Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the proper etiquette when addressing a salesperson or clerk in a retail setting? I have worked in retail for several years and now run my own store. It is rare that am I ...

I do have a healthy dose of empathy by nature; however, I’m fed up with the negativity and “woe is me” attitude.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son’s family and I live in the same town, and we see each other often. When I am entering their home, my daughter-in-law often says, “Sorry about the messy house” or something ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I have been unable to come up with an appropriate substitute for a general letter heading. In the past, “Dear Sirs” was often used, or “Dear Sirs/Madams,” but this is ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: From the files of “good manners run amok,” is it ever impolite to be friendly? I work in a bustling environment where my sole 30-minute break is in a shared break room, where I like ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I occasionally email businesses for matters such as product information. What is the correct salutation to use when the recipient, and their gender, is unknown? “To whom it may ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I usually run in the morning through a particular park and am in the habit of greeting the park’s other patrons, who are all much older than me. Miss Manners: The bride wants to ...

Dear Miss Manners: What is the proper greeting of a childless woman or man on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day? “Hello.” Dear Miss Manners: I am a woman member of a mostly male international wine society, ...

Dear Miss Manners: I frequently attend luncheons at which the entree consists of bagels, lox (smoked salmon) and cream cheese. Bagels have grown in size substantially since my childhood. Nowadays, a ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I frequently host guests overnight, and I have noticed that the toilet in the guest bathroom is often only partially flushed. I know the cause of this is my eco-friendly toilet, ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Or should I say “Hi, Miss Manners!”? I have noticed that all email, and lots of snail letters, even business ones, start with “Hi” instead of “Dear.” I don’t like it, especially ...