Arrrgh. This really bugged me last night and to be honest, it bugs me in general.

Surely 'guys' is a term you should only use with people in your own peer group?

Mark seemed to think It was okay to address the supermarket buyers as 'guys' during his presentation; okay I know he was nervous but I thought it was waaaay too familiar and could cost him a deal somewhere along the line.

Equally I also hate it when I'm in a restaurant and the waiting staff refer to me and my table like this, no matter how young, hip and cool they're trying to come across.

Mark is like a pale, sombre version of Peter Andre in a suit.

Doesn't bother me, generally.

As to it's use - I think it's either because the person naturally uses the word (as I sometimes do - I grew up watching American telly and reading American 20th century books and listening to American music so my vocabulary is affected by that)

or

It's a concerted attempt to come across as informal and appear on the same level (which has failed if the other person has noticed).

A lot depends on setting. If I was serving in a pub then it seems like a good thing to say. If I'm standing in front of a government commission then I'll probably drop it from use. The line is somewhere in between but I'm not sure where. "Guys" off a waiter wouldn't even register with me but I wouldn't use the word myself in a business setting where the expectation is to be more formal.

I could not agree more. Addressing potential business (or restaurant) customers as "you guys" is not acceptable in this country. It might be de riguer in the USA, but it is beyond the pale here.

Especially if you have been told by your project manager not to butt in with stupid remarks...

I agree. Mark and Dan both did this and it came across as very out of place in that environment.

I suspect it is fine in the areas they've previously worked in and they haven't learnt how to adjust their style to suit the audience they're pitching to.

I've had to deal with both Asda and Tesco in my career and that is not how to behave in a first meeting.

I tell you what annoys me, and that's people needlessly starting a sentence with SO. Sugar asked Bianca a couple of things last night and she started with the word 'so'. It seems to be increasingly common but I have no idea why.

I have to agree, OP. Every time one of them said it I cringed

'Guys' is something that is generally used to refer to a group of people of either gender.

I's informal and I wouldn't use it in a business context, but it's just a word that has evolved beyond referring to a few men.

I noticed that and found it very annoying. I've also heard it on another programme over the last couple of days, though I can't remember which. It seems as if 'so' is being used instead of a word such as 'well' which is also unnecessary but at least makes some sort of sense, unlike 'so' in this context.

Hello tuppencehapenny you fellow pedant! I even googled the phenomenon and found this article from 3 years ago:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/...s-so-annoying/

The aspect I did not like of his pitch was 'setting the scene' for the luxury pudding market to the buyers at the largest supermarket in the UK. I think they may be aware of the market Mark....

It's very cringey when Dan does it. It's like he trying too hard to show that he's relaxed and friendly.

Yes and the fact they said (twice) "one customer said trifle doesn't get any better than that" (or something like that). Errr, I'd let the buyers be the judge of that. It was so patronising. Plus Mark also said twenty pounds at one point when he surely meant twenty million pounds.

I refer to groups as 'guys' a lot. I'm worried about how I've come across now!

Having said that, I'm not in business pitching a product, but I didn't see any harm in it and certainly wouldn't have found it offensive.

I thought he meant 20%. One thing's for sure, he didn't mean £20!

I'm not sure I agree that they shouldn't have mentioned the consumer feedback, but I do think the way in which they did it was a little gauche.

Just another americanism we have that is infiltrating our everyday language, gets up my nose tbh.

Yep - you hear waiters and waitresses say it all the time. Makes you cringe especially when said to those on more senior years.

It depends where you eat. If you dine in big chain restaurants like Frankie and Benny's or TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut etc then you'll most likely be greeted in such a casual manner. It's such an Americanism and waiters seem to do it all the time in those big chain places like Pesto or Bella Italia or La Tasca etc. Decent independent restaurants don't seem to do it and instead call you sir and madam.

It's almost as bad as people who insist on addressing you as "mate". I can't stand it.

It's another vile Americanism that we've adopted. Guys is a loose casual term and should never be used to greet people in a formal setting such as a business meeting. Secondly the word guys actually refers to a group of men and not women unless of course you're using it in the bastardised American version of the word.

If I was listening to someone who was pitching a business proposal to me and he said, "Hey guys" it would put me off him straight away. It's not just extremely casual and informal but quite familiar and personal. It's the kind of terminology that one might use when walking into a bar and addressing their group of friends. It's as bad as walking into a board room and saying "Eh up Mate!"

If I am a buyer for Waitrose and some scruffy little herbert bowls in and starts calling us guys I am lobbing that trifle at his head

they don't refer to Lordy Sugar as "Geezer" do they, have some respect?

I feel like maybe it's one of those things that in British English is very informal, but in Australian English is used in multiple contexts, which would explain why Mark used it. That's just a guess as I don't know that much about Australia, but I know there are certain phrases which we use loosely in informal contexts, but to them can be used as generally as 'How are you?' The opinion of someone who knows more about the Aussies would be useful though.

I think he has been working here long enough to know that there is a difference here. If not - someone really should tell him that it is inappropriate - I do so hope he tries it out on the interviewers - I'm sure they'll just love it.

He can't really try it out on the interviewers, as it would make no sense. They only have interviews with one person at a time. You can't use 'guys' when talking to one person.

I dunno, I reckon one of this year's lot might be thick enough to address Claude Litner as 'mate'.. *




* I hope so, anyway.