Since when I become everyone's buddy?

[Kit-Ginevra]

Grrr. Three establishments in a row I have now eaten at and been greeted by 'Alright buddy','What do you want buddy','Is everything OK buddy' and even 'Yo buddy,you wanting something'?
I don't expect Sir or Your Highness,but a simple 'How can I help' is much better than trying to drop in some playground slang. And whilst we're at it,I do not intend to be mate or dude either.

Rant over.Hope you enjoyed that buddy....

[Deevil]

Grrr. Three establishments in a row I have now eaten at and been greeted by 'Alright buddy','What do you want buddy','Is everything OK buddy' and even 'Yo buddy,you wanting something'?
I don't expect Sir or Your Highness,but a simple 'How can I help' is much better than trying to drop in some playground slang. And whilst we're at it,I do not intend to be mate or dude either.

Rant over.Hope you enjoyed that buddy....

I'm not your buddy, guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQK6t2Esng

[Seanette]

I only address someone as "buddy" if it's a little boy whose name I don't know or sometimes adults I'm on informal, friendly terms with.

Calling a customer I'm not personally acquainted with "buddy"? Ah, no. Let's stick with "sir"/"ma'am" or the person's name if I know it and they want me to use it.

[Mr Hero]

I'm not your buddy, guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQK6t2Esng

Damn, beaten to the punch.

[jedimaster91]

I only address someone as "buddy" if it's a little boy whose name I don't know or sometimes adults I'm on informal, friendly terms with.

Calling a customer I'm not personally acquainted with "buddy"? Ah, no. Let's stick with "sir"/"ma'am" or the person's name if I know it and they want me to use it.

There are places--like the southern US--where using terms of endearment to address strangers is more of a cultural norm. Here it's not unusual for people to refer to each other as "honey" or "darlin" even in a customer/employee paradigm. Not everyone does it and not everyone likes it, but it's not uncommon culturally.

For what it's worth, I stick with sir or ma'am unless I'm dealing with a small child. Then it's usually "bud."

[Kit-Ginevra]

I don't mind darling or love. Even at church,you would be greeted by the vicar with alright me darling or alright me handsome depending on gender....
I just don't intend to be your (drinking/smoking/gawdknowswhatelse)buddy...

[judecat]

Around here, when I was growing up, everyone was "hon". A lot of us older folks still do it.

[KuariKaydrith]

Here, people use 'ducky' or 'dolly' a lot in place of 'buddy'.

[notalwaysright]

I'm guessing where the OP lives, it's not normal to use those terms. It's not common around here, either. I don't like when people call me hon or sweetie, as I nearly always feel I'm being talked down to.

[Seanette]

Around here, when I was growing up, everyone was "hon". A lot of us older folks still do it.

I admit to doing that to co-workers, usually females, and I'm not Southern. I just tend to feel maternal about the people I work with (many of whom I could have given birth to).

I do also tend toward addressing small children as "hon" or "sweetie" if I don't know that child's name. I think it's the maternal thing again.

[raudf]

"Sweetie" is fine, "hon" is not. "Hon" is what I call my husband and what he calls me. No one else is allowed to call me that. "Deary" is only acceptable if someone is old enough to be my grandmother. None of them are fine if they are used in a condescending manner. I also don't answer to "Hey," and have childishly responded to that with, "Hay is for horses. Cows eat it to. Do you?"

I do wish it didn't say a lot of bad things about society in general when my teenager calls a person "sir" or "ma'am" and gets a look of surprise and gratitude.

[mhkohne]

"Sweetie" is fine, "hon" is not. "Hon" is what I call my husband and what he calls me. No one else is allowed to call me that.

Do not, under any circumstances, go near Baltimore, Maryland. Hon is a very common one there.

[jnd4rusty]

When I was 19 I worked at Mt. Rushmore and I was constantly calling everyone buddy. One day a supervisor came up to me (about 90% of the employees were college students, including this supervisor) and said:
Friends are friends
Pals are pals BUT
Buddies sleep together!
Yes, that cured me of calling everyone my buddy! I still think about that when the word slips out of my mouth!!

[Dreamstalker]

ASM calls almost every male customer buddy, boss (coupled with his 'thank you for my paycheck' line that one is especially cringeworthy), etc. I'll only use 'buddy' for small boys that I don't know personally.

I won't answer to 'hey' or any of the mentioned terms unless I know the person; it's easy to claim ignorance if someone's just saying 'sweetie' some days as I have no idea if they're talking to me or one of the other 6 females (2 of whom are wearing purple and neither of whom respond to random yelling) on the front end.

[wolfie]

Friends are friends
Pals are pals BUT
Buddies sleep together!

Language is evolving. A term for "cigarette" (found in both the WW1 song "Pack Up Your Troubles" and the Disney short "Goofy quits smoking") now has nothing to do with tobacco. Also, despite anything you may have learned from the '70s trucking movies, DO NOT refer to an unknown person on the CB as "Good Buddy" - it's got a different meaning than it did back then.