For your amusement, an approximate transcript of a conversation with a credit card company I’ll leave unnamed. I called them up to have them record on my file when I would be travelling, and to where. I like to cover my bases that way. At the end of the conversation, the man with the heavy indian accent on the other end of the line tells me that CompanyXXX likes their customers to keep track of their account online while travelling, to spot any unauthorized spending right away.
Me: I don’t like to do that while I travel, I don’t want my account getting hacked.
Him: Our website is completely secure, ma’am, you don’t have to worry about anything.
Me: The website may be, but I don’t know about computers that I’m using. What if someone installs a key logger or otherwise saves the information I enter on the computer.
Him: *cricket cricket* But our website is completely secure with the latest technology.
Me: *sigh* That’s great. Thanks for your help today.
On another note, does it bother anyone else when they’re “ma’am”ed on the phone? (Yes, I know Dan will pipe in with his story about Cyrille here). I got a break from that yesterday, though – the lovely old man with an Alabama (or thereabouts) accent, whom I spoke with about a missed delivery of a package, kept calling me “miss”. It was a very endearing break from the usual.
Well, technically you *are* a Madame now (very different from being a Madam).
I find that if I’m dealing with folks on the phone I get “Ma’am”d, but in person I get “Miss”d. Probably I sound less friendly on the phone? No idea.
I do know that I prefer being addressed as “Madame” than “Ma’am”, unless the person doing the addressing is from the south. Then it’s fine.