I work for an overseas airline, and have noticed that some pilots, when in a friendly, informal type of setting, introduce themselves as "Captain . . . "

The only time I do this is on the job, either in a PA or when I need to get something done such as calling Dispatch, MCC, etc. (ie. an ass-kicking scenario).

I have always found it odd and, quite frankly, an attempt to create a wall when a colleague introduces himself as "Captain."

My own customs are based on growing up in a culture with a low power-distance index (Power Distance Index (http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/)), so I am used to introducing myself even to subordinates by my first name, call them by first name, and ask that they also do the same in return.

So how should I read this phenonemon when somebody introduces themselves as "Captain" in an informal or friendly setting (none of the right-seaters introduce themselves as "First Officer" in the same scenario).

Your thoughts?

Personally I find the whole "Titles and rank" thing rather pompous and shows a lack of self esteem / confidence. I socialise with a couple of GP's, who, to the rest of world and outside of work are plain old Steven and Keith..

I do recall several years back when I was in the Navy getting a phone call from a guy who introduced himself to me by his surname and then began asking me for information. I asked him "Sorry fella, what's your first name?" he replied "Lieutenant" at which point I retorted "Bloody hell, with a name like that you were always going to join the Navy!" and hung up.. :ugh:

Just this morning, I saw someone riding a scooter wearing the traditional white shirt and epaulettes with 4 gold stripes...? I immediately saw the funny side: "Captain of a scooter"! Unfortunetly, he was going too fast for me to check the size of his wrist-watch. This being Antibes, he was probably just a yacht skipper... ;)

One should nevertheless perhaps excuse or even indulge in the younger captains' needs for wanting to make clear who or what they are. They will eventually grow out of it or else risk becoming 'permanent arsxxoles' in later life... :ok:

Airship, was he in the LH or RH seat?

How do you know when there's a pilot in the bar............ He'll tell you. :hmm:

Or his watch will..

Try the KQ cadet threads in the African forum for a plethora of captains.:}

One is reminded of Catch 22's Major Major. :)

Mugs have handles

GGR:ok:

Airship, was he in the LH or RH seat?

It was obviously a 2 seater, the pilot in command in front, navigator's position behind him empty. Is that permissable though, even if just going for a jaunt down to the local bakery for half a dozen baguettes?

When in the mob, I was always amused by officers and others who opened with, "My name is Squadron Leader Bloggs", or some such. As the earlier poster said, I used to think, "What tit named you that?" The grammar amused me, I think.

CG

Tell pilots you're an engineer.
They don't stay long then.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a pleasant glass of wine with a friend I've known for years. We'd never discussed what we did before "retirement" - there's too much else to enjoy. Someone else joined us, and as an opening gambit asked "What did you do?"

"Oh, I was Professor of ... ... .. .. ... doing cancer research at ..."

Gulp! Hey, he's still the same chap, thoroughly enjoyable company, and does NOT ask to be called Professor.

I always introduce myself as 'Captain'; and you can all call me 'Sir' for short.

A retired 4 ringer in my neighbourhood, from a large British airline based near Hounslow, has Capt before his name in the phone book.

Where I used to live in Oxfordshire, a bloke from the same airline used to pitch up on days off, as a committee member, at the local residents' association meetings in uniform and be addressed as Captain by the other members.

Complete tossers both of them.

Mr panama.
Yer 'ofstede link aint working.

Good stuff from young Geert. And from Fons Trompenaars. Both worth reading for those who travel and work outside their home country.
I'm never surprised that the Dutch have trouble working in South America, and vice versa. The french also have trouble with the Americans. For some strange reason, they tend to ask "why?" which isn't popular with the French boss-class.

It always grates me when I hear : "My name is Captain John Smith" because it's both untrue and pompous. "My name is John Smith and I am your captain...." is different and quite acceptable.

I had a colleague who when on the 'phone on a business call used to say : "My name is Mr. Smith ......" and I hated hearing it. I pulled him up on it one day and he was very offended!

