I think you're right; seems to be a southern thing. I find it kind of charming.

Maam will do. Your Excellence would be better. I absolutely loathe honey and sweetie from anybody. I don't like being called by my first name by people who don't know me, especially on the phone. at the bank, etc. At my doctor's office it's OK. The last time I was in hospital they asked me how I would prefer to be addressed - first name or Mrs. B. . . I opted for the latter and by god, it worked.
A little curtsy would be nice too.

And DON'T call her Jeann-ie. ;)I asked first but sometimes forget. She IS a sweetie though.

It seems based on the various responses that a person can't win no matter how he/she addresses a person.

When I lived in Memphis a secretary explained that her husband referred to her as Miss Barbara. And children in Memphis responded with Yes, sir and yes mam. It appears this is a common practice in the south

In my personal view its not what one says but how they say it. If its done with respect then it doesn't manner to me.

Further sales people , etc are taught that people like to hear their first names spoken. apparently based on some of the responses that is not always true.

I do believe that men should not greet women whom they do not or hardly know with "darling". Now that is too personal.

Atlanta might be a bit more urban south than I know about, but in my rural FL schools we said Miz and last name, didn't need to know if they were married, as Mrs. and Miss were (sensibly) articulated the same.

Mrs. - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary contains southern pronunciation...

Mrs, pronounced as misses, sounds like the plural of miss, which is silly.
so back to madame and the French derivation of Mrs., short for mistress, how we collapsed that into misses to mean wife, I don't know...but the original, mistress, now means an unwife. :loco:

Online Etymology Dictionary

occasionally you hear Madam, which always sounds odd to me with its unseemly other meaning.

I'm military (and Mother) trained, it's "Sir" or "Ma'am".

raised using miss and their first name no matter who it is,,,so my great aunt is called miss margaret....

Becomes obvious after a few reads, doesn't it? it's such a personal thing to each individual and how they were raised.

Being a Southerner, I can say, "Yes, sir and yes, mam" is common. It's the way we were raised. The military likes it too!

So very true!

I was taught this when I entered the real estate business in 1971. It was very difficult for me when I was dealing with people older than I was (and most were), since I was only age 23 and raised to respect older people by using their last names.

Agree and if your spouse ever says "Yes, Dear or No, Dear", you're in trouble! :laugh:

I agree with jblum. I really don't like people I don't know (tellers, sales clerks, doctor's staff) calling me by my first name.

Neither does my husband, although he thinks it's funny when someone "Huns" him, as he calls it. He would rather be called Hun than Raymond by a stranger. They always get it wrong anyway, 'cause he goes by the name Ron.