Page 35 - Kindness - No Forward

Use Nicknames Carefully

Unless you are close to a person, be extremely careful about using
nicknames or familiar names without being invited to do so.

I met a gentleman during an assignment named Dan. Dan was always
gregarious and fun to speak to whenever I saw him. As we would begin to
chat more and more, I called him “Danny” on more than one occasion
(“Morning, Danny. How’s it going?”)

One day Danny walked by me without speaking. I figured he had a lot on
his mind and let him pass.

Later I passed him again. Just as before, no comment.

A few days later the same thing occurred.

The next time I saw Danny, I stopped and told him I had noticed that he
seemed somewhat aloof when I was around, and I wondered if something
had occurred in our previous conversations that had offended him.

He told me simply, “I don’t like being called Danny. It goes back a long
way, but I don’t like it. I would just as soon not be around you if you are
going to call me that.”

After a simple “I understand how you feel. It won’t happen again,” Danny
became Dan again and all was well.

A good lesson learned.