Stop calling your female employees “Sweetie” and “Hun”… especially in front of clients. You might think it’s friendly but it’s perceived by everyone as condescending. It’s unprofessional and extremely annoying. How is it that this hasn’t stopped after all of us filed a complaint to your superiors, and three have asked you to stop in person? —Employee
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2010.
if you aren’t being called these cute little things, why worry. if you are, then take a fucking chill pill and if the girls don’t want it, they will say. don’t be anyone, but your own savior.
Oh, fer Christ’s Sake – this is a no-brainer. Look at him square in the eye and say, ‘sure thing, Sugarballs.’ Give as good as you get or continue to have yourself belittled.
I don’t mind people calling me things like that,
except when they call me “hun.” Sweetie, dear,
etc. I don’t mind.
At work, this can have a real “eww” factor, depending on the situation and the people involved.
In the wrong context, it can feel demoralizing, like you are being treated like a child or worse.
The equivalent is when women do something to men that men feel is emasculating.
Tell. Them. A lot of guys think they are being “sweet” when they do it. It disgusts me and makes me feel gross — so I tell them. It ranks the same as if your employer was calling you something derogatory like “ass-hat”.If you don’t like it — tell them to stop. Problem solved.
lol, did tresorla read the entire bitch?
“Hunnie” and “Sweetie” are what gay guys use. Are you sure he’s straight?
I’ve been called hun and sweetie by some very hetero guys who have an outdated notion that this is acceptable. They do it because they think it’s cute without realizing that those terms should be reserved for family members. Outside that context the terms are condescending and not well tolerated. Unless uttered by gay guys.
tresorla, your response to this problem reminds me of a dear male friend who had hun/sweetie habit. I had been trying to get him to understand why it was wrong. One day, while shopping together, he called the deli counter employee sweetie and did she let him have it. I laughed and laughed. I fully sympathize with the OP. It’s even worse to have it coming from your boss.
fizz I read the whole bitch but have a feeling the guy is still not getting the message due to the bitch being posted in the first place. As TTFN said, you gotta throw that shit right back in their face or else they won’t believe that you’re serious.
i have a bad habit of calling people things like dollface, babe, darlin… my employees don’t care but strangers well…not so much sometimes
Better than being called skank, bitch, @unt, shit for brains, etc. Both men and women call others, dear, sweetie, hon, or some other “cute” word and a lot of people grew up hearing these honorifics. Unless the person is using these words to sexually harrass you, then who gives a flying fuck. Get over yourself.
It is called sexual harassment, you asked him to stop and he didn’t, take a baseball bat, and smash his car in. It is the only way.
A bit of a slightly related tangent…
I made the mistake of calling one particular customer “dear” one day; she gave me a death glare and growled “why do you call people that?” before huffing away.
…Maybe because it’s been the norm. at everywhere I’ve ever worked? Maybe because I grew up hearing it all of my life? Maybe I don’t see it as this awful, offensive thing? Maybe it has nothing to do with you at all?
…Yeaaah. Some people need to get over themselves, and stop taking every little thing so damn personally. I was not saying it to be condescending, and I’m pretty sure that I had no reason to sexually harass her.
What terrible acts shall we frown upon next? We wouldn’t want to offend anyone, don’tcha know!
Shoot. me. now.
whatever you do, males and females, is “don’t say “hi” to anyone”.
Waitresses say that shit to me all the time and they’re looking for a tip!!
OceanVictim I would say women use these names much more then men. And find them more offensive when they’re directed toward themselves.
OP any woman who freaks about being called hun or dear…calll her BITCH, WITCH or Fuck Face & see what she thinks of that .
Or my personal favorite Lady, said like it has a bad smell ! like, ” Yeah…Lady” (make sure you look down your nose) !
Tell her when she’s done freaking, you tried to be nice ,but that was unacceptable.
And as has been mentioned I have noticed many more women doing it then men…& I take it as being better than saying ‘hey you’ when they don’t or can’t remember your name.