Quaint old custom or cringeworthy sycophantism?...

[biggs682]

just being polite ...... did you give him a tip

 

[Cubist]

Thing is I'm called "Sir" or "Boss" at work. There's an unwritten protocol that if you've ever called each other by first name then it's fine to continue to do so even when one of you has been promoted to the "Sir" ranks. What rankles a bit these days is where people who have never known you as a peer feel able to call you by your first name. I'm not up myself enough to do anything other than raise an internal eyebrow, but one student officer called me "Mate" the other day. He is now aware of the expectations of working in a hierarchical disciplined service!

Oh, and one of my PCSOs starts all her emails with "Hiya" and signs them "Kerry XXX". I think it's so beautifully naiive that I'm tempted to insist everyone does it.

 

[Canrider]

Seriously though, at Secondary School, all female teachers were called
'Miss'

The school I'm currently training at still does this, to the point where I'm 'Sir', and the two teachers I'm working with (both Mrs-es) refer to each other as 'Miss'. WTF?

 

[Canrider]

In Quebec it is not uncommon for 'mister' to be used in place of 'sir' and that just sounds wrong
We used to call school teachers sir but that was spelled cur.

'Monsieur' vs 'Sire' doesn't translate directly as 'Mister' and 'Sir' in idiomatic Quebecois, more like 'Sir' and 'M'lord'.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

just being polite ...... did you give him a tip

Yep - don't say "Sir" so often

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Yep - don't say "Sir" so often

I wonder, if you were buying a round table, would it be ok for the shop assistant to use 'Sir' as many times as in the original post?


I'll get my coat.

 

[Hill Wimp]

I work in a disciplined service and have done for 25 years. I find it hard at work to call my bosses anything other than Boss or Guv ( it's a Southern thing) and in really top brass company it's Sir or Ma'am even though I know these people well socially. It's a mark of respect in company.
I may call them all the names under the sun outside work but at work and in company its professional all the way.

However I am one of a dying breed its a shame to say.

And if somebody calls me luv at work one more time.......

 

[ufkacbln]

I work with many older patients, and calling them Sir (or Madam) shows respect and dignity

Most will then turn round and say "Call me Fred" or similar.

Some people still do not like the modern assumption that you are on first name terms immediately, Sir is a simple polite and short way of not offending anyone

 

[Globalti]

I walked into a self-storage place this week on a vain quest for some brown wrapping paper and the Indian lady in the office leapt to her feet and kept addressing me as "Sir", which I actually found quite disconcerting. I don't mind it from porters and bell-boys in hotels; I guess it was her over-use of the word and slightly shocked stare that worried me. Perhaps nobody ever walks into her office wearing a suit? Maybe she mistook me for somebody famous?

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I wonder, if you were buying a round table, would it be ok for the shop assistant to use 'Sir' as many times as in the original post?


I'll get my coat.

Sorry MDB - afraid you lost me on that one!

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I work at the group HQ of a FTSE 100 company and frequently pass the time of day "good morning Bob" or Guy or Fred or whatever as we tend to use first names and that's executive directors and senior managers from any one of our 12 main operational companies.
Thankfully I work in a modern company.

 

[Rob3rt]

I called today to collect a carpet I had purchased at the weekend.
A guy who looked like the manager, maybe in his early 60's and almost as round as he was tall then started by saying " thank you, Sir,just follow me Sir, and I'll get your carpet for you ,Sir".
Then asked me where my car was and asked me if could kindly drive it to the rear door for him please,
All interspersed with and ending in "Sir"
At least 10 further "Sir"'s later I left actually feeling quite sick as I felt it was way over the top if not slightly sleazy.

Was this way over the top or Is this just me?

Next time, go in dressed as a Knight with a sword and see how they react then!

 

[ColinJ]

Next time, go in dressed as a Knight with a sword and see how they react then!

Then you would probably get called 'mate' or 'pal'!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I wonder, if you were buying a round table, would it be ok for the shop assistant to use 'Sir' as many times as in the original post?

I'll get my coat.

Sorry MDB - afraid you lost me on that one!

Next time, go in dressed as a Knight with a sword and see how they react then!

Buying a round table........ Oh, forget it!

 

[ArDee]

I had an extended and fraught conversation with one of BT's 'support' people in India, largely about the lack of support I was receiving...I held out for about 10 minutes before I cracked: "Listen no offense but...I've no doubt you've been sent on some goddawful training course which has taught you to do this in the mistaken belief that it comes across as friendly, but would you mind not calling me 'dear' every 30 seconds? It's really getting on my tit. You might want to mention to a supervisor that 'dear' is not a word you'd use over here to someone you don't know, and certainly not a customer." I don't much like 'sir', but 'dear'? Grrrrr.

I have always lived in the Home Counties and never I've been called dear down here. But, Master ArDee went to the University of Sheffield, when visiting him in Sheffield, I've often been called dear or love in shops, restaurants and pubs. Perhaps it’s an area of country thing.