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A shop selling breakfast food in Taiwan has put up a banner informing customers aged 18 and above that they are banned from addressing the lady boss as "Auntie".

Photos of the sign were put up in the Baofei Commune (爆廢公社) Facebook group on June 20, Taiwan News reported.

How sign was spotted

The person who took the photo had apparently visited the shop in Taoyuan City's Zhongli District and asked to order some food.

The customer said while at the shop: "Auntie, I would like a thick slice of smoked chicken with onion and a glass of cold milk."

However, his request was ignored.

Another customer seated next to him pointed to a sign that was hanging at the front entrance.

The sign, which showed a photo of the owner, read: "To ensure the standard of food served, those aged 18 and above are not to address the lady owner as 'Auntie'."

Changed tact

Upon taking notice of the sign, the customer put in another request that was rephrased to ensure it went through without a hitch: "Beautiful lady boss, I would like a thick slice of smoked chicken with onion and a glass of cold milk."

The owner, the customer claimed, then looked at him and said: "That sign was made for you."

His post added that the food he got was palatable: "I don't find anything weird in my breakfast."

How to address people without causing offense

Online commenters weighed in on the issue and suggested that age was a delicate matter and tact is necessary.

Using some catch-all terms might work in mitigating any hard feelings and misunderstanding, they said, especially when it comes to people who are more senior.

This include addressing women as "Older sister", and men as "Big brother", while others said "Miss" and "Mister" would suffice.

Others said addressing a woman as "Beautiful lady" is a failsafe method.

Top photo via Taiwan News