Do you think your first name will do?

I admit, I am not an easy customer; I get angry when strangers knock at the door or call me on the phone and say Hi my name is Ian. I hate when strangers use only their first name it’s not friendly and it’s defiantly not proper business etiquette, so why are some many sales people, so poor at etiquette?

I recently picked up a copy of Etiquette by Any Vanderbilt originally published in 1952, I am reading her 1971 final edition, Emily Post book on Etiquette was first published in 1922 and she was the darling of Etiquette with her institute still publishing books on proper behaviour and there are hundreds of others. Yet it seems to me that in areas of business behaviour (or business etiquette) we have somehow lost our will to win friends and make great impressions.

In the day of Amy or Emily I would of course been chastised for the affront of using their first names, yet today the world has moved on and it is socially acceptable to move to a first name bases rather quickly after a proper introduction. But what is a proper introduction. So I don’t get called mister Hughes anymore that’s Ok, but I should at least hear the name of the person with whom I am speaking at least once in an introduction.

I haven’t had a conversation with a customer service staff member in years without having to ask them for their surname! They all seem to think that they can ask me everything about me but I shouldn’t even know who they are! In Amy’s day we would have addressed ourselves by our surnames, which was too formal and inappropriate in modern business. Today I have worked with people that use first names only on the phone and email, not only do I feel that they have the advantage of me in the conversation but I feel they haven’t got enough respect for themselves either.

Tell me what do you think, is there a good reason for this familiar greeting.

Good morning, Contact ignition, my name is Ron, how may I help you?