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Office Etiquette
Rank: Elder Joined: 6/19/2008 Posts: 4,268
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I dont know if am being fussy but i find some of our fellow kenyans being increasingly annoying in our etiquette (or lack of) in some of these things that look so obvious.
People meet in different places. In whichever forum you meet, you are addressed differently.. Eg, in the estates, its common to find one being addressed as baba/mama boy,john, wangeshi, or whatever, in office, usually, its by first/last name, for relatives, sometimes you find them calling you your middle name (which by the way, its only them who may know it)...
Some people show up in offices and come asking for " mama/baba otieno/nyambura/kubaff" at the reception... I mean, how do you expect to be helped? how many parents have their children with the same name? And some of these are actually learned people looking for business... and even after they learn the person's "official" name, they still insist on calling him/her the estate name.... Ati "can i see baba shee".....who is this???
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/2/2009 Posts: 26,328 Location: Masada
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Ha ha haaa....Kenyans are peculiar in all spheres of life. Portfolio: Sold
You know you've made it when you get a parking space for your yatcht.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/9/2007 Posts: 219
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I share the post office box with my cousin.Due to technical problems i changed the lock.One day she sent her office messenger to pick the new key.When the guy opened the reception door he didn't even greet anyone instead he went like "Nimetumwa na Josephine kwa yule mwanamke anaitwa ........ nichukue funguo ya posta".I felt like blowing out his silly head.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/2/2009 Posts: 26,328 Location: Masada
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So Ray ni socket, good to know. Portfolio: Sold
You know you've made it when you get a parking space for your yatcht.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 5/24/2007 Posts: 1,805
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Ray wrote:I share the post office box with my cousin.Due to technical problems i changed the lock.One day she sent her office messenger to pick the new key.When the guy opened the reception door he didn't even greet anyone instead he went like "Nimetumwa na Josephine kwa yule mwanamke anaitwa ........ nichukue funguo ya posta".I felt like blowing out his silly head. @Ray, The guy was rude and should have been more polite but what is wrong with describing you as ' mwana wa kike' I would not mind anyone calling me Mwanaume! Guys, Why is it that our Kenyan beauties do not like being called women yet it is a more distinguished identity than 'lady' which is linked to ' lady of the night' I Think Therefore I Am
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/30/2006 Posts: 635
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 Impunity wrote:So Ray ni socket, good to know.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 4/4/2007 Posts: 1,162
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Why do Kenyan motorists overlap others and pretend all is ok????
Hii tabia ilitoka wapi? Is it the schooling, culture, tribe ama nini??
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Rank: Elder Joined: 10/14/2009 Posts: 2,057
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bwenyenye wrote:Ray wrote:I share the post office box with my cousin.Due to technical problems i changed the lock.One day she sent her office messenger to pick the new key.When the guy opened the reception door he didn't even greet anyone instead he went like "Nimetumwa na Josephine kwa yule mwanamke anaitwa ........ nichukue funguo ya posta".I felt like blowing out his silly head. @Ray, The guy was rude and should have been more polite but what is wrong with describing you as ' mwana wa kike' I would not mind anyone calling me Mwanaume! Guys, Why is it that our Kenyan beauties do not like being called women yet it is a more distinguished identity than 'lady' which is linked to ' lady of the night' 'mwanamke' for some reason sounds rude - would you refer to your wife, mother or sister that way? If you are an eagle don't hang around with chickens; chickens don't fly....