The same principle applies outside the world of aviation and the military. I was always told that you never introduced yourself as Mr Smith, or whatever, but as plain John Smith. It was then polite for the other person to address you as Mr Smith. Nowadays, though, he's likely to say "Hi John", so I suppose those rules only apply among a diminishing number of old farts like me.

Pity though :(

Just seen your post Tableview , we're making the same point! We are even equally unimaginative in our selection of John Smith as an example!

I would never include my position or rank as my name. If you're wearing badges of rank it should be obvious; if not it doesn't matter.

Worst military ones I experienced were wives of those who introduce themselves as "Mrs Squadron Leader Blah Blah".

One well remembered one on our squadron got an exaggerated, polite curtsey and a "Good evening, MA'AM!" from the Flight Lieutenant being introduced.

I think it's done by those uncertain of their confidence to fill the rank.

When dealing with the Dell drones in Asia, they invariably ask if they can call me by my first name, despite being probably one third my age.

My response has always been, you can call me Mr -------. To me it helps set the tone of the exchange and helps them remember that we are not pals, but that they are being paid to do a job for me.

PJ - if you lived in the UK you would be amazed at the number of 'Majors' that are around.

Back in the 1950s, a local hotel was run by Captain Arthur Gardner,
retired Guards officer turned publican Capt. Gardner
I have 50 years of swimming experience behind me, including being swimming instructor to the Brigade of Guards,
Capt. Gardner had insisted that the pool be fitted with two springboards, despite strong opposition from other councillors – but he may have regretted his decision.Three times, he bounced into the air, and each time, he came down with an increasingly more resounding belly-flop, to the embarrassment of watching dignitaries.

We have a pilot working for us who has been spotted wearing his 4 stripes whilst out shopping.










Not too bad until you realise he is still an FO.

What shat me off as a FO in SQ yonks ago was a few of these
QF vvankers....who insisted on us calling them "captain" or
"skipper". I guessed these old doddering buggers had badly
failing memories and needed a constant frigging reminder of
their rank. I agreed as long as they called me "First Officer" -
and if their tongue slipped and called me Slash, then I called
'em by their first name in response.

I instantly fell out with my daughter's boss when his email arrived complete with his OBE!

Know of one social hand grenade who allegedly had captains' bars sewn on his pyjamas.

Yea, verily the mind doth boggle...

I'll see your "sewn on his pyjamas" and raise you a "tattooed
on his shoulders". Mind you he was a retired salt after yonks
in the Merchant Navy.

Do you chaps mean that having my RAF wings sewn onto my underpants is infra-dig?:eek:

First time anyone called me "Captain", I looked around to see who they were talking to. Took a second or two before I realised that they were addressing me.

"Captain" is the most powerful word in CRM.

When a First Officer calls CM1 "Captain," instead of "Nigel" (or whatever) the F/O is quite clearly well outside his comfort zone, and the Captain needs to pay attention.

At one airline in Italy we were always called Comandante - by everyone except the Guarda. This title was accorded us even in restaurants in the city where we were privileged to enjoy discounts and deferential service. I sometimes wondered who really owned the company, that we should be treated so well by the local citizenry.

Anyone can call me Sir Lancelot. :D I've also been called W. Anker! Who cares?

Legend has it that our CI in Army basic had his staff sergeant's insignia tattooed on his foreskin!

After an excellent landing etc...

When the extremely pretty (and very Cornish) young lady who works in a shop I visit regularly addresses me as "my lover" I must admit to a pang of regret when I recall it is her standard form of address to all and sundry, young or old, male or female :(

"My name is Mr. Smith ......" and I hated hearing it. I pulled him up on it one day and he was very offended!


Same as those people who have business cards with 'Mr.' in front of their name.

When a First Officer calls CM1 "Captain," instead of "Nigel" (or whatever) the F/O is quite clearly well outside his comfort zone, and the Captain needs to pay attention.

Possibly the case in European and American airlines when two people of the same nationality are flying together but once you get east of Suez it is an every day non-event.


