Sweetie?!? Honey?!? Who da heck are ya?!?
By rebelann1949
@rebelann (117251)
El Paso, Texas
October 9, 2016 8:46am CST
I just get the biggest laugh outta dingbats and bozos in call centers who address a complete stranger like that, somebody iz gonna get insulted and they will yell at em 
Who trains those stupid fools?
Some idiot who answered the Amazon customer service line addressed me as "honey" and honestly I should have put him in his proper place, as customer service you DO NOT address anyone who calls as either "honey" or "sweetie" it is an insult. Does that bug you too?
Now I know that English is hard to learn and being a military brat I also know that it is very hard to understand someone who has a heavy accent, is this also true when a different language is involved?
I wish call centers had language options so that when I call I can opt for English and get someone who isn't hard to understand or has a hard time understanding me. What about you?6 people like this
8 responses
@DaddyEvil (174589)
• United States
8 Nov 17
I have actually gotten pretty good at understanding the people who staff the call centers in India. I speak with Hora_fugit and Raja on occasion, but talking with them helps me understand what other Indians are saying. Even so, if/when I reach someone I can't understand I just hang up and call their number back. I always get a different person and sometimes I even get someone in a different country (Not that they are any easier to understand, but sometimes they are.)
I have been called honey and dear (usually when a woman is talking to me, but once it was a man who called me dear) by representatives in the call centers. It doesn't bother me.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (117251)
• El Paso, Texas
8 Nov 17
I was taught phone etiquette back in the early 1970s by my first boss. He instructed us to always address the caller as Mr., Mrs. or Miss using their surnames. To me it is extremely unprofessional to address anyone who calls as sweetie, dear, honey or hey kid.
Mind you, this does not include calls between friends or such.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174589)
• United States
10 Nov 17
@rebelann What do you do when the person that answers the phone only gives you a first name, like the ones who answer the phones at the call centers? They only give "their" first names. (You can't tell me a person in India actually named their child Joe or Janice. I won't believe you. What they give is whatever they want to be called today, I believe.)
1 person likes this
@rebelann (117251)
• El Paso, Texas
10 Nov 17
It really doesn't bother me if they want to be called Sheet or something @DaddyEvil it's how they address me, I do not work with them and as a client I deserve to be addressed properly.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502622)
• Italy
9 Oct 16
Do not mention language problems. All the call centers here in Switzerland have German speaking employees. Some of them are supposed to speak Italian (for the Italian part of Switzerland), others French. Well, most of the time we end up talking in English because it's the only way to understand each other... at least just a bit.
1 person likes this
@Letranknight2015 (52665)
• Philippines
9 Oct 16
Some one's been desperate in the floor or they just missed or forgot their at work that they said that on the phone.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
10 Oct 16
thankfully i aint ne'er run 'nto such. i kind'a get irritated myself when asked if'n i want english....
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
7 Nov 17
I agree that they have people that do not understand or even listen to what we are saying. I had to make a call overseas once and this person I talked to did not listen and did not care. It was like she keeping me on the line for the call to be more expensive for me. She finally did what I asked of her in the end. I was worried that she would screw me and I would have to make another call. She did do the right thing and I did not have to make another call about it.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (117251)
• El Paso, Texas
7 Nov 17
I'm glad your dilemma was resolved. I hope you were not addressed as "honey" or "sweetie"
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
8 Nov 17
@rebelann
rebelann, no I was not called sweetie or honey. Yes, I am glad that was resolved. Now, I wish the cable company would quit calling me. I just hang up now when I hear where they are from. They do not call me sweetie or honey but ask how I am and I know they do not care.
@ms1864 (6882)
• Bangalore, India
9 Oct 16
I would not allow them to address me like that....i would mention it and make them rethink the way they address me. Plus i would also write to the Feedback center.
Though this has never happened to me...they always address me as Miss or Ma'am.
1 person likes this
but now you know for next time right?
If they sound Indian...try to use a firmer voice. Some people here would make the assumption that such language is normal for the West side of our world.
