is this rude?

[TravelerFarAwayFromHome]

i had two encounters so far where i had some misunderstandings with the sales person

and in the end of the transaction they said "thank you boss"

i took that as insult as in somebody saying to you in a exaggerated manner "thank you, YOU MAJESTY"

don't know if i am right

thank you

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

It is quite common here in New Zealand for Maori people to use that expression as a measure of respect. I often use the word "sir" when addressing strangers and I mean it as a term of respect for another person.

I remember when I was working in the Family Court where a young 17 year old was finally being released from being a ward of the court. She was a character of a person and not familiar with court procedure and how to address the Judge. She came into court and greeted the female Judge by saying, "Good morning your majesty!" The Judge knew this girl after dealing with her for some years and knew her character, and took her greeting as a mark of great respect for her as the Judge.

I guess it depends on the tone of voice the person uses - if it is a respectful tone, then it may not be rude. But if it is said in a sarcastic way, then it could be the height of rudeness.

 

[derpytia]

Seeing as sales people are required to be nice to all customers (or lose their job) I'm sure they didn't mean it as an insult at all. It also depends on where they're from. As far as I'm aware, there are places were "boss" is a term used for a paying customer. And seeing as they have used this term twice with you, I'm sure they don't mean it in an insulting manner.

 

[381465]

I hope not, I have used the expression a lo

Sounds a little too informal for the context. But not rude.

 

[Radrook]

i had two encounters so far where i had some misunderstandings with the sales person

and in the end of the transaction they said "thank you boss"

i took that as insult as in somebody saying to you in a exaggerated manner "thank you, YOU MAJESTY"

don't know if i am right

thank you

It depends on the tone of voice and facial expressions and other body language. I had one clerk constantly say ""Thank you! Thank you!" which I of course understood as some kind of negative insinuation.

Unfortunately, many of these rude clerks are extremely undereducated people who are frustrated with their lot in life and who must therefore inflict humiliation on as many customers as possible in order to feel OK with themselves. Such include racists who discriminate against minority groups and MUST treat them as inferior in order to feel more American and worthwhile human beings.

BTW
The best thing to do is not to go back for a second demonstrations since that will only serve to infuriate the clerk who will feel that his attempts to humiliate are inefficient and that you are challenging him to up the ante. In short, it becomes a contest between how rude he or she can be and how much you are willing to put up with.

 

[Chesterton]

i had two encounters so far where i had some misunderstandings with the sales person

and in the end of the transaction they said "thank you boss"

i took that as insult as in somebody saying to you in a exaggerated manner "thank you, YOU MAJESTY"

don't know if i am right

thank you

I'm sure they were being friendly and not rude. That's actually pretty common where I'm from. There's a convenience store clerk who always calls every customer boss, and I call him boss back. Among Hispanics around here, friends call other friends jefe, spanish for boss. It's just sort of a cutesy, friendly thing to do, maybe like if a husband calls his wife ma'am.

 

[LoricaLady]

I am sorry the person hurt your feelings. The Bible says we are to treat all others with respect and it hurts and rankles they do not. But, try to let it go. Just pray for that person and go on. You don't know what he or she might be going through. And if he or she is just a grumpy person, well just thank the Lord that you are not!

 

[Kit Sigmon]

i had two encounters so far where i had some misunderstandings with the sales person

and in the end of the transaction they said "thank you boss"

i took that as insult as in somebody saying to you in a exaggerated manner "thank you, YOU MAJESTY"

don't know if i am right

thank you

Question: did the sales person actually speak to you in an exaggerated manner?

 

[grasping the after wind]

Without witnessing it personally, I do not see how anyone can give an honest assessment. The phrase itself could be used in so many ways to mean so many things that it is impossible to tell without seeing the entire context in which it was spoken , the tone of voice, the facial expression and the body language. This is also one of the problems we have in writing as it is easy to misunderstand meaning in writing when there are no other clues

 

[Phil 1:21]

People need to stop being offended by everything.