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Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,733
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.


@Midmod wrote:
""So let me make it clear: "endearments" are NOT appropriate in the workplace. Unless you're retiring and everyone is saying how wonderful you are.""


My casual female coworkers call either other hon, sug, sweetheart, babygirl. But I live in the deep south and we use those terms as endearments.

@Midmod, I think that it might be different depending upon region and the type of employment.

 

I can say with a good amount of confidence that if someone called my daughter (who is the in-house attorney for a large aerospace outfit in SoCal) any such "endearments," she would probably let it go the first time. The second time she would probably very nicely ask the person to call her by her name. I don't want to think about a third time. :-)


~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,733
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.


@Mom2Dogs wrote:

I don't like it.  I do not want to be called, honey, hon, sweetie, etc by anyone except my husband. 


I'm with you, @Mom2Dogs, except that neither my husband nor I are fond of them. :-)


~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,154
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.

This whole topic and the idea of regional differences made me recall an incident where I worked once.  I was in I.T.; we had a new woman join the team as a quality assurance tester.

 

To my knowledge she wasn't from the south, but she had a habit of addressing everyone as "Mr" or "Miss", followed by the first name.  It grated on just about everyone's nerves in our New England office.

 

One day she was passing me on a walk and said "And how is Miss (first name) today?"  I told her that I hadn't been called Miss in years and, in fact, never and that just my first name would do.

 

She never called me "Miss" again and everyone wanted to know how I got her to stop.  I simply said "I asked her not to."  Sometimes people don't mean to offend.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,317
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.

@suzyQ3 ....My husband and I don't call each other pet names either.  Those words donot roll off my tongue easily like it does for some people!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,733
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.


@Venezia wrote:

This whole topic and the idea of regional differences made me recall an incident where I worked once.  I was in I.T.; we had a new woman join the team as a quality assurance tester.

 

To my knowledge she wasn't from the south, but she had a habit of addressing everyone as "Mr" or "Miss", followed by the first name.  It grated on just about everyone's nerves in our New England office.

 

One day she was passing me on a walk and said "And how is Miss (first name) today?"  I told her that I hadn't been called Miss in years and, in fact, never and that just my first name would do.

 

She never called me "Miss" again and everyone wanted to know how I got her to stop.  I simply said "I asked her not to."  Sometimes people don't mean to offend.


I totally agree, and especially with the use of those words, @Venezia I've never thought of them in the same vein as the more condescending names.


~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,015
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.

I suppose most workplaces that may be true about it being unprofessional to use terms of endearment.  But here in my office I am the only "non-blood"  related person and I have been here for decades.  Plus we all went to high school together.  There have been terms of endearment spoken by all to all.  Even by the family members who are not part of our firm on a daily basis.  In some offices family is really family, blood or not. 

We now have a few of the next generation coming to work in our office and some were not even born or conceived yet when I began here.  So yes they are still my "sweeties."

Plus in Texas we do like to be friendly.

"Live frugally, but love extravagantly."
Super Contributor
Posts: 405
Registered: ‎07-17-2020

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.

That's not a bad thing! Be glad he said something nice! In today's world I would take baby over a lot of things! 

 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,293
Registered: ‎03-21-2010

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.

There's a young woman who works the courtesy desk at a local big box store who calls probably everyone, including me "sweetie", "honey", "dear", etc.  Anytime I have dealings with her I call her the same names.  I think she gets the message since I don't have a smile on my face.  Sadly, it happens the next time when I have to deal with her.   

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,261
Registered: ‎06-02-2014

Re: Getting Called Baby By Strangers.

I have never been called Baby, and I think I might laugh

 

if someone called me that.  This past week, a young

 

man wondering if I was in line asked,

 

"Are you in line, sweetie?"

 

It was a little familiar, but I think he was just trying to me

 

nice.  Being called "Miss" doesn't bother me either.

 

It's obvious I'm WAY over the hill, but it makes me think

 

I'm young again, for only a split second.  Haha

 

My husband has been called "boss", and it's like water off

 

a duck's back to him.  In context, it'll be a simple thank

 

you for something, and a few times young men have

 

anwered, "No problem, boss".   Weird.