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 1/7/2010 Posts: 1,279 Location: nbi
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what is the issue? You don't like being called mwanamke. Kwani wewe mwanaume? You don't like being called mama githenge, kwani wewe mama wangemi? The Governor of Nyeri - 2017
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Rank: Elder Joined: 5/24/2007 Posts: 1,805
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@ Vinii, Honestly, I would not mind it at all. It is a mere statement of fact.Ni wanawake! I do not see what is demeaning at all.. Is there something I am not seeing? I Think Therefore I Am
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/19/2010 Posts: 3,504 Location: Uganda
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vinii wrote:bwenyenye wrote:Ray wrote:I share the post office box with my cousin.Due to technical problems i changed the lock.One day she sent her office messenger to pick the new key.When the guy opened the reception door he didn't even greet anyone instead he went like "Nimetumwa na Josephine kwa yule mwanamke anaitwa ........ nichukue funguo ya posta".I felt like blowing out his silly head. @Ray, The guy was rude and should have been more polite but what is wrong with describing you as ' mwana wa kike' I would not mind anyone calling me Mwanaume! Guys, Why is it that our Kenyan beauties do not like being called women yet it is a more distinguished identity than 'lady' which is linked to ' lady of the night' 'mwanamke' for some reason sounds rude - would you refer to your wife, mother or sister that way? Simple mpake rangi kidogo, itayeye msichana, hata kama ana miaka 50  Sema nimetumwa na yule msichana(a 50year old lady) anafanya hapa that is if you do not know her name and if you feel calling her mwanamke will offend her. punda amecheka
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/28/2009 Posts: 353 Location: Cloud
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funny how a generic name like Mwanawakike generates a negative conotation yet mwanamume doesnt . i frequent a kaplace where i do not know the actual names of some of the actors. strange names like, "kawaya, main, masta,mathutha, blackie, kavoucher,are all too common. I guess it depends on which school of etiquette one went to. "For i am the master and the captain of my fate"
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/19/2010 Posts: 3,504 Location: Uganda
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Just remembered, sometime back , around 1989,yes 22years back, a neighbour was slashed by a woman for asking her I quote 'mama habari yako'. This young man was around 25years old and the lady nearly same age.The youngman then is now nearing 50years!!!!!!!!! The lady was cutting grass with a panga in the shamba while the young man was doing the evening village rounds young men used to do those times just as a pass time as they waited for supper. The young man saw the lady and innocently asked her , 'mama habari yako' The lady incessantly raised the panga and before the youngman could know it , he was already profusely bleeding. I living true story. The youngman had to be rushed to hospital and was admitted and the case was referred to police. Just because of 'Mama habari yako' This 'mama' seems to offend ladies so much Men, unless you are calling your own mum avoid it punda amecheka
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Rank: Elder Joined: 12/9/2009 Posts: 1,491 Location: Nairobi
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newfarer wrote:Just remembered, sometime back , around 1989,yes 22years back, a neighbour was slashed by a woman for asking her I quote 'mama habari yako'.
This young man was around 25years old and the lady nearly same age.The youngman then is now nearing 50years!!!!!!!!!
The lady was cutting grass with a panga in the shamba while the young man was doing the evening village rounds young men used to do those times just as a pass time as they waited for supper.
The young man saw the lady and innocently asked her , 'mama habari yako'
The lady incessantly raised the panga and before the youngman could know it , he was already profusely bleeding.
I living true story.
The youngman had to be rushed to hospital and was admitted and the case was referred to police.
Just because of 'Mama habari yako'
This 'mama' seems to offend ladies so much
Men, unless you are calling your own mum avoid it In Mombasa if you wanna witness tongue lashing try saying mama habari yako to a woman and that day you will feel like running away Kenya ni yetu sisi sote
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 5/13/2010 Posts: 869 Location: Nairobi
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Back to office etiquette, I hate it when people walk in with pungent smells... or bad breath and insist on talking to you.. Aaaai! Especially the breath, whether a client or a fellow member of staff. I once offered gum to a colleague.. i was dying. The she sweetly said no. I eventually sat her down and talked to her about her breath and she went and saw a dentist. ....above all, to stand.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 6/19/2008 Posts: 4,268
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I absolutely see no problem being addressed as mama so and so.... what i find unacceptable is when you dont know where and when to address someone in a certain manner. there is the context where you call someone mama so and so in the estates and in the office, use the official address... i doubt there is any office in town where people address each other as mama nyokabi, baba sheunda etc etc! those ones we leave them at the estates... when in office, you maintain the professionalism... thats what i think. If you come to office and address me as Bi so and so or by first name, i have no problem with that... if you address me Bi so and so or by first name when i have changed to the "mother gear" and am running around with kids and family stuff then it wont sound very nice.... That is, know when and how to address the same person depending on the situation/circumstances.
Or those people (friend, other colleagues or relatives) who will meet you with colleagues/friends and they switch direct to mother tongue disregarding whether the other person can understand that language or not.... its offensive
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 1/7/2010 Posts: 1,279 Location: nbi
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Much ado about nothing. Ni kama watu wanafisha kitu The Governor of Nyeri - 2017
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 12/9/2010 Posts: 894 Location: Nairobi
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it doesn't go well with gals when you call them mama, a friend told me that the age of women stagnates when they get to 23yrs old. lol Don't wait for the Last Judgment. It happens every day. ~Albert Camus, The Fall, 1956
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/24/2011 Posts: 407 Location: Nairobi,Kenya
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Unaita nani mama?mi ni mamako? Hope is not a strategy
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