Legend has it that our CI in Army basic had his staff sergeant's insignia tattooed on his foreskin!




Obviously no ambition! Should have put the Coat of Arms on at the very least!;)

I once saw a PPL pilot climbing out of a Cessna 152 wearing a uniform with four bars on his shoulders and white gloves on.
Fancy abusing a lovely little C152 in that way. Scandalous!

Parabellum

He was overaged and serving on an age waiver. He had no hope of further promotion. He was also the toughest man I have ever met. At age 55 he could do 30 power pushups flat hand.

After an excellent landing etc...

When the extremely pretty (and very Cornish) young lady who works in a shop I visit regularly addresses me as "my lover" I must admit to a pang of regret when I recall...
I know a guy who exploits "Hi, beautiful girl!" - well, SO cute, even if you know it's not true (the girl-part, of course, kinda under-rated :E).

" if you lived in the UK you would be amazed at the number of 'Majors' that are around. "

Never knew that John and Edwina had been quite so productive.....

On the other hand "call me Captain"....encountered a former BOAC crew many years ago.....was ignored completly on entering the flight deck...asked politely.....as in I did say please....for a signature from said entity....who duly turned to the F/E and said "Engineer, tell the ground engineer how I expect to be addressed"..this the F/E did...hence the next bit was to the effect that as my thumb prints were in place, we could sit here all day unless he had a valid reason for not signing....."sunshine" may not have been the deferential response he was expecting....

Captain Key :sad:

"That kind of environment is not something that would be accepted in this day and age"

A few seasons back we had a Captain from a UK low-cost orange airline join our local village cricket team. He insisted that he was listed as Captain before his name in the scorebook. Thankfully he moved away after a short time as he was both a knob jockey and shite at cricket!

Former work colleague was buying second-hand furniture (note: NOT antique) and the yard was holding it until the house was ready. He went back to look for more the following weekend, spotted his piano with a label "Reserved for Mr. ******" and insisted the yard owner change it to "Dr. ******". Tosser.

It was fairly usual in years gone by in the north for people to be Mr, and addressed as such.

Perhaps the height of ridiculousness was one VERY large US company who insisted that business cards were not to have job titles, PhDs were not to have Dr in front of their name, and you had no idea if the card came from the CTO or the janitor!

So after a meeting, you could spend hours trying to decide which Mr Wang you needed to talk to about radio engineering and which about digital processing....

A company I worked for wanted me to have my 'title' on my business card. It was something so absurd and pompous that I can't even remember exactly what it was but something like 'Senior Training Analysis Manager (Global) Airline IT Requirements' that I instructed the inhouse printer to leave it off. I later found out that the only the 'big boss' had a card with no title on it!

What's the basis for someone insisting they be addressed or referred to by their position within a company (Apart from dillusions of adequacy and self importance)? After all, leave the job and your qual lapses after a period of time, right? Unlike Doctors or Military Officers of a certain (Flag) rank (Of which "Major" isn't one)??

I worked for an International Engineering Manufacturing company.

There were older engineers (and managers) who had doubtless seen military service, but none used their rank as titles, even though their demeanour attested to their origin, however we did acquire a Dr who became Chief Engineer and insisted on his full title.
However, this affectation wasn't as bad as when I later worked for a German company, where Herr Dr Inginieur was a sort-after title and insisted on being applied.

Reminds me of working for a company in Germany where I always used my first name and in return was told to use the first names of my colleagues, so whereas Klaus and Renate and I used first names to each other, between themselves it was Herr Schmitt and Frau Fischer! And that never changed! Even the Swiss I worked with are less formal.

It got horribly confusing when trying to follow a meeting with a number of people and someone would says : "Herr Holzkopf sagte ...... und Frau Eisenmann hat geantwortet...." and I'd have to work out that this meant the people I knew as Ralf and Gudrun ........ Also there quite a few with the same or similar names ......

