Heh

[msmemory_archive]

The office supply salesdroid followed up today, and I got to tell him straight out that we were not interested, that he shouldn't refer to his Customer Service staff as "girls," especially when selling to a woman manager, and that his pretzels were past their sell-by date. And so I was not motivated to furnish him the item list and prices to help him put together a competitive bid against our present supplier.

I concluded with "Sorry to give you harsh feedback, but maybe it'll help you out down the road. Take care."

Comments

[nazrynn.livejournal.com]

I used to work for someone, for 7 years, who called my coworker and myself his "girls" whenever he talked to his business associates about us. Nevermind the fact that a scathing glare or quiet comment to the boss that I would prefer to be called by my first name was just plain ignored.

Then again, the guy was all kinds of rude, including snapping his fingers at me at one point while he was on the phone. I ignored it until he called me by name.

I am willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt or let rudeness go the first time 'round... but I think the (professional) clue by four really needs to be let out every so often, when rudeness is just plain excessive.
As in this particular case, and what you describe above.

[richenza.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't mind being referred to as "the girls" by a coworker with whom I have a reciprocal relations, if he or she was speaking to someone in on the joke. For example, when working in a kitchen we regularly referred to each other in this diminutive but affectionate fashion. For example the following exchange with Bernie the storeroom manager:

"the boys have broken our mixer again by making pasta dough in it with the wrong attachment"
or "the girls won't share their equipment but we don't know why"

Had this teasing, casual style been used in front of strangers, I would have been seriously affronted, but internally, it served to break the tension. Context is everything.

That said, the guys you and msmemory are talking about sound like douchebags.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

I'll refer to the rest of my department sometimes as "all us girls" or say "good girl!" or whatever. But that's different, affectionate, and one girl to another.

[nazrynn.livejournal.com]

And meant in a more positive and supportive way, yes.

As for the former employer... it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to know I don't have to deal with this anymore from a supervisor. I find it easier to deal with this on the level of someone one does not have to speak to or work for on a regular basis...

...The salesman calling you this ranks right up there with the business contacts that occasionally call me "honey" (usually female). It (being called a pet name by someone unfamiliar to me) gets my snark-hackles raised, and takes a measure of willpower to use my powers for good. :)