It has been long taught that greetings such as darl, love, cobber and sweetheart – just to name a few, are no longer suitable to use when serving customers. Some may not agree with me, and they are welcome to their opinion. I believe it is insincere and sometimes, when used too much, is degrading to the customer being served.
I noticed recently a customer being served in a local take away shop, she was in her 50′s, and the staff member, he was easily in his early 20′s. When I heard the first ‘sweetheart’ I had a little chuckle, thinking to myself – how inappropriate for him to refer to a customer twice his age in that way.
I then went on to hear the staff member call that same customer ‘sweetheart’ a total of 5 times though out the one transaction. By that stage it really annoyed me, and I could see that she was not very receptive to it either.
‘Well what should they say then?’ …. Obviously in a more formal venue the staff would be addressing the customers with ‘sir’ or ‘madam’. In those venues that are not so formal – why address them at all, leave it off. Simple statements such as:
‘How can I help you?’
’Thank you, have a nice day’
I feel there is no need to add sweetheart to the end, especially more than once! I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic, please feel free to add a comment.
I am only now getting used to the seriously liberal use of the greeting ‘mate’ up here in Queensland. It is more usually used between guys, but I have heard it in some very formal contexts.
As for the ladies – I remember when I had my fist casual job, checkout-chicking at Woolies Liverpool. One day a lady (maybe in her 40s?) forgot her change, and I was stuck for what to call out. I called ‘excuse me, Miss’, and when she came back she actually said ‘Thank you for not calling me ma’am, that would make me feel so old!’.
Overall I would agree with you – terms of endearment assume a certain intimacy with the customer that they might not have been ready to grant you. On the other hand, it’s sometimes nice to get a Queensland-style ‘hows-it-goin-mate’ from someone in customer service, as it establishes a friendly, casual tone. But the patronising ‘sweetheart’…? No way darl!
Love your comment! Thank you Kellie.