Undue Familiarity

[vorlon13]

I use "Sir" a great deal. Particularly when I was more actively running and/or working in business. It's great, I'm terrible at remembering names (unless the 'sir' is really hot) and I've never had a problem with it. I have a relative in the military and I almost always use the term "sir, yes sir!" with him. It's funny every time.

Most women I'm able to use Miss, Ms or Missus unless directed to use something else. I've used mmm for mam on occasion.

[Brian37]

I have never liked being called "sir". Ironic because when I baby talk with my cat I call him sir.

[vorlon13]

It's actually been a better thing for me of late, with my health problems and side effects of the medications, my mental acuity is pretty variable these days. I even call my doctors 'sir', and the PA too. Beats awkwardly craning my neck throughout the visit to try and read the damn nametags.

I have called the nurse that pokes me for blood (a dreadfully common procedure for me these days) as Mrs. Vlad the Impaler. And then she threatens to get the sample from a groin artery, and we both laugh. I took her a plate of cookies recently, they were very well received.

[SteelCurtain]

My dad gets crazy when people here in the south call him "honey" or "sweetie" in retail/business situations.

That's just what these people do. I always thought, well can't you just understand the intent?

That's where I side with you, Boru. I don't understand why this kind of thing is a sticking point, but I do understand being annoyed if a customer service representative kept calling me Mike when I repeatedly asked them to call me by my last name, or even Michael, as I go by in professional situations.

[The Valkyrie]

If a customer or patient asks to be addressed a certain way, that's the way you address them.

My patients call me by first name, because that's how I prefer to be addressed.

[vorlon13]

And if they don't like it they get a throat biopsy with a piece of 1/2 inch conduit . . .

[Shell B]

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

I think every single person in this interaction is weird as fuck. Carry on.

[pocaracas]

I tend to agree with Shell & co.

In Portugal, the normal situation is for people to treat me as Mr. [first name]. And the ladies also get Miss [first name]. It's been like that since I was a kid, I guess.
Last names are so military... and college... and high school... damn, I have a too common first name and the last names were our way of distinguishing among ourselves.

Some businesses cater more to a younger audience and have learned to drop the Mr. completely. But those are rare, since, as soon as you start addressing people 25yo and up, the Mr. comes right back into the conversation.
Mr.... well... in Portuguese it's senhor, very similar to the Spanish señor, abbreviated to Sr.


Now that you know my background, I guess my opinion of that car rental service depends on their target audience. If they want young people around them, then they want people who identify by their names.
If they want anyone to do business with them, then they should just stick with the society norm and, when someone comes along with "special needs", they just need to cater to those. It's not difficult.
Personally, I don't care how businesses address me when talking in person, but the Mr. before my name does seem to add a touch of professionalism which is expected from certain types of services.

Also, car rental through the phone? I always do those online.

[brewer]

If a customer or patient asks to be addressed a certain way, that's the way you address them.

My patients call me by first name, because that's how I prefer to be addressed.

Yeah, tacking on "giver of pain and delight" each time would get old pretty fast.

[Whateverist]

In the future tell him your first name is "Mister" and that you'd appreciate it if they didn't make jokes about it.