How to politely discourage being called "Kiddo" in the workplace?

[oopsie]

I am a Realtor and this past week I've been called "Love", "Sweetie", "Kiddo", etc. by two separate agents (one female, one male if it matters) while negotiating different deals.

It may be a generational thing but I still feel it is unprofessional and smacks of condescension. What would be a polite response to this?

[gramma dishes]

I think I'd just say quietly, but firmly, "Oh, did you forget my name?  It's Oopsie!" *big smile*

But what I'd be tempted to do would be to answer with "Oh.  Sure Gramps!"    

(Of course, I wouldn't really do that, but thinking it might help me smile more naturally when I was reminding them of my name.) 

[NyaChan]

"It's "oopsie" actually."

[WillyNilly]

"Did you just call me 'kiddo'?  Does that mean lunch is on you gramps?" Say it with a big smile but then change your face to deadpan.

Ok that only works with some people, but if you have that kind of relationship, it can be very effective.
Otherwise just use a firm tone and say "its oopsie, thanks" and then back to business.

[MinAvi]

"No problem at all Old Man...."

I am quite young for my role and get 'Girl' or sometimes 'Chick' as in, 'Go see the office girl/chick'.

I just look them dead in the eye, smile a little bit and say something along the lines of. 'Please don't call me that. My name is AviMin, but you can call me Avi. Now, what did you need?'

I usually only have to do it once or twice, and they tend to blush and stutter and appologise.

[onikenbai]

I get this quite a lot being the only girl on the drill crew/engineering team.  I just start calling the other guys fluffy buns.  Problem resolves itself fairly quickly.

Part of the problem is that I am a LOT older than I look.  I'm almost 40 but people think I'm still in my 20s.  Maybe that's part of your problem too?  If so, take it as a compliment... a really annoying compliment.

[NotTheNarcissist]

I went through this working at the airlines 25+ years ago. There never was a good response. Whatever I said always strained the relationship. I think the worst female offender did it just to irritate me and/or she was jealous of my age but of course I'll never know.

[Tea Drinker]

If asking them to call you by name doesn't work, how about calling them whatever they have just called you? E.g., if someone says "Hey, kiddo, did you finish that memo?" answer with "Yes, kiddo, here it is" or "No, kiddo, I'm still working on it."

If you're lucky, they'll get the hint and stop. If they instead splutter something like "How dare you call me kiddo?!" that gives you the opportunity to say that you assumed they meant "kiddo" as a compliment, and wanted them to know that you admire their youthful energy too.

My theory here is that it's hard for someone to complain to third parties about you doing the exact same thing they have just done to you, without looking unreasonable.

[Twik]

Being called kiddo would make me feel like I was in a 1940's newspaper flick.

[bopper]

"No problem, Pops!"

[ilrag]

I get this quite a lot being the only girl on the drill crew/engineering team.  I just start calling the other guys fluffy buns.  Problem resolves itself fairly quickly.

Part of the problem is that I am a LOT older than I look.  I'm almost 40 but people think I'm still in my 20s.  Maybe that's part of your problem too?  If so, take it as a compliment... a really annoying compliment.

Are you me? Except I'm in my 30s.  Same deal. Work in Engineering with a bunch of old men. They call me kiddo, and now they all have patronizing nicknames. (Heartbreaker, Grandpa, Pumpkin, Snookie, ect) Instead of making a scene, I made a joke and now everyone gets a laugh out of it.

[That Anime Chick]

I had this happen with a woman we hired a few years back. She had this bad habit of calling me and the receptionist kiddo. It irritated the receptionist because she was young and felt it was unprofessional. I didn't like it because I felt she was trying to get chummy before I got to know her well enough. After a few days of this we finally confronted her and told her that our names were not kiddo and to please stop.

She seemed a bit hurt by it, and ran and told our manager who then had to round us up to clear up the mess (she'd embellished the story to say that we were mean to her all the time and that we must hate her, etc.).

Eventually she was moved to another department and we didn't see her except for when she dropped off her supplies when she was let go due to downsizing.

[Mental Magpie]

I really hate stuff like that, more so than many of my generation (in my experience), so I'd have to dig deep to be make sure my hatred for it wasn't coming through when I said, "I don't call you nicknames based on your age, please don't call me nicknames based on mine."

[White Lotus]

You are negotiating a deal with these people.  They are trying to intimidate and manipulate you and make you think they are somehow on your side and will guide you in good directions.  Keep on your poker face, raise a brow, and think about what that tells you about them and their negotiating skills.  Utterly ignore, and get your deal.

[Sharnita]

I'm in my 30s and was shopping at a clothing store where the associate called me "kiddo" repeatedly.  I think maybe she thought it sounded friendly or hoped it would convince me we had bonded?