...who duly turned to the F/E and said "Engineer...Something similar happened to me on an RAF VC10, but in this case, when called out to fix a "Crew-in Snag" the Squadron Leader Captain refused to speak to a mere Corporal at all and tried using the Flight Engineer as a go-between. I simply left the aircraft and its Captain to their own devices, went back to Line HQ and handed over to our Chiefy, who then handed it on to our Engineering Officer who declined to attend the aircraft and deferred the defect.

I don't know how this pilot made it so far in aviation with such an odd mannerism: I certainly can't imagine what CRM was like on this particular flight deck.

Same as those people who have business cards with 'Mr.' in front of their name.

When I went to uni I dug out one of those old visiting cards from RAF days which used the format "Mr T. Trashnav, Royal Air Force" for pilot officers and flying officers. Stuck it in the slot in my door in the flat where you could put your name. Lasted all of two days before someone wrote "tosser" on it - and quite right too!

btw Blacksheep, that would almost certainly have been an acting Squadron Leader. Some of those blokes really had delusions of grandeur.

A new F/O at Brit's was just out of the RAF.
Self and mate, Malcolm, both ex-RAF were informed by him
that "His chaps" in the RAF called him "Skipper"
Malc informed him that there was "NO effin chance" of that happening
at Brits.

Tell pilots you're an engineer.
They don't stay long then.

Oddly its true..... :)
Introduce yourself by first name is the best way to get people to start talking to you.If someone starts announcing their rank/position...most would probably walk away.

Well, there is a time and a place for formalities. I will not be called by my first name. When boys come to my house to take out my daughter, they had better address me as MR WIDGER or else!

It always grates me when I hear : "My name is Captain John Smith" because it's both untrue and pompous. "My name is John Smith and I am your captain...." is different and quite acceptable.

I had a colleague who when on the 'phone on a business call used to say : "My name is Mr. Smith ......" and I hated hearing it. I pulled him up on it one day and he was very offended!



Once, just once, I did this. It was exactly 19 years ago. During a telephone conversation I replied with " My name is Mr....." to the question about my name. Worst part is that it was with a logging company to which I sold a dozen of standing trees. It didn't feel quite right and that feeling was confirmed when I saw Mrs Garp standing in the door opening, shaking her head. "You know you shouldn't do that" ; she told me. Never did it again. :O

What the "Majors" forget is that we all know that they were failures.

Any fool can get to be a Major. It takes serious incompetence combined with the right school background to get beyond Major.

I have noted that the number of 'call me captain or sir' types on the flight deck has decreased steadily over the years. Those that do try it on are now in the minority and hence make themselves noticed (for the wrong reason) very quickly. In my opinion, the industry is a better and safer place as a result of this.

When boys come to my house to take out my daughter, they had better address me as MR WIDGER or else!

Must take issue with your there Widger.. They should be calling you "Sir" and nothing less ;)

that would almost certainly have been an acting Squadron Leader. Some of those blokes really had delusions of grandeur.

Squadron commander of mine was the pin up boy when the VC10 was introduced, picture on the front of the "inflight mag", article in RAF News, the whole ish, but he was certainly not a prima donna and had no "delusions of grandeur" nice bloke.:)

mind you, he blotted his copybook later on I believe:ooh:
Regards, Den.

...that would almost certainly have been an acting Squadron Leader. One of whom was having a hissy fit at the front desk in the "Blue Spitoon" at Gan, provoking a comment from the 205 Sqn detachment commander :

"I say, are you a REAL Squadron Leader, or just a VC10 pilot?" :)

Whilst serving on one station in the East Anglian Air Force had a young Cranwell graduate who insisted on driving a brand-new hire car. For particular reasons, it wasn't the standard Cavalier/Montego but a very swish (and fast) Alfa... our other hire car was a Lada just to keep things in balance.

Whilst driving along the M4 this young man decided to see what the car could do and went 'pedal to the metal'. The inevitable happened and we were stopped by one of Avon & Somerset's finest in an even faster and unmarked Omega. " What's your name?" asked plod. "Flying Officer......" replied the young man. "Parents have a sense of humour sir? I asked for your name, not your rank, now please join me in my car Mr......."

