Does anyone still call their boss Mr or Mrs?
Discussion
Personally I know nobody that does, though I'm sure it must still happen but I have no idea in what sector/industries?
Of course I don't literally mean Mr/Mrs but the thread title would have got a bit too long trying to think of every title beyond first name terms
Let's not include obvious things like armed forces and the police.
Of course I don't literally mean Mr/Mrs but the thread title would have got a bit too long trying to think of every title beyond first name terms
Let's not include obvious things like armed forces and the police.
Until a few years ago I worked for a family firm, 4 people all same last name.
Talking one to one you used first name, in general office or public it was Mr Andrew or Mr Charles.
Off topic - never work for a family firm, all up themselves and are not interested in anyone else apart from themselves.
There is an expression for family firms in Yorkshire Clogs to Clogs in 3 generations, true in this case.
Talking one to one you used first name, in general office or public it was Mr Andrew or Mr Charles.
Off topic - never work for a family firm, all up themselves and are not interested in anyone else apart from themselves.
There is an expression for family firms in Yorkshire Clogs to Clogs in 3 generations, true in this case.
On my first day of work out of uni I remember being genuinely shocked that people didn't refer to our boss as Sir or Mr Davies.
I'd spent my whole formative years determined that my only conceivable career paths were the RAF or police and when everything went to s
t and I ended up in IT I found it a bit of a culture shock.
I also remember asking permission to go on my lunch break. I took the reaction from Mr Davies to mean that I shouldn't ask that on Day 2.
I'd spent my whole formative years determined that my only conceivable career paths were the RAF or police and when everything went to s
t and I ended up in IT I found it a bit of a culture shock. I also remember asking permission to go on my lunch break. I took the reaction from Mr Davies to mean that I shouldn't ask that on Day 2.
Ran a store in the late 90's and I'll call myself Bill Smith for the narrative. Area Managers refer to them by first name Regional Managers refer to them by surname, now I'd come from a multinational where the CEO and chairman were addressed by their first names so I wasn't going to start calling somebody Mr or Mrs....on the day the RM visited. Please to meet you Bill....oh I thought it was a wind up....Pleased to meet you too Mary...I replied.......err Mrs Needham if you don't mind....Bill. So Bill how's it going in the new store, said Mrs Needham. Mr Smith if you don't mind Mary....we came to an understanding after that.
Fluid said:
Sir or Ma'am where I work.
Same here - and I learned long ago to greet anyone I meet for the first time with the same title - that way even if I get it wrong the worst that happens is that a stranger is flattered.It encroached into my non work life though so staff at Waitrose or Barclay's call centre also are referred to as Sir or Ma'am but I rationalised it that I simply dont have to think of names or put any effort into interactions if I kept it that way so I'm happy to switch my brain off and just go with it...
The disadvantage of using first names at work was that patients would pick up on it. Most of the time that didn't really matter, but I really didn't like it when our more challenging patients did it, especially the ones who thought knowing my name entitled them to free loans of pain killers or sleeping tablets to "tide them over"
I call my boss "Bwana". He thinks it's a friendly nickname, because he is stupid as fk.
It just means "Boss" in Swahili.
Sometimes I call him "Memsahib" (pronounced "Memsaab") and he is equally unknowing that I am talking to him as I would do a female boss.
And he is as white as the driven snow. So am I.
k.It just means "Boss" in Swahili.
Sometimes I call him "Memsahib" (pronounced "Memsaab") and he is equally unknowing that I am talking to him as I would do a female boss.
And he is as white as the driven snow. So am I.
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