Once a month I meet three of my friends for breakfast at a restaurant in Old Town where we discuss everything from national affairs to personal matters. We like the restaurant. We like the food. But at least one of us gets noticeably irritated when the young waitresses almost invariably greet us with 'would you like coffee dear?' or words to that effect. Personally I am more amused by my friend's reaction than I am disturbed by the terms of address, but I get her point. I doubt that the well-meaning server addresses her younger customers that way and it does come across as a mite condescending.
I have eaten in many small rural cafes where the long-serving, middle-aged waitress calls everyone 'Dear' or 'Hon' and I have considered it a quaint, even amusing, custom - just like in the movies. But somehow when a twenty something waitress applies it to me or my seventy something friends it creates an entirely different impression,
I’d love to think of a humorous response to this situation. Suggestions?
ReplyDeleteOk
DeleteMy pet peeve!
ReplyDeleteHumm is it any better than you guys? I Love the South's "Yall" but that feels like I'm stealing someone else's thunder. Maybe just order water before she has a chance to ask.
ReplyDeleteGiving people the benefit of the doubt, I believe wait-people are well-meaning and simply have not considered the effect of their words; the ability to do so comes more clearly with maturity. My grievance is when I go into a store and am ignored by clerks because I am a little old lady. It must be that; they pay attention to the other, younger customers.
ReplyDelete