The rest of the journey was continued in silence at well within the speed limit. I drove the return journey back to base whilst young man compiled his report to the boss explaining why his presence would be required at Swindon magistrates.

I was nightstopping in London one night and the captain was the first to approach the hotel reception.

Name, the young lady asks politely.

Captain ...... ......... is the reply.

I'm thinking, er no it isn't. Your name is ...... .......... and you happen to be a captain. :yuk:

Quite happily she looked distinctly unimpressed. It's not as though many flight crews stay there and he was the first one she had ever seen!

A lot of ex-mariner types (non-Navy) tend to want to hang on to their rank when they come ashore. I've worked with a number of guys whose colleagues jocularly address them as "Captain", but I work with one now who has it written out in full on his business card. Makes me cringe. Presumably he thinks he's impressing someone, but I'm not sure who.

Hi Mr Widger.

Re; "Well, there is a time and a place for formalities. I will not be called by my first name. When boys come to my house to take out my daughter, they had better address me as MR WIDGER or else!"

Would it be OK if I addressed you as 'Daddy' from now on?:E

Daz

Then, there's always FSL.........

When boys come to my house to take out my daughter, they had better address me as MR WIDGER or else!"

"Hi, my name's Lance, I've come to take your daughter to the dance."
"Great, see you later ........."

"Hi, my name's Paul, I've invited your daughter to the company ball."
"Excellent, enjoy yourselves........"

"Hi, I'm Chuck, I've ............."
"Piss off .........."

What's the difference between God and a pilot?...God doesn't believe he's a pilot.

Octopussy2
I'm an ex MN Master who uses the title Captain at work. I have found it is a lot more convenient in the Chartering industry as it indicates that I have been at sea and therefore posses a certain amount of knowledge regarding ships.

I have tried without the title and have found Agents, Brokers etc will start explaining to me in simplistic terms and usually incorrectly, various aspect of ship operations.

Also when communicating with serving Masters they know I have similar knowledge and will explain things differently to me then to a non experienced person.

I certainly don't use it to impress people, they deal with so many Masters here that it has zero effect.

BTW
I was always told that the rank was Master and the (honorary) title was Captain.

4mastacker,
I found the law pretty lenient to servicemen. My case: Cambridge, small hours, ancient Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane, 3x POs in messkit and not entirely ethanol free.
Very kind policeman assisted with push start of this £30 two ton banger:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/Capn_Basil/ArmstrongSiddeleyHurricane.jpg

How it SHOULD look:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Armstrong-Siddeley_Hurricane_Drophead_Coupe_1946.jpg



Blacksheep,
"I say, are you a REAL Squadron Leader, or just a VC10 pilot?"
Now that's funny.

the Squadron Leader Captain refused to speak to a mere Corporal at all and tried using the Flight Engineer as a go-between.
Wasn't it better to have you deal with the specialist who knows what makes it go rather than the captain who just drives the thing? :p

Just been to the dreaded Trafford Centre, where it's always very warm.
Chap in a pilot's shirt and 4 bars observed on the upper floor exiting Selfridges. :E

I often wear a pilot shirt, simply because the two pockets are handy.

Great amusement when driving wearing a white one as around 10% of those planning to overtake suddenly change their minds.

Whilst driving along the M4 this young man decided to see what the car could do and went 'pedal to the metal'. The inevitable happened and we were stopped by one of Avon & Somerset's finest in an even faster and unmarked Omega. " What's your name?" asked plod. "Flying Officer......" replied the young man. "Parents have a sense of humour sir? I asked for your name, not your rank, now please join me in my car Mr......."

A certain young officer undergoing rotary wing training (now sadly deceased but unconnected with this story) went one further. He was stopped for speeding whilst in uniform and his opening gambit was to bollock the policeman for not saluting! :D

I happen to live and fly in a 'Latin' country where there is no stigma attached to being called, nor calling other aircrew by their titles.

