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3rd Trimester
Pennylane824
member
Would this bother you?
Pennylane824
member
As part of our move at work we need to order new letterhead, envelopes and business cards. Previously the executive assitant always did this but since they have me in Marketing the responsibility is now mine.
So, our rep from the company we work with called me yesterday to discuss the changes and kept calling me dear. I've never met him before and he sounded fairly young and it just really rubbed me the wrong way. He said the best way to learn the ordering process was to come over to the office and walk me through it (it's an online system).
He came into the office today (was 20 minutes late) and called me dear again twice. I'm sure it's probably harmless, but it is so unprofessional and a term of endearment that you should only use if you are sleeping with the person or REALLY close with them.
I almost said something, but bit my tongue.
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Re: Would this bother you?
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
Ugh, I hate when people use "Dear" in a professional situation. I probably would have said something, I tend to have a hard time holding back lately.
On a side note, I talked with a business type relationship last week and he kept saying..."Hey Girlfriend."
He was mid 40's married with children.
It would bother me and I probably would have told him that politely.
you are in TX? term of endearment. clients call me little nicknames all the time - sugar, sweet pea, etc. it used to bother me, but now i don't even really notice.
i do have the son of a big client that calls me baby and darlin' and i want to throatpunch him. everyone has that one thing that is a pet peeve, i guess.
of course, if it were a vendor, i probably would say something.
Patronizing is the perfect way to describe it!
This.
I can't stand it when a woman calls me dear.. much less a guy. I think if it continues you should tell him he needs to stop, that it makes you uncomfortable.
It's a crappy sales techinique. I was in sales for years and never called anyone by anything other than their name. I'm not taking it personally at all. I didn't say anything, but it does bother me and if I do work with him a lot moving forward and he continues to say it I will eventually politely let him know that I don't find it appropriate. Like I said, he probably had no mal-intentions, but it's still not right.... even if I am in the South.
Sweetheart is even worse!
That's the thing though, it doesn't matter what his intentions are. If I were a guy Director of Marketing I highly doubt he would have called me dear. It's just not something I want to be called in a professional environment by anyone. I don't find it to be appropriate. I also don't think its such a huge deal that I would make him feel bad about it, but it still shouldn't be said.