The Very Useful Benefits of Extreme Good Manners

[boedicca]

Good manners in general are Quite Useful by providing heuristics which enable civilized people to interact in a genteel way. Over the past few months, I have identified an additional benefit - as a repellant to Highly Annoying People.

From time to time, I receive an invitation from some long disconnected person wishing to get back in touch and to "do lunch". I loathe gratuitous lunches with people I barely know; but some people are incredibly persistent, causing me to succumb to an appointment just to stop the annoying messages. After a few of these over the past couple of years, I discovered The Repellant: paying for lunch.

If one pays for lunch with the added "next time is your turn", one never hears from the annoying person again.

I consider this a Very Wise Investment.

 

[Mr. H.]

Manners, etiquette, protocol, diplomacy, chivalry... or just downright thoughtyness.

Lost arts all.

 

[boedicca]

One should do one's part to keep said arts alive.

Just sayin'.

 

[Mr. H.]

It's nice to be nice to the nice.

The not so nice... not so.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Never hurts to be nice. Matter of fact, you may learn something useful.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I find that if you politely ignore people long enough that they'll leave you alone.

 

[boedicca]

Interesting observation - much of good manners (like Good Laws) consist of being left alone and respecting others' rights to also be left alone.

Busy bodies in civil society and in government are each annoying, but the latter do far more damage.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Don't most people just want to be left alone?

So be polite and leave everyone else alone.

 

[Mad Scientist]

One of my wife's long time "friends" called her up a while back and said she had a coupon for a certain restaurant and would she like to go? Of course my wife agreed but when she got there she found out her friend had a "two for one" coupon and expected my wife to pay so she could eat free!

Whenever we go out with friends I tell the waitress it'll be separate checks. Sometime we get odd looks but I'm beyond caring about that anymore.

 

[Skull Pilot]

One of my wife's long time "friends" called her up a while back and said she had a coupon for a certain restaurant and would she like to go? Of course my wife agreed but when she got there she found out her friend had a "two for one" coupon and expected my wife to pay so she could eat free!

Whenever we go out with friends I tell the waitress it'll be separate checks. Sometime we get odd looks but I'm beyond caring about that anymore.

I always ended up with the shit end of the tab when we used to split the bill with people.

I ask for separate checks now as well.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

One of my wife's long time "friends" called her up a while back and said she had a coupon for a certain restaurant and would she like to go? Of course my wife agreed but when she got there she found out her friend had a "two for one" coupon and expected my wife to pay so she could eat free!

Whenever we go out with friends I tell the waitress it'll be separate checks. Sometime we get odd looks but I'm beyond caring about that anymore.

To me, if there is a two for one coupon in the picture, each person should at least pay half.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. The tip can be done the same way too.