Just friendly and rude

[houdini]

Endearing names? Annoying, but I'll live - you might get a dose of sarcasm back if you call me "sweetheart", but I'd deal with it. Assuming my husband sent me down to get things for the car? OH HELL NO

I would be writing to the manager and to corporate to explain EXACTLY why I would not be buying parts from that chain any more.

[raudf]

"Sorry, but my husband wouldn't know the difference between a brake pad and a caliper. I'm the mechanic in the family. Now, I'd like a manager and someone else help me, please." Or, I just go to the parts store that has lady behind the counter.

By the way, it works the other way around too. When I worked at MW's Repair, I'd have guys who wanted to speak to a "man" about a part. It took a lot of effort (damn my Mom's genetics) to not ask them if they use their penises to put the parts in, because it sure as hell didn't require me to have one to look up a part number and see if we have it in stock. More often than not, they didn't want to embarrass themselves, because they didn't know what the part was called! At least that what my male co-workers would say, if they didn't just tell the guy in question that the girl knew more about tractors than they did

[Gilhelmi]

Sorry, but "sweetheart" is something you call your kid, your spouse, or someone else that you know and love - not a complete stranger

I heard it frequently in the South (the deeper the more often). So it is not that bad.

However, everything else dimwit employee said is completely stupid. How is that starting a conversation.

I am horrible at social interaction/general socialization, and even I know better then to say something like that condescending.

[Kittish]

I used to get that sort of attitude all the time as a truck driver. "Here, honey, want me to back your truck into the dock for you so it doesn't take all day?" My standard response was "No, but you can spot for me on my blind side." Oh how I loved to watch their faces when I dropped a trailer into a tight/tricky dock lined up neat as you please on the first try.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I heard it frequently in the South (the deeper the more often). So it is not that bad.

It's true that Southerners are more likely to use it conversationally like that, but-- and this is just me-- if I don't know the person and they call me "sweetheart," I'm also hearing an unspoken "Bless your heart" in there.

Echoing MoonCat that it's a term of endearment, and as such, should only be used with people that the speaker actually knows personally.

[katzklaw]

had a local garage be downright nasty and utterly unhelpful to me recently when i had some truck trouble (basically told me in a harsh tone that they were busy and they hadn't even had a chance to look at it yet, which turned out to be a lie)... yet they were yes sir no sir it'll be done by tomorrow sir and here's the list of what was wrong sir and here't how much it should cost... when my husband called.


ooooo it pissed me off so bad! literally all i had done was ask if they'd even had a chance to look at it yet.. they DID tell me the day before that they were busy...i was trying to be courteous and ask nicely if they'd had a chance to take a peek yet.

only good side is, when they actually did the work, they did it fast, and cheap. (only 500 bucks after an engine fire is peanuts)

[tollbaby]

I once went to a discount tire place because I desperately needed tires, and they were cheaper stateside. So my boyfriend and I go into the store. Note: boyfriend and I don't live together. My car is MY car, and the most he has to do with it is occasionally buying me a tank of gas (and he changes my oil once in a while). Tire guy would NOT speak to me no matter what I did. If the price had not been unbeatable, I would have walked out of there in a huff. Every time I'd ask him a question, he'd listen, then turn to my boyfriend to answer. I was BEYOND steamed.

[Ben_Who]

I hate to say this, but it kinda works the other way, too - and it's WEIRD. The local discount auto parts dump keeps making the same mistake with me that any male who walks in the door knows everything there is to know about cars, and drowns me in technobabble whenever I try to make a purchase. Considering about all I can do is change a headlight, I usually just nod and smile a lot.

You'd have thought they'd have twigged when I brought in an air filter from a classic Mercury and called it the "carburetor."