I'm surprised by how many of you prefer strangers to call you Mr./Mrs./Ms. _____. Maybe it's because I'm still fairly young (27), but I can't imagine anyone calling me that. That's my mother! Actually, my mother always goes by her first name, more like my grandmother. I guess I live in a fairly casual part of the country, because pretty much everyone, in almost every type of setting, goes only by first name, except for school teachers and other really specific professions. Yeah, everyone introduces themselves by first name, even in my rather hierarchical work environment. Now the REAL question is, what would I introduce myself as if I met up with some of you trekkies in real life? Honestly I think I would introduce myself as Spot's Meow.
That really depends on who it is. I know some people from here via facebook, so I do know their actual names. Maybe it would just be easiest to wear a nametag saying "Emher" though
Well, I would have come back with a witty and thoughtful assessment of why this attitude is a type of pure supposition that actually limits people's ability to learn from each other, but I see Locutus has already done it for me.
I must say, I am happy I do not live around some of you folks. Respect and manners should be the first option, yet I see that is not true with many posters. If I met you IRL, I would offer you respect and treat you with good manners... whether I receive the same is up to you.
^Not one person here has suggested that one do otherwise...methinks you misunderstand the points people have attempted to make.
^ Yep. My local CVS does it too. You can tell the pharmacy techs and cashiers feel awkward about it sometimes when dealing with a new customer, but they're always polite anyway. So, just to clarify, your idea of respect and manners is to say you wouldn't want to live around us, tell us we lack respect and manners, completely ignore what we actually said, then post a gross misrepresentation of what we allegedly said that's clearly based off the preconceptions you had built up in your head rather than anything mentioned in the thread? If that's your idea of respect and manners then you're right, I'm glad we don't have it, because it's incredibly rude, dismissive, and condescending. It's about in line with Carcazoid's definition and display of "manners" back on the first page. What on Earth were you reading instead of our posts that gave you the impression that anyone was disagreeing with this? I said a variation on the bolded part myself three times, and others said the same as well. It's not like I was exactly being subtle with my point, since I kept repeating it like a mantra: So, maybe you should take another run at this one, and actually listen to what people are saying this time instead of just making assumptions, which I think I might have mentioned before as well.
Yep, it's one of the corporate metrics. One of the questions on the periodic receipt surveys is whether or not you were addressed by name. If you indicate you were not, that's a point off for the pharmacy on the survey score. (And for anyone who might be curious: Anything less than a 5 for a given question is counted as a 0.)
I used to go to this restaurant for take out about once a week, and the guy at the counter would always call me by my first name multiple times per visit: "Hi Dave", "What can I get you Dave", "That'll be $7.50 Dave", "Here's your food Dave", "Have a good day, Dave". I always paid cash, but since I was at work I had my work ID clipped to my belt loop and he saw it once and just capitalized on it. Extremely annoying.
What was he, Hal from 2001? That does sound annoying. As for the whole addressing your elders by Mr or Mrs., for me it depends on the circumstance. If you're talking to a teacher or professor, than that is acceptable, but anyone else I might say sir or just call them by their first name.
Oh please, nobody has treated you with disrespect in this thread, let alone real life. I certainly haven't argued that it is acceptable to treat anybody disrespectfully. In fact it seems the only person in this exchange who has argued that it is acceptable for there to be disparity in the level of respect you automatically accord others, is you. I treat everybody I meet with the same level of politeness, regardless of their age.
Back to creepy encounters with staff in general: Where I come from, it is not usual to tip in cafes, restaurants etc. People may leave some small change, but generally noone expects them to. Once, many years ago, me and my boyfriend (both in our early 20s) were having coffee at a cafe. After we are done, the waiter comes with our change, leaves it on the table and just hovers there over our heads instead of leaving so we can pick up the change and leave. After some akward seconds, he asks my boyfriend: "You won't leave me a tip?" !!! My boyfriend said something along the lines of "even if I was, I am not leaving a tip now", we got our change and left. We never saw him at the cafe again, even though that place keeps the same waiters for years.
^That is awkward. Even if you were living somewhere where tipping was customary, your server shouldn't just wait there for you to give it to him.