Oct 21, 2013 2 min read

I just can’t stand it anymore. I can’t stand to be called “honey” by a teenager working the counter at just about any fast food restaurant I visit. Where did they learn to address a customer as honey?

I looked up honey in the dictionary just in case I was missing some understanding of the proper use of the term. Hone is “a thick, sweet substance made by bees, or used to address someone you love.” There it is. My teenage server must love me? My wife calls me honey, my mother calls me honey and I understand that they are using it as an endearing term to express their love for me. But should the teenage server at a fast food restaurant be calling me honey? I feel this is a failure of management to properly train their employees who face the public to address the customer. What happened to sir or ma’am? Those are expressions of respect to the customer, not honey!

If we accept this lack of proper respect from our youth, then we get what we ask for. Let’s return to civility and proper manners. Why accept bad behavior and toss it up to “Well, that’s the way things are now.” No, I say. Demand that our virtues and values remain intact. Teach our young people what respect is and how to convey that respect. I know that there are many big problems facing the nation and this may seem trivial, but I see the same disrespect and lack of virtue in our political leaders. They must have all worked in the fast food industry themselves. Give me some more debt please and supersize it! It all starts somewhere, and maybe we can begin the return to a civil society by how we address each other.

Tom Flickinger

Washington