What’s in a name?

Sruthi, Shruthi, Shruti, Sruti?

Not just my friend Sruthi, but even I face this everyday. While at work, many customers – on phone or email – call me by different names – Manoj, Manoy, Manjo, Mano and so on… also “Hey Cisco! Can you look into this for me?”. Sometimes I correct them, sometimes I just ignore. But every single time, I say to myself – “It is a simple name! Manoj“. I am not sure about you, but when someone calls me by my exact name, I feel happy.

When was the last time you called an Uber driver and spoke to him by his name? Or a Swiggy delivery person? I bet many of us do not even read the name, let alone calling them by their names. And turns out, Swiggy wants to take up this wonderful cause for their delivery and support staff. It is an excellent gesture and support that they are showing. This video says it all –

Remembering names is my weakness. And since I know the importance of calling people by their proper name, I put in extra effort to remember names of people I talk to. I rehearse multiple times, I think of ways to remember the name and call it out the way they prefer it to hear. Our name is our identity, our brand, our everything. And we should respect that for others. It shows you have the dignity towards your fellow human beings.

Will you promise me to respect everyone around you by calling them by their actual name? Whether it is your friend, co-worker, Uber driver, or a Swiggy delivery person. A lot is in this. 🙂

PS: Cisco puts a lot of effort in this by making sure all the front desk staff introduce both parties and only then gets off the call. Most customers do use names,  but few people continue to say “Hey, Cisco!”. Hope this will change very soon.