Do you want customer service people to use your first name?

[Deleted]

It doesn't bother to be called by my first name.
What I do take exception to is servers calling a group of people, some or all women..."you guys".

"Can I get  you guys another round?"  "How are you guys doing?".

[milee]

Just now I was at the pharmacy and told them I was picking up a prescription for "Cat".  They asked me to spell the last name. 

[jeep108]

No one can pronounce my last name... Doesn't matter what they call me as long as they get my order right.

[Abby Normal]

For me it depends on the situation.  If they are doing it simply as a courtesy - you know hand my card back and say "Have a nice day Agile" or " Thanks Agile" it doesnt really bother me.  If a sales person asks at the beginning of a transaction to establish a bond- it pisses me off.  When DH and I go furniture shopping he can tell whether I'm willing to buy in the store by what name I give them.  Last time he nearly busted up when I told the sales guy my name was Lily and I taught kindergarten.

[greeniis10]

Yeah, the overly-used, purposeful mention of my name (either first or last) just to get on "good terms" annoys me.  I'll mention it.  "Your repetition of my name won't affect how much money I spend.  This is what I'm here to do, look at, talk about, etc."

Overall, it's not that big of a deal because I'm just used to it.  I dislike my first name, but my dad named me so I'd never change it.  Both my maiden name and first married names were unheard of around here, unpronouncable and unspellable.  I spent the first 30 years of my life spelling my name(s).

I have bigger things about customer service, or lack thereof, that bother me much more than name usage.

[Deleted]

Oct 15, 2013 8:14:42 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I can only recall being irritated about someone calling me by my first name once. It was at a dentist's office and the lady at the desk kept calling me by my first name. I wanted to tell her "Lady, we aren't friends. It's Ms. Lastname for you."

A lot of people seem to look at my first name and decide it's just easier to go with the more recognizable last name anyway. Or they try to pronounce my first name and ask if they said it correctly. I guess out of curiosity.

I'm from the South, and I was taught that it's rude to use people's first name unless they ask you to, unless it's a social setting and that person was introduced to you by first name only. For children, it's Ms./Mr. Lastname when they're addressing adults. Or for adults they know well, they're often allowed to use Ms/Mr Firstname. Ma'am and Sir isn't meant as an insult, it's intended to be respectful. I'm over 40 and I still use ma'am and sir. My coworkers in their early 20's say "ma'am" to me and call me Ms. Firstname, and it doesn't make me feel old or insulted even though I know they do it because they were taught to respect their elders and they consider me an "elder" lol. I usually tell them they don't have to do all that, but it's a hard habit for us Southerners to break.

if my coworkers ever referred to me like that, I would have a cow.  We're equals, regardless of whether or not I am their lead or they're my lead.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 18, 2013 13:45:12 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

For me it depends on the situation.  If they are doing it simply as a courtesy - you know hand my card back and say "Have a nice day Agile" or " Thanks Agile" it doesnt really bother me.  If a sales person asks at the beginning of a transaction to establish a bond- it pisses me off.  When DH and I go furniture shopping he can tell whether I'm willing to buy in the store by what name I give them.  Last time he nearly busted up when I told the sales guy my name was Lily and I taught kindergarten.

So, he didn't introduce himself as Marshall? 

[Abby Normal]

Oct 18, 2013 14:46:58 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Oct 18, 2013 13:45:12 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

For me it depends on the situation.  If they are doing it simply as a courtesy - you know hand my card back and say "Have a nice day Agile" or " Thanks Agile" it doesnt really bother me.  If a sales person asks at the beginning of a transaction to establish a bond- it pisses me off.  When DH and I go furniture shopping he can tell whether I'm willing to buy in the store by what name I give them.  Last time he nearly busted up when I told the sales guy my name was Lily and I taught kindergarten.

So, he didn't introduce himself as Marshall? 

No but he laughed every time the guy said Lily.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 18, 2013 14:55:00 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

Oct 18, 2013 14:46:58 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

So, he didn't introduce himself as Marshall? 

No but he laughed every time the guy said Lily.

Sales guy never figured it out? Or was too scared to say anything? lol 

[Abby Normal]

No, he was really annoying too. Which just made it funnier.  As we left, DH starting quietly singing " Happy Happy Lily day".

[Chocolate Lover]

  Next time you just want to look, take a Barney too.

[Deleted]

 If a service rep is helpful and efficient, then they've done their job. 
 I don't treat them as "underlings", and I don't expect them to address me or treat me as the High Lord Mucketymuck.