In fact at work it means you dont have to panic when you've forgotten someones name you simply adress them as Captain or Commandante.

Interestingly a co pilot is adressed as 'Captain' and a captain as 'Commandante' as per their Air force rank structure.

Admittedly I do 'Walt it up' with the Captain thing when confronted by local police or military when they are trying to solicit a bribe and also if I need to see my local bank manager in which case I don full rig so that the bank manager personally whisks me into his office before pouring me coffee and personally assisting me with my banking.

In a civilian airline environment these titles are not ranks they are simply titles of function, why then in the UK specifically is there such a huge stigma attached to the useage of such?

Ladies, how do you know when your date with a Pilot is half over?

He'll say:

"Well, that's enough about me, now let me tell you about my aeroplane..."

6

......Or, "Well, that's enough about me. Now tell me; what do you think about me?"

Perhaps one is a little jaded, but the mad scramble by new CPL holders to strut about wearing shiny wings always seems a bit desperate to me. In a previous life, the company was always short of wings and I'd happily pass mine along to disappointed new hires who were told the stores had run out, safe in the knowledge that it would be a couple of months before someone noticed and issued me another set. I'm the grumpy old sod in the corner, mumbling into his beer, who refuses to wear them on the grounds you look such a pratt when dragged from the wreck with shiny wings on your chest.

I call myself Captain only when operationally necessary, ie when talking to rostering, dispatch or maintenance, and of course on the PA.

This is mainly to do with job function, ie if I need to request a day off then rostering know which crew list to look at to find a replacement, dispatch would know when an operational decision has been made and engineering would know what level of technical knowledge to expect when I call them with a problem.

However it is important to fit in with the way things are done in the company. Some airlines have a steep authority gradient and wouldn't want a temporary contract Captain encouraging too much informality, a contract first officer calling a local Captain by his first name may not go down too well either.

I remember a pilot who used to carry his ATPL with him when he went to a night club so he had proof of what he did for a living.:yuk:

" but the mad scramble by new CPL holders to strut about wearing shiny wings always seems a bit desperate to me" . ..

Alas, it's not simply those who have reached the exalted status above who have this affliction....I know of a poster on here who, whilst still a student PPL travelled as pax one day to Scotland....and booked himself to GLA..rather than the intended destination of EDI....an easy mistake to make of course...on the return leg, our hero duly informed me how he had rebuked a fellow pax for not reading the safety cards...one quotes from memory here ..." So I told him, I'm a pilot !...and if I read the safety cards, then you should bloody well do so as well !! ".

maxrated,
Yes, much amused/flattered when on detachment down to BA to be referred to as 'Commandante'.

We, in the UK have, during the course of my lifetime gone from relative formality to US informality. I recollect a couple of elderly maiden sisters who lived close to us when I was a child. One had been a nurse and was still always referred to as 'Nurse White'. Other neighbours were referred to as 'Mr' or 'Mrs'. In the Merchant Navy it was not uncommon to refer to each other by appointment even in friendly informality. "Hey, Fouro, going ashore for a beer?"

At the age of 60, I went from captain to two ring FO. The difference in attitude of ground staff was marked. I do recollect a dispatcher who just had to argue about aircraft weight and balance with the poor old duffer who'd never even made SFO - in the end the old duffer got his way :)
There's nothing wrong with a degree of sensible formality but, on the flight deck* amongst professionals, my view is that informality produces better results.
As a captain, I'd prefer an FO who will pipe up rather than someone who will watch the old man dig a hole for himself.

*Yes, yes and with the CC too :p

I was in Bahrain awhile ago and a very pompous Pakistani gentleman who had a relatively high position in their CAA came up to me and introduced himself as Capt Venuak P Something or other. Being of ex-military persuation, I immediatly replied "Good to meet you, I am Colonel Warloc" shut him up for the rest of the day. I never use my old rank as it is a thing of the past.

How many are/were known as
Reichsführer ?

