Community Chat

[faeriemoon]

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@MyGirlsMom wrote:

"Hun" doesn't bother me as much as someone calling me by my first name after looking at my credit card.

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THIS!!!!!

[Marp]

Just in case you happen be visiting my town and are offended by "hon" please do not patronize our stores or restaurants unless wearing one of the tee shirts I am putting on sale that displays the message "Do not call me "hon", it is offensive". 

Of course wearing the tee will offend most of the townspeople which in and of itself will not enhance your visit.  You just may encounter a lot of "bless your heart" sentiments and they won't be the endearing "bless your heart" sentiments.

Hmmm, maybe y'all should just keep on driving.

[Meowingkitty]

I don't mind hun or sweetie but don't call me Mrs. So and so or ma'am. That just chaps my hide. 

[alicedee]

I tend to look at the intent of the other person before getting offended....if I can see they didn't mean anything negative  then I would be fine with being called "hon" or "dear" .   

I would never dream of reporting a person to their supervisor for something like that.  For me...  life is too short to go through it in such a cloud of negativity.  I save my energy for the big things.  

[SaRina]

I doubt there is a person alive who isn't irked by some form of language at one time or another because specific words or terms hold different connotations to different people. :-)

I do not particularly appreciate "hon" or "dear" from someone I don't know. Those are more endearing/intimate terms to my mind, so if I don't know you, please don't address me that way.

[Greeneyedlady21]

I completely agree that there are some men who use it in a condescending and demeaning way and that bothers me. I am your equal, not your hun or sweetie. Certainly in a workplace situation it's way out of line. And in other situations, well it's obvious what the intent is.

Anyone else, I don't care. In general I find the employees at Costco to be very nice and friendly so I would just see it as part for the course for that.

[cherry]

I don't go around trying to find something to be offended by.

[Oostende]

I read this entire thread and people have objected to the formal "Ma'am", the informal "Hon", being called by their first name, and being called by their personal titles, i.e. Mr. or Mrs. and their last name.

Could anyone tell me how they would like to be addressed by people in the service industry who don't know the names of every customer?

There doesn't seem to be any consensus.

As for me, call me what you wish.  I was brought up to appreciate formality when dealing with a stranger, so I would prefer sir or ma'am, and I would likely respond in kind.

The informal greetings make me smile.  Where no harm is meant, none is taken.  

[Yardlie]

I hear it once in awhile in the North, but I did my undergrad studies in the South, and it is just the way they talk down there...hun, sweetie, dear, and occasionally "sugar." They don't mean it as an insult. It seems strange to hear it in the North though.

[Rockycoast]

No, it doesn't bother me in the least. Much ado/complaining about Nothing! It is a form of pleasantry. I Don't mind when the clerks/service people say Dear or Sweetie either. Someone is being pleasant and there is a complaint. Go figure.