow and watch every keystroke.

And that could lead me off into a whole different rant about customers who tried to use the password-protected computer, but I won't go there.

[Clintmax]

At my store, we have a LOT of repeat customers who come in and look specifically for me because I've helped them many times in the past. Most of them women. And when I see them come in, I go right up to them if I'm free to say Hello and I call them all "My Dear".

"Well, hello My Dear! How are you today?"

I have to say, I've NEVER had a single one of them complain to me or anyone else about that. I hope they don't either. Most of them call me by my first name, and I really appreciate it.

Maybe it's a southern thing.

Then again, I also add "Miss" to the ladies first name sometimes too.

ex: Miss Deborah

[decisivemoment]

The one customer who ever calls me "Honey" is a middle-aged women who I frequently visit while shipping textbooks at the post office, so I don't care.

Then again I'm 21, probably look sub-20, and I probably remind all our elderly customers of their grandchildren.

[AFpheonix]

I don't mind sweet little old people calling me dear or sweety or whatever.

It's the skeevy guy that held a Homedics vibrating back massager on his crotch in front of me call me "baybeee" in a sexy to him voice that gives me pause ........shudder......

[HYHYBT]

I get called "maam" all the time, and hate it. Don't mind one way or the other about being called "sir" though

No one tries to shorten my name. It's a legitimate name by itself, but also used by people who want to shorten another. As in, if I were my stepbrother whose given name was Billy and people insisted on calling me William.

[ahanix1989]

I got called "Honey" last night. Kind of odd, considering I'm an 18 year old male... who looks almost 16.

It was kind of along the lines of "Do you have any peanut butter?"


Her: "It's so great seeing gas down this low"
Me: "Yeah... only 70 for a full tank now"
Her: "Oh, can I get two extra thighs?"
Me: "Not a problem"
Her: "Thanks honey"
Me: "--- ! Hopefully the price continues downward......"

[SCSlave]

Then again, I also add "Miss" to the ladies first name sometimes too.

ex: Miss Deborah

Personally, that's my favorite....when people add Miss to my first name. I like that! We don't get that a lot here, but when I worked in a call center, we would get calls from the southern states, and they always said "Well Hi, Miss CSslave" They could be mad as heck, but they didn't sound it. All so sweet and .... southern. I couldn't get mad at them.

And call me crazy, but I'd MUCH rather customers call me 'hon' or 'sweetie' than by my first name. It's...I dunno. Weird. I don't call them by their first names unless that's all they give me. Otherwise, I call them "Mr/Mrs. Smith"

[Kiwi]

Sorry but I LOOOOOOVEEEE being called maam

love love love it! I was friends with a guy from texas when I worked at the childrens camp and he (out of habit) would answer with maam

love love love it... I love being called Miss to.... Miss Kiwi

ahhhh that has a lovely ring to it

[Lace Neil Singer]

Had an old lady call me "duck" today; didn't mind that at all. She was a sweet old lady, and I much prefer that to rude old ladies. XD

[Primer]

Several of my students will call me "Miss Primer" even though I've told them it's ok to call me just "Primer." Generally, these folks are transplants from Hispanic countries (Mexico through South America). The ones I have a hard time getting used to are the ones that call me "Professor LastName." At least I no longer look around for my mother when they call me "Mrs. LastName." (With DH #4, I kept my maiden name this time!)