Etiquette: Addressing by Mr./Ms. or first name?

[yuri_d]

Hi All,
If your prospect signed off a reply email with her / his first name is it OK to address them by their first name when greeting personally?

I always thought that you should really use the formal Mr/Ms until your prospect tells you otherwise but my impression is that it makes some people uncomfortable?
What are your thoughts guys?
TIA

 

[Scousejock]

If someone signs there first name at the end of emails I tend to use this when replying to them as I assume they are comfortable for me to use this.

Not sure there is a set rule for this though

 

[JMRidley]

Same for me. I use first name if they have used their name to sign off.

 

[Rookery]

For me its always Mr or Mrs etc, never their christian name until and unless they tell me otherwise.

 

[marketingquotes]

First name.

Spam e-mails from abroad usually start 'Dear Mr ****, greetings of the day....'

Delete.

 

[swiftpete]

I play it by ear depending on the customer. Everyone is different. If they're friendly and are calling me by my first name then I will start using theirs, but I generally default to Mr when first meeting them until we know each other a bit.

 

[estwig]

Hi All,
If your prospect signed off a reply email with her / his first name is it OK to address them by their first name when greeting personally?

I think so yes.

On the very rare occasion I've called someone by their first name, after they told me what it is, and they have then objected. I've dumped them for being a pompous git!

 

[Arhob1]

I think so yes.

On the very rare occasion I've called someone by their first name, after they told me what it is, and they have then objected. I've dumped them for being a pompous git!

I'd agree!

 

[deniser]

In the last 15 years I have never used Mr or Mrs or heard it used unless the person is older than about 70.

The only place which seems still to use it is schools. Even doctors' surgeries stopped using it about 10 years ago.

If someone has signed off an email with their Christian name I think it is actually quite rude to then call them Mr or Mrs.

 

[Somecamel]

I always sign off my initial email to them after meeting them with my first name.
When they reply, if they have used their first name it's cool to continue.

On letters- I would use my full name

 

[Mike tells it like it is]

"On the very rare occasion I've called someone by their first name, after they told me what it is, and they have then objected. I've dumped them for being a pompous git!"

You may call me either Sir or Mr tells it like it is

 

[smo]

If someone has signed off an email with their Christian name I think it is actually quite rude to then call them Mr or Mrs.

I disagree, with a customer they are always Mr or Mrs - first name is overly familiar and rude. It is curtious, some would say old fashioned, to use Mr or Mrs when addressing a customer.

 

[Vending Siting Services]

It all depends on the circumstance, ie formal or informal. There are rules for both.

If you receive an email and the author signs with their christian name, then it would be polite to reply by same.

Barbara

 

[BustersDogs]

Oh dear, half of my clients don't even give me their last name, especially if they contact me by phone. I sometimes have to prompt for it when they fill in my registration forms!

I always use the name they sign off with, I learned that working for the BBC. If they didn't use a name, it was always 'dear message board user'. Some of the staff used any names in email addresses, but some people get really annoyed because they've not used their real names.

Names can be very tricky, I'd be really confused if someone called me Ms Ward. I get very angry if they call me Mrs Smith (my ex-husband's name, that my son uses) because it shows they don't keep accurate records or check them before speaking to me.

 

[Working First Aid]

Yep, whatever name they sign off with. It's as if they've given permission to be called as such.

On top of that, if I sign an email with my first name then the recipient still calls me by my surname I find that slightly stand off-ish...

 

[accounting-help]

Depends what you feel comfortable with. We also see a lot of people sign off emails with their first name. With some first names it can be hard to decipher whether it is a man or a woman you are receiving email correspondence from so you may land into some trouble if you use the incorrect form of address, though I'm sure this is rare.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

In the last 15 years I have never used Mr or Mrs or heard it used unless the person is older than about 70.

The only place which seems still to use it is schools. Even doctors' surgeries stopped using it about 10 years ago.

If someone has signed off an email with their Christian name I think it is actually quite rude to then call them Mr or Mrs.

I agree I actually really dislike being called Mrs when I've signed my name as Nicola.

I much prefer christian names - always have. I think it stems back to the dark ages when I worked for a chap who insisted on being called Mr Michael (his first name was Michael) it was like something out of the 1800's with the Master and Servant I really couldnt do it and always called him by his surname but remember once forgetting myself and calling him by his christian name I still remember that 'look' of disgust over 20 years later