# Are You Being Served?: Accurate Representation of a British Workplace? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927 "2008-10-28T12:42:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/41 "2008-10-29T22:48:53Z")
This series always raised a bit of a chuckle in Sydney because one of the two major department stores in town was actually called Grace Brothers at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/42 "2008-10-29T23:38:14Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Yes, just saying “fine” would be seen as very curt. Possibly like the person answering was in a snit about something Fine is just a crappy word to use regardless, but to me not replying with an inquiry about the other person’s health would be rude regardless of the use (or lack of use) of thanks. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/43 "2008-10-30T00:12:35Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Correct. This is why it is Mr, Mrs and Dr in the UK, versus Mr., Mrs. and Dr. in the US. It is? Darn. Well then, I guess it was a big useless rant I went on, then, wasn’t it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/44 "2008-10-30T00:33:32Z")
I worked at Harrods in the early 1970s for a couple of weeks (Christmas Sales temporary staff). The sales assistants used their first names, even in front of customers. Senior staff and the Department Manager were called Mr. and Mrs. We were all treated perfectly politely. We were asked to dress smartly and did so. (Hey, some customers were millionaires - it was a posh place!) If a ‘correction’ was needed it was done unobtrusively. We stood up most of the time, ready to help. We didn’t know the Floor Manager by sight, but were told to be polite to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/45 "2008-10-30T02:05:37Z")
Lack of courtesy in ordering drives me nuts, too. “I need another beer.” Okay, bad example. That I would regard as okay once a rapport has been made with the waitress. But in normal circumstances, “I would like” and such is still the social norm. I’d chalk it up to “ugly Americans,” even as there are many here right at home. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/46 "2008-10-30T02:25:55Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > This series always raised a bit of a chuckle in Sydney because one of the two major department stores in town was actually called Grace Brothers at the time. Somewhere around Casa Hook there is a picture of this store. We visited Oz in the 90s and almost fell over laughing when we saw it. The inside of the actual store was a distinct step up from the one on the show ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/47 "2008-10-30T03:10:31Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > Was it by Perry and Croft? They tended to do rather old-timey nostalgia comedies, set in wartime or similar. I think it was. They did tend to specialise in that genre. Another of theirs (I think) that I tend to put into the same category was one about the staff of a rather under-utilised country branch railway just before the great rationalisation of the railways in the UK in the 1950s or 1960s - whenever it was. > [@SandyHook](#): > > Somewhere around Casa Hook there is a picture of this store. We visited Oz in the 90s and almost fell over laughing when we saw it. The inside of the actual store was a distinct step up from the one on the show Yes, the Sydney one was nothing like the television one. I went to school with a couple of the boys from the Grace family. I remember them saying that their father, who at that stage was the head of the department store, absolutely hated the television show. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/48 "2008-10-30T06:45:53Z")
[According to this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Are_You_Being_Served%3F_characters#The_Grace_Brothers) “Ironically, “Old” Mr. Grace was actually a couple of decades younger than Young Mr. Grace.” ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/49 "2008-10-30T10:40:52Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Americans in general do say “please” a lot less than the English and it does indeed sound rude to English people (just ask my mum). The lack of “please” when ordering in restaurants, delis etc. is also jarring. And don’t get me started on “I’ll have a…”, “Get me a…” and, worst of all, “I need a…”. Too right, any British child would get a clip round the ear from Mum for such rudeness. We’ve all been trained from the cradle to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ at every opportunity. My girlfriend is a stickler, and berates me frequently if I forget myself. Typical exchange at home: Her: Would you like a coffee? Me: Um, yeah okay Her: Yes PLEASE. You’re SO rude sometimes. As for British workplace etiquette, my (80 year old) father is from a dying breed of managers who still insist on formal address. In the company he founded, he’s still called ‘Mr SanVito’, whereas my brother who now runs the place is just ‘Richard’ to the staff. My father was once drafted in to temporarily manage the setting up of a factory in the US in the 80s. He introduced himself to the factory manager (his underling) as ‘Mr SanVito’. The manager said ‘what’s your firstname?’. My Dad said ‘Mr’. But then this is a man who wears a suit and tie every day, unless he’s on a golf course. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/50 "2008-10-30T11:35:53Z")
I have been told off for saying “excuse me” rather than “excuse me, please”, which I thought was excessive. But I must admit that when some sales guy or call centre minion addresses me from the outset by my first name, it does rankle just a little bit. It’s the over-familiarity rather than a lack of respect thing. You know, they could ask permission first. Mind you, I’m get-off-my-lawn-ish enough now that I’d probably say no. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/51 "2008-10-30T11:45:20Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > But I must admit that when some sales guy or call centre minion addresses me from the outset by my first name, it does rankle just a little bit. It’s the over-familiarity rather than a lack of respect thing. You know, they could ask permission first. Mind you, I’m get-off-my-lawn-ish enough now that I’d probably say no. I agree with you. When my 94 year old gran had a stroke back in the late 80s, I was really offended on her behalf that the nurses called her by her first name. This is a woman who never even called her next door neighbour by their first name. Show her some respect! ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/52 "2008-10-30T12:24:45Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > But I must admit that when some sales guy or call centre minion addresses me from the outset by my first name, it does rankle just a little bit. It’s the over-familiarity rather than a lack of respect thing. I agree. When they ask me my name, I just give them my last name - not title or anything, just the last name. Nobody has yet asked for my first name, which is a shame because the answer will be “Mister”. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/53 "2008-10-30T12:35:20Z")
Sometimes, though, they already know your first name from their screen or whatever, and just come straight out with it. I’m always like, woah, did I miss the meeting where we abolished that piece of social etiquette? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/54 "2008-10-30T14:05:23Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I agree. When they ask me my name, I just give them my last name - not title or anything, just the last name. Nobody has yet asked for my first name, which is a shame because the answer will be “Mister”. And your nickname is “Sir”. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927/55 "2008-10-30T16:21:16Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > Sometimes, though, they already know your first name from their screen or whatever, and just come straight out with it. I’m always like, woah, did I miss the meeting where we abolished that piece of social etiquette? Agreed. And what drives me REALLY crazy about this is that the name they have in front of them is not what any who knows me would ever call me. My full first name is Catherine, but people only EVER call me Kate, so the repetition of Catherine down the phone line REALLY grates (and I’ll be damned if I’m going to say ‘no no call me Kate’) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-being-served-accurate-representation-of-a-british-workplace/469927.md?page=2)