Don't call me Liz, BITCH.
Possible

political_wank? I'm posting it here, since the "politics" are largely incidental. So-and-so asks Jim McDermott's secretary for an audience, and addresses her poorly ('Liz' rather than 'Elizabeth'). HOLY SHIT, you did not just go there!

A few weeks ago, the assistant e-mailed Becton seeking a meeting with McDermott and a client, JPMorgan Chase. Days later, the assistant checked back in and unfortunately began the e-mail with “Hi Liz.”

Becton curtly replied, “Who is Liz?”

When the assistant wrote back with an apology, Becton turned up the heat. “I do not go by Liz. Where did you get your information?” she asked.

The back-and-forth went on for 19 e-mails, with the assistant apologizing six times if she had “offended” Becton, while Becton lectured about name-calling.

Please, please check out the email exchange hosted on Politico.

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	kookaburra 2009-06-18 10:10 am UTC (link)
	I'm American, and I always start off addressing people by Mr./Ms, unless they've introduced themselves otherwise, so it's not just a German vs. American manners. Taking the liberty to call her "Liz" was very patronizing and rude. Of course, that doesn't excuse her being rude back to him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	eilisliana 2009-06-18 10:15 am UTC (link)
	In correspondence with someone you don't know, it would seem polite to address the other person as 'Title LastName' unless they say otherwise. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kookaburra 2009-06-18 01:35 pm UTC (link)
	I know I would rather be told, "Oh, just call me Bess please! We're very informal here." than "Please address future correspondence to Ms. Ipswitch." (Reply to this)(Parent)

ayezur
2009-06-18 05:23 pm UTC (link)

I got into a bit of a scuffle with my mom the other day when I wanted the full name and title of the person I was supposed to be emailing about an internship. Mom thought I didn't need it because the woman was a friend of hers and I was all "Mom, I don't care if you know her, I've never met her and I'm asking her to saddle one of her underlings with an undergrad for the summer, let me be formal while making my request."

So I think part of it is forsomereason people view email as a less formal medium. And maybe with subsequent emails in a conversation you can loosen up, but the first one should be subject to the same formal rules as a normal letter.

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ecchaniz0r
2009-06-19 01:42 pm UTC (link)

Yeah.

And maybe I'm just too familiar with guys who are overt jackasses (not in my group of friends, thank hell, but these are the dudes my guy friends want out of their gender), but I keep going, 'would the address have been that informal if the e-mailer was addressing another dude?'

idk maybe I'm just in auto-eyeroll with regard to this on account of the raging fail I've seen. Some guys think that regardless of where they are in the pecking order, everything girly is beneath them. Even if she's a CEO or president of something, she's a CHICK and INFERIORRRHURHURRGH. So therefore it is okay to omit titles and other formalities. Because she's only a woman.

(I think Catholic schools ruined me :s)

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	lirazel 2009-06-19 03:30 pm UTC (link)
	The back-and-forth went on for 19 e-mails, with the assistant apologizing six times if she had “offended” Becton, while Becton lectured about name-calling. It looks like the exchange is between two women - which is a different dynamic yet again. I'm more likely to loosen up with another woman during an email exchange than with a guy. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

librarianmouse
2009-06-19 06:10 pm UTC (link)

I thought he came off looking quite professional in the email exchange, after the initial gaffe of addressing the first one incorrectly. He wasn't apologizing profusely, or bowing and scraping or anything. His messages mostly seemed like he wanted to get business back on track, which couldn't happen while overreacting lady was overreacting.

Also, my name's Elizabeth too. I've come to accept the fact that I'm going to be called all sorts of diminutives that I don't choose, including Liz, Betty, Bitsy, and Eliza. If her skin is so thin that she flips out this severely over being called the wrong name, what the heck is she doing in politics?

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