First Name or Surname?
By Victoria7
@Victoria7 (1240)
Spain
September 6, 2006 2:27pm CST
I was in the bank today & instead of calling me Miss (then my last name) they called me Victoria. I´d never been in that branch before. Do you mind if strangers, especially in formal surroundings, use your first name like that? Or have things changed so much that only teachers get to be addressed as Mr, Mrs or Miss (Surname)? I prefer the formal address first but is that just old-fashioned now? I think a lot of manners seem to be dying a death which is sad. (My bank might be different, over here in the Canaries the bank staff wear jeans & flip flops instead of suits, again which I don´t think gives me a feeling of confidence in their abilities!!)
1 person likes this
18 responses
@srinathakarapu (3093)
• India
18 Oct 06
i prefer forst name coz most of 'em cant pronounce my lastname
@JessicaHaggart (65)
• United States
31 Oct 06
I think strangers should use your surname out of respect.
@Victoria7 (1240)
• Spain
31 Oct 06
So do I. Until you say "no it´s okay, you can call me (first name)" - it´s just manners.
@KrishnaVeera (4133)
• India
4 Oct 06
I will never mind if some body were calling me as a krishna, and some body were calling krish and some of group peoples are calling me as a sir or krishna murthy full name but i can accept all of these.
@Victoria7 (1240)
• Spain
4 Oct 06
You don´t get paid extra for posting the same thing three times you know LOL!
@skittlez353 (1402)
• United States
4 Oct 06
I worked at a nice grocery store, as a cashier, and they said when we recieve peoples credit cards or checks, to acknowledge their names and call em by ms/mr/mrs whatever. I think it sounds more appropriate for someone that doesn`t know you.
@photomom (38)
• United States
4 Oct 06
The idea behind calling people by their first name is to make you feel as though you are being taken care of by a friend not a business. They are simply just trying to make things more personable not rude or lacking manners. People have more loyalties to friends than to businesses. Therefore they want you to consider them friends.
@ashish_answer (784)
• India
16 Oct 06
Yes, you are right. Manners seems to be dying. It would have been great if your last name is used to address you.
@tentwo67 (3382)
• United States
16 Oct 06
In the Southern United States where I live, that's fairly common. I used to dislike it, but I finally accepted it as (usually) an indication of respect. I've also found that some people tend to use it as a middle ground between the formal Ms. (surname), and the familiar of the first name.
@sirensanssmile (3764)
• Netherlands
31 Oct 06
I prefer they call me miss with my first name. They do that in the southern states in america and I find it very charming. I hate it when people refer to me with my last name because I don't like strangers knowing this. (When they say it outloud any in earshot can hear it.)
@momto2 (471)
• United States
19 Nov 06
Wow, flip flops and jeans? Are you sure they aren't bank robbers just putting in a day's work? lol, that's strange. Anyway, I appreciate being called Mrs. (and then my last name). However, when I get telemarketing calls, it seems like they're trying to butter me up by calling me Mrs. At my bank they really don't even address me with a name, they just say thank you. Ocassionally when I go through the drive thru they will say, "Thank you Tricia". I dunno, I guess it doesn't bother me, but I'm still young yet, maybe as I grow and mature it will bother me a little more.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
14 Sep 06
Doesn't bother me much. I would prefer my first name to "Ma'am" anyday. Most places I go they call me by my first name. I don't think the quality of their skills is connected to how they dress or what they call me by.
@chalmette69 (3007)
• United States
14 Sep 06
I am like you I prefer Miss or Mrs because if you don't know them you should at least ask may I call you by your name.
@Trixy99 (194)
• Canada
30 Sep 06
A lot has changed in the past 40 or so years. Nowadays it seems acceptable to most people to use your first name in any situation. My mom gets very angry at this. She thinks we should be addressed in a formal way with strangers and people we have business with.
