Undue Familiarity

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

For reasons that needn't be gone into, we need to hire a car for the next several days. I called the rental agency this afternoon and an obviously young man answered and immediately asked for my name (presumably to look me up in the system in case I was a prior customer).  I gave it and he said, 'Do you prefer "Pat" or "Patrick" ?'  I was a little taken aback and said, 'Actually, I prefer "Mr. Shannon".'  This impudent little snot then proceed to parrot what was apparently a company phone script about their services, in the course of which he called me 'Patrick' at least twice.  I finally managed to derail him and asked to speak to his boss.

After what felt like an interminable wait through a recording about the joys of car rental, a man came on the line and said, 'Patrick? This is Andrew.  Is there a problem?' Trying my best not to fly into a profanity-filled rage (I do that, sometimes), I explained that I didn't appreciate being called by my first name in a business transaction, particularly by people who don't know me and have never dealt with me before.  I said that I found it unprofessional, and that they should consider making a change.  He said - I swear this is true - 'You see, Patrick, we've found that being on a first-name basis with our clients adds to the  holistic experience of hiring a car.'  I told him, 'Well, enjoy the holistic experience of losing my business,' and hung up.

When the fuck did this sort of false chumminess and familiarity start creeping into business relationships?  It has, I'm sure, a lot to do with the way I was raised - we were taught that you never, EVER called someone by their first name until and unless you were invited to do so.

Does this piss anyone else off?

Boru