Don't just expect proper business etiquette from your employees - teach it to them!
Are you old enough to remember Emily Post and her guidelines for manners and social graces? If you do,
I'm sure you also remember your parents and schoolteachers relentlessly quoting those rules every time you
forgot one. Of course, you realize that millions of Americans in today's society have never even heard of
Ms. Post or proper manners and etiquette.
Back in the "good old days," no lady would have to reach for a car door or pull out a chair to sit down at
a table when gentlemen were present. Anyone sitting on a bus or train would automatically get up and
offer that seat to an elderly person or a young mother with a baby. Whenever one made any kind of mistake
that might offend someone, he or she always said, "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry." Above all else, sincere
appreciation for any gift or good deed was expressed by a verbal "thank you" and followed up with a
handwritten thank-you note in the mail.