Quite enjoyed reading many of the replies, gave me a good chuckle after a long day at work. Quite agree with your comments, merch and Metro man.

maxrated, in some Latin American countries airline crews affectionately call the old man "capi." It has a great ring to it when it is hot flight attendant saying it while she is rubbing the epaulettes on your shoulders and asking if there is anything she can get you.

I find it all a little repugnant though when guys around the flying club call each other (or introduce themselves) as "Captain." I am talking about the ones whose highest qualification in aviation is single-engine land airplanes (the reciprocal engine ones) and gyros.

Ah, yes - When HMTQ could no longer afford to keep me in the manner to which I'd grown accustomed, I flew Aztecs for a couple of months. On day one, the boss presented me with a four ring jacket. Two months later I gave it back and took 18 years to get another one.

I would say that, even as an air taxi pilot, you need the four to get peoples attention. As a sixty something two ring FO, I went on a charter to arrange handling at destination. When I arrived there, I realised that I should have slipped on my old four bars.

Cultural differences play a big part, and to understand them, I'd recommend reading Hofstede or Trompenaars.

The comment about Comandante reminded me of an acquisition that the Co I worked for made in S America.
The Acquisition/due diligence team deal doled out roles for which we were suited, and after a while the biggest jobs were done.
In a very, very casual meeting we then had to pass out the work that had not been done. Some of the outcomes in terms of task allocation were, er, peculiar, but we all trusted each other, so off we went.
I was given the full due diligence for one of the "smaller" countries in terms of turnover. (It still turned over lots of millions of dollars).

Off I duly went to said country, along with my trusted translator. We received very full VIP treatment at the airport, and were whisked off to a posh hotel to meet the management team, and to allocate time over the next couple of days.
Later in the evening, after a very nice meal with some great red wine, Carlos, the translator, took me aside. "Er, they want to know what to call you."
Now, I had worked with lots of South Americans before, so I knew about the cultural differences, especially the "power distance" issue where the boss knows everything and is always right, especially when he (and it will be a he) is wrong.
However, this was the first time that I literally had - in their eyes at least- the future of their company and their jobs in my hands.

As I knew SFA about some of the things that I was about to pass judgement on, and when I signed the due diligence paperwork I was up for dismissal if I got it wrong - what they called me was the last of my worries.
Carlos was quite taken with the idea that they might call me "Comandante", or Mr Observer. I was hyper insensitive to all this, and insisted that they should use my nickname, which Carlos assured me would not please them, as they wanted to see me as some sort of super boss, and not a nickname.

Fortunately, they had a great business, which deserved more investment, which they got after the takeover. I imagine that they forgave me.

However, some times, using the right title isn't about ME - it's about them.

It's not all a step backward. I remember in the 80's at Ferranti Bracknell there were at least 3 grades of toilets for various sceniorities all still with the old door plates. Reminded me of that old film 'The Apartment'.

However, some times, using the right title isn't about ME - it's about them.
Yes, it explains the relationship. The first time I meet someone by way of political business my title is "councillor", just to make it clear what I'm doing there. Second and subsequent times it's first names.

very enjoyable reading! (and, btw, I'd quite enjoy being told about the airplane for the 2nd half of the date, but that might be my personal problem ;)).

Somehow those who really are persons of authority rarely need to flag it with titles?
And then there are the 'natural' ones - like 'nurse' or 'doctor' (for a medical someone) or 'teacher'? - and the cultural issues.
We, in the UK have, during the course of my lifetime gone from relative formality to US informality. I recollect a couple of elderly maiden sisters who lived close to us when I was a child. One had been a nurse and was still always referred to as 'Nurse White'. Other neighbours were referred to as 'Mr' or 'Mrs'.
Me and spouse almost choked on our food when the waiter kept coming to our table and asking: How was it, mister? Did it taste well, madam? Would you like anything else, mister? Yes, madam? - well, it's nice to be considered venerable enough, but...

it's nice to be considered venerable enough
Much worse than that happened to me on the London Underground a few weeks ago.
A chap leapt to his feet and offered me his seat :{:{

(BTW, the resident comedians can hold the funnies)