“On the other hand, I told a guy in a conference in front of everyone not to call me “hon.” It is condescending and I won’t have it.”
Was this guy being condescending towards you or was it simply the way he addressed women? Was he an older man? Frankly unless this guy was a known letch it would have been far more appropriate to confront him in private and simply tell him to not refer to you by anything other than your name proceeded by your preferred gender tag.
You may believe you looked strong by what you did but in reality you more then likely humiliated a man who meant no disrespect to you. In doing that you made yourself look nasty and a bit of a bit*h.
Btw, NJ where I used to live is known as the State with the most Diners. To this day you can walk in anyone of them and expect to be greeted by a waitress using the “Hon” word to both men and women.
I have never heard anyone complain.
It’s fine in a restaurant, it’s not fine in a business meeting