Poll: Do you say sir and ma'am?

[bubbadu]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Only when dealing with customers on the phone.

Oh, cops too.



Viper GTS

I use them quite often when dealing with rude customers @ Staples

-Bubbadu

 

[GhettoFob]

I prefer saying "naw dawg"

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: BowlingNut
as a 18 year old boy raised from the "good 'ole boy" south - i always say ma'am an sir when speaking to elders and strangers. its just disrespectful not to.

Same here, and the Army reinforced it even more.

Tip of the day: Don't call an NCO sir or ma'am, you'll get an a$$ chewing.

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: BowlingNut
as a 18 year old boy raised from the "good 'ole boy" south - i always say ma'am an sir when speaking to elders and strangers. its just disrespectful not to.

Maybe elders (eg your boss) - but strangers? Bah. You earn my respect before you get any. Thankfully I'm old enough that 90% of them don't expect it any longer.

And god help you if you try to smack me or my little brother for "giving you lip" - because this "young whippersnapper" has no qualms about kicking your geriatric ass clear out of your Depends.

- M4H

Damn.....why odes the internet bring such children out with such bravado......everyone on the net can kick everyone's butt.....only IRL most turn out to be just a geek with a keyboard and can talk trash, such as this one child.

 

[Deeko]

Bosses/authority figures. Sometimes customers.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Army Brat here so sir and ma'am are oft used. I think it's polite/respectful to do so to someone you don't know or a superior. I mean, if yer at the store and you need help w/something do you walk the counter and go "hey boy" to get the employees attention?


Lethal

 

[eakers]

only to police and security guards.

and like judges if i ever have to go to court.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
Damn.....why odes the internet bring such children out with such bravado......everyone on the net can kick everyone's butt.....only IRL most turn out to be just a geek with a keyboard and can talk trash, such as this one child.

/smacks C'DR

Call me Sir, you uppity oaf. Show some respect.

- M4H

 

[toph99]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Only when dealing with customers on the phone.

Oh, cops too.



Viper GTS

and friend's parents. especially female friend's parents

 

[Supermercado]

Just in a work environment. But I could definitely see it being used to address a female friend's parents that I were to meet

 

[bbkat]

only when I'm being spanked

 

[xospec1alk]

i dont normally use the term, only when speaking to authority figures i suppose

 

[Utterman]

Sir, yes sir

 

[TCPpacket]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: BowlingNut
as a 18 year old boy raised from the "good 'ole boy" south - i always say ma'am an sir when speaking to elders and strangers. its just disrespectful not to.

Same here, and the Army reinforced it even more.

Tip of the day: Don't call an NCO sir or ma'am, you'll get an a$$ chewing.

why can't you call an NCO a sir or ma'am? sorry, i don't know much about the army.

 

[308nato]

Always. Its how I was raised and had even more **encouragement** to speak this way in the military.


Although, I said "thanks maam" to a lady running the register at a gas station once and she went off on me. Said she was to young to be called maam, like I had insulted her or something. I told her I was sorry and that I would call her"big crack" if it would make her feel any better. It didn't so I left.

Other than that once, I don't believe its been a problem for me.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: TCPpacket

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: BowlingNut
as a 18 year old boy raised from the "good 'ole boy" south - i always say ma'am an sir when speaking to elders and strangers. its just disrespectful not to.

Same here, and the Army reinforced it even more.

Tip of the day: Don't call an NCO sir or ma'am, you'll get an a$$ chewing.

why can't you call an NCO a sir or ma'am? sorry, i don't know much about the army.

Sir/Ma'am is reserved for Commissioned and Warrant Officers...Sergeant for SGT to MSG and by rank for every higher enlisted rank...

It's just wrong is the only reason. Just like calling your Korean friend a "Crazy Chinaman"

 

[FrustratedUser]

That is one of the things I think sound very odd to me. I still feel strange when someone says sir to me even if I've been living here since January.

Yes I say it but only to cops.

 

[308nato]

Tip of the day: Don't call an NCO sir or ma'am, you'll get an a$$ chewing.

Heh. Funny that the one's who scream the loudest and bust your balls in the most painful fashion aren't the one's you call sir or maam.

 

[Daovonnaex]

I say sir or madam (not ma'am, that sounds to provincial for me) to strangers or older people I know deserving of respect who insist upon being addressed with honoriffics. To people who aren't deserving of respect I usually coin some derogatory phrase and use that. Most of them involve ass. Ass goblin is a favorite of mine.

 

[Amused]

I say it always, and I'm 35. It's a sign of respect and civility for other people in general. Civility is not something we have too much of. In fact, we could use a hell of a lot more of it.

It has nothing to do with anybody being better than you, smarter than you, or wiser than you. Basic civility is what it's about.

As for respect, EVERYONE I do not know has my respect until they do something to destroy it. Thinking that people must earn your respect before you show them any is anathema to a civil society, and just bass ackwards.

 

[Zebo]

Hell no. And I've never called a Dr. "doctor" so and so either. Especially the ones who damand/insist on it. It's good to ruffle thier feathers a bit.

 

[pukemon]

I work at an Air Force Base, so there I'd say yes always, otherwise depends on the situation/familiarity of persons involved.

 

[ProviaFan]

If the occasion demands; for example, I use these greetings in formal letters, on the phone and in real life with people I don't know well.

 

[BowlingNut]

Originally posted by: toph99

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Only when dealing with customers on the phone.

Oh, cops too.



Viper GTS

and friend's parents. especially female friend's parents

lol

why can't you call an NCO a sir or ma'am? sorry, i don't know much about the army.

sir and ma'am is a honorific applied to officers. since nco's are lower in the hierarchy, it is considered derisive; like you're making fun of them because they aren't officers.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: dparker

Originally posted by: BowlingNut
as a 18 year old boy raised from the "good 'ole boy" south - i always say ma'am an sir when speaking to elders and strangers. its just disrespectful not to.

Same here.

Same here as well. Be careful when you say sir or ma'am to cops. One cop thought I was being a smart ass and threw a cigarette at me. Luckily I didn't use hairspray that day.