Spell Your Last Name for Me
The other day I was going to yoga, and I walked into my “home studio”.
My studio is being bought out by another, and so there are a lot of new teachers and staff there. I've taken this one new teacher's class three times in about a week. I have an advanced yoga practice with many impressive poses.
I noticed during class she would give compliments, adjustments, and feedback to the other yogis by name. "Great job, Melissa," or "Try evening out your hips, Audrey." "Beautiful, Michael." Though I never seemed to get any comments. At the end of class, she'd speak to me and tell me that one of my poses was beautiful.
Anyways, I digress. This particular morning going into the studio, she is working reception. This means she'll need to check students into class and rent them any towels, mats, water they may need. I get to the desk and she says, "How do you spell your last name?" I spell it for her, then say, "Is that your, what's your first name question?" "No," she responds. "Ehhh, I don't believe you, I think it is." By now she has typed in my last name. "Sherif," she says. "Yes," I respond.
I take yoga with a different teacher, and in the middle of class, I think, "Fuck!" When she said my name, I should have said, "Huh, no that's not me." That would have been amazing. Unfortunately, I only thought of this after the fact. She seemed a bit embarrassed about not remembering my name, and frankly, I didn't care one bit. So I didn't need to increase the "gotcha" moment and aggressively call her out, humiliating her in front of her co-worker doing reception.
After class, I shared my thoughts with the other receptionist who was still there. It was awkward and way too much.
Who knows who Fred is?
Anyways, I have often found myself in a position where I can't remember someone's name. But I really don't mind that at all - I actually think of it as an opportunity! If I remember the person and our interaction, but just don't know their name, I'll be super upfront about it. "Hey, I don't remember your name, but of course I remember you! We had a great conversation about seasonings the other day." I find that this builds trust and shows I'm able to be honest and vulnerable. Plus, it puts the blame on me, not them.
What I don't like is when I see someone, and not only do I not know their name, but I've completely forgotten where we met. I only know they seem familiar and I should know who they are. You know the type - they're always so enthusiastic to see me, and I'm just standing there thinking, "Huh, do I know you?" I smiled when the part about me not believing the teacher's question came up - I mean, the person clearly has a positive memory, association with me that I do not even remember. I just don't recall the whole encounter or where we met. In those cases, I just go with a friendly "Nice to see you!" It's better to say that to someone you're meeting, than to say "nice to meet you" to someone who's been your coworker for 8 months.