May I help you, Madam?

The cook, the maid, the driver, store keepers, anyone offering services, address their customers by madam (ma'am) or sir. I believe it is a sign of respect. I feel somewhat uncomfortable being addressed this way as there is some underlying hierarchy that comes into play but it's used so pervasively that I'm getting used to it. At work, everyone addresses each other by their name so in that respect it is similar to the US although that could be because I work at an MNC and high tech company. Probably at other companies, people address their managers by "Sir" or "Madam". I would feel extremely uncomfortable if I was addressed by "ma'am" or if I had to address others by madam or sir at work. I was reading an article on this topic at the workplace which seems to describe it well. Sindhu was telling me that many of her classmates address their teacher by calling her "Ma'am", but she doesn't feel comfortable so she uses Ms or Ms Anuradha. I think at the non-international schools they used "madam". It's an interesting cultural difference.