Australians have been left baffled after a deli worker suffered backlash for using one of the country’s favorite phrases.
The woman, who has been in the job for more than five years, was recently “taken aback” when a customer asked her not to call him “mate.”
Her father told of the time his daughter was accused of being “unprofessional” while working in a fruit and vegetable store.
His daughter immediately apologized, thinking she had offended the customer, who her father believes was also Australian, further confusing the couple.
Now she “will not use any title” for fear of offending someone, which is a radical change from the “polite and courteous” girl she once was, she added.
Sharing the story on social media, she asked other shoppers: “When did the word ‘companion’ become unprofessional?”
Many people who responded to the post were surprised that the customer was offended by the phrase “friendly” and “warm.”
“I think my old friend needs to relax,” one person commented.
A retail worker was told she was being ‘unprofessional’ for using the phrase ‘mate’ when addressing him in a fruit and vegetable store (pictured)
Other commentators took a similar tone.
“Wow, what an overreaction,” wrote another.
‘I use mate all the time, I’m a woman in my 30s. If someone said ‘hey buddy, how can I help?’ I wouldn’t even blink.
‘And I would also say ‘thanks mate’! Anyone who finds this strange, that’s their fault. What a strange thing to lift someone up!’
“I would love for a business worker to call me ‘buddy,'” a third confessed.
“I am immediately attracted to them.”
‘It’s casual, but not unprofessional or rude. “Australian culture is a casual culture,” added a fourth.
Some commenters sympathized with the original complaint that ‘mate’ was too casual for the workplace) stock image)
Other retail workers who experienced similar situations also weighed in.
“One customer told me ‘I’m not your damn partner’ when I simply asked, ‘Would you like to add some patio clips to your order, buddy?'” one woman wrote.
The woman added that she was 22 years old at the time and that the client was ‘a merchant perhaps around 40 years old.
“I had worked there for a year and 99 percent of the traditional customers called me mate or liked me to call them mate and had friendly banter,” he added.
However, some commentators were sympathetic to the original complaint that ‘mate’ was too informal for the workplace.
“Yes, ‘mate’ is informal and doesn’t reflect the retail relationship very well,” one wrote.
“Personally, I would consider being called ‘mate’ unprofessional, but I wouldn’t think about it beyond the moment,” said another.
Some social media users said they like being called ‘companion’ and defended the man’s daughter
A third group of thinkers admitted that while “mate” is unprofessional, the phrase was appropriate given the environment.
“Mate” has never been considered “professional language,” one of them commented.
‘That said, you’re in a delicatessen, not a corporate lawyer’s office!’
‘It’s a delicatessen. “If workers don’t call customers ‘love,’ ‘honey,’ ‘buddy,’ ‘dear,’ or something similar, they violate a long-standing tradition,” said a second.
“It’s not like you’re meeting the royal family on the lawn with cucumber sandwiches and the prime minister in tow or trying to impress a magistrate.”