To find 'pet' names unprofessional in CS?

[BigFatBully]

Am I being unreasonable to find the usage of pet names by customer service staff unprofessional?

I am the customer and a stranger, I expect to be treated with respect. My name isn't sweetheart, it isn't love, honey, darling or sweetie.

I think pet names are fine for family members, spouses or CLOSE friends. Am I being unreasonable to think there is a time and a place for such familiarity?

You refer to these terms as being terms of familiarity, but in many areas of the country that's just not the case. Where I'm from they're used in day to day speech both with people we know and love, and with strangers. It shows friendliness and put the other person at ease. I also don't understand the offence at the word 'love', but then where I'm from it's not unusual to hear older men another older man love. It's not gender specific.

I would say from experience these patterns of speech are also found slightly more in working class and lower middle class areas. So maybe you're just not used to hearing it?

I don't need the busdriver or the person in Sainsbos to call me madam !

I'm surprised you were called a pet name by anyone in the Civil Service. The NHS is a different kettle of fish.

As for pal, be grateful it wasn't aimed at you. It could've been if you had your money in your hand but I bet you don't do that!

I get called all those names at my local shop. I don’t mind older women doing it. I feel a bit bemused if someone my age or younger does it.

The Asda delivery men call me “mate” and that doesn’t feel right.

In the North where I live everyone is love, pet, duck or some other endearment
There is so much in life to get upset about I can't be offended unless it is said in an offensive way

Ugh how dreadful. You should insist on these plebs calling you ‘your royal highness’ when they serve you. Some people need to learn their place.

I used to go to the Stoke/Staffordshire area for work and if someone didn't call me "me duck" I felt personally aggrieved. I adore a regional term of endearment. Usually love/lovely near me. Calling your husband Pal sounds quite Scottish/Glasweigan. I mean it's in a bar not at a solicitors.

Doesn’t bother me in the slightest but I agree it’s unprofessional. Everyone has training about these things nowadays don’t they? Some are worse than others - sweetheart 🤮 better not to say them IMO.

You sound ghastly

Come down and see us in Dorset, my lover! 🤣

I think it’s fine in informal settings like bars, trades etc

where there’s a more formal or serious vibe like teacher- parent, or doctor- patient I’d be a bit taken aback.

If CS are trying to be personable during a call, I am all for it. Better than them being miserable/rude.

I work in customer service myself and I never do this, partly because it's just not my style and partly because I've never heard my colleagues doing it so I suspect it's not allowed.

It doesn't bother me that much if someone says it to me, in fact I don't think it really registers unless it's someone from a different region who uses a word I don't hear very often. There used to be a shop assistant in my town who called everyone "bab" - I think she was from the West Midlands. That stuck in my mind because it was unfamiliar. If someone where I live now called me "m'duck" it would probably make me feel quite happy and secure because that's what they say where I come from.

Long story short, I think you will get people who like it, people who hate it and people who really don't mind, and you can't please everybody all the time.

🤣🤣🤣

It’s part of some call centre training to ask things like that, it annoys me too but I try to remember that they’ve been told to ask questions like this - I know it’s ridiculous but they might even get marked down if they don’t try and strike up a conversation. I was once told in training to ask about dogs if you heard a customers dog barking 😂

That is hilarious.

People like you make the world a little more miserable.

I am a (female) police officer and alternate between calling people Sir/Madam, mate, pal, lovely, my love...
I don't ever use sweetheart, may use darling to a younger girl but not often, really. I knew a very sweeter older officer who used to address everyone as 'darling'

I do this because in some situations you want to signal that you're there to help them and a pet name can ease them and convey that quickly; we often need to transmit numerous urgent meanings in a very short space of time.

If someone was trying to talk down to me I'd see what you were saying, but I think there is a time and a place for gentle non-gender-specific pet names.

How disgusting of ‘serving staff’ to refer to the pair of you as anything but Lord and Lady Uptheirownbumingtons.

It wasn’t rude, it wasn’t disrespectful, it was a colloquialism. It wasn’t unpleasant, it wasn’t patronising, it was a friendly comment.

I'm from the Midlands and most people use my love or mate- it really doesn't bother me at all , in fact I think it's nice

I would rather engage with a friendly person using informal language, than a starchy robot. People look for offence where there is none - honestly it’s a modern disease.

And for the record I would hate to be called ‘Madam’… I don’t run a brothel. See it works both ways doesn’t it my lovely?!

You sound delightful 🤣

Pal, love, darling are all fine. Especially in certain areas where it’s part of the dialect.

No you didn't

I strongly recommend you brush the chip off your shoulder. Pet.

Im not british but i think this is cute. As ive grown older fewer people are calling me “love” or “flower” and it’s a shame! Makes my day! (Maybe it feels a bit exotic to me and fun!)
sometimes young men will say “man” in their conversation with me, im not bothered, i feel they must be telaxed enough around me to use that so its good