DEAR MISS MANNERS: I walk almost every day, and I've noticed an uptick in entitled dog-walking behavior lately. When I encounter people walking their dogs, they do not move over to the right, and instead allow their dogs to occupy the entire sidewalk.

This forces me to walk in the grass upon passing. Am I just being petty, or do we need a PSA to dog owners who were never taught these etiquette rules of the road?

GENTLE READER: The rule is to be considerate of others' circumstances, which can, in practice, require different behaviors.

A person who is stopped (briefly, and without taking up all available space) rightly expects a jogger to go around, while the same person should step back to make room for someone using a wheelchair. The rule applies without reference to the number of feet, wheels or paws touching the public roadway -- although Miss Manners thinks that "thems with paws" had better leave implementation decisions to the judgment of "thems without."

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our men's fraternal group has an annual community-wide fundraiser to benefit local organizations that help disabled children and adults. Each year, we are able to give a significant check to five such organizations, which we present at a Sunday morning breakfast at our church.

For several years now, four of the five institutions have sent representatives to get their checks, while the representative of the fifth has asked to be excused because of her own Sunday school obligations, which we understand. (In prior years, the event was held in the evening and the lady in question always attended.)

I recently called her to ask if someone else could be sent in her place. She said this was impossible, and when asked if there could not be some arrangement made for future events, she said she did not think so. I assured her that with or without her organization's attendance, they would still receive our check.

Our group's motivation is charitable, though we try to publicize our good works in order to attract new members and perpetuate those works. Would it be unmannerly to go over the individual's head to secure a representative to appear at our next event?

GENTLE READER: It would not be unmannerly, although your compassion may have exceeded your charity.

Miss Manners assures you that this individual's boss will be only too happy to find someone to attend your breakfast. Any qualms you have about going around her can be overcome by assuring the boss that you know the representative's answer was made out of an abundance of gratitude to your group, and that you are therefore enlisting help in assuaging any hurt feelings she may have.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am enrolled in a yoga course for which payment is normally $10 per class. When COVID hit, the instructor changed to doing the class via videoconference. Should I try to compensate her for her time?

GENTLE READER: Yes. You are still receiving a service, although Miss Manners ventures no opinion about whether the service, and therefore the price, is identical.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Please address the issue of customer service people who tell everyone to "have a good one." At numerous stores and restaurants, upon leaving, I am told to "have a good one." I am so tempted to say, "A good what?"

What happened to, "Have a nice day"?

GENTLE READER: It was smothered by a crowd of people loudly complaining that customer service people should not wish them a nice day if they did not really mean it.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My college roommate and I have remained friends for 20 years, despite living on opposite coasts. Each year, when I make a trip to visit family, I always make arrangements to see her while I'm nearby. This entails an additional two-hour trip each way, which I don't mind making because I'm on vacation while she is not. During my last visit, we planned an evening together, and she treated me to dinner out with her and her young daughter. Her husband did not join us -- he was attending a meeting of their homeowners' association, as they had an issue with a minor leak coming from the unit above them.

After dinner, I was invited back to the house for tea. My friend put her daughter to bed, and we were enjoying our first moments of adult conversation when her husband returned from the meeting. He demanded her attention to listen to his summary of the meeting and then review notes and paperwork.

Since we were all in the same room, I could discern there was nothing of an urgent nature that required my friend's immediate attention. After 40 minutes, I left, since my hosts showed no signs that our conversation might resume, and the hour was getting late.

Am I wrong to be peeved that I spent four hours traveling to have an already-brief visit cut short? Was there a way that I could have gently suggested their discussion could wait until after my departure?

GENTLE READER: In accepting a spouse, one also accepts their duties as host, for which reason your friend's husband's behavior was, as you say, rude. That does not, however, empower you to say so to either of them.

And Miss Manners, who is aware that there is a general misapprehension that etiquette requires every answer to be "yes," wonders if something else is not going on. Your friend never visits you; she included in the evening plans a daughter young enough to require putting to bed; the husband absented himself over a plumbing matter; and the homeowners' association report continued until you left.

Are you confident that your friend is as eager to maintain the friendship as you are? Or is it possible that, rather than refuse an invitation, she -- and her husband, who is in a position to know -- are instead dropping ineffective hints that this was not a good night for a visit?

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I phone businesses, sometimes the person answering will say, "To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" This salutation has occurred frequently enough that it appears to be a common business practice, and that a whole generation of associates have been trained to use it.

To date, I have answered, "I think you are asking for my name. My name is Daisy Dingle."

On one occasion, I allowed my frustration to become evident by answering, "This is not an appropriate way for you to address me. This is not a social call; this is a business call. My name is Daisy Dingle."

I will say I was treated rather frostily, although efficiently, after saying this. What is the best way to respond to this salutation?

GENTLE READER: Whatever trends come and go, it will always be rude to snap back at people who are only trying to be polite. "Who is calling, please?" might be more businesslike, but Miss Manners is pleased to see that the longer version includes the word "whom." It's been a long time.

The best way to respond? "Daisy Dingle from the Rankal Company. May I please speak to Mr. Hinkle?"

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Are you ever tempted to comment on the general rudeness of the comments your readers post about these letters and your responses?

GENTLE READER: Never.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Some years ago, for several months, I worked for a business owned by an older married couple. They were nice people, but rather straight-laced, prim and proper.

One day the husband was hashing over some things with me, and he said that his wife would prefer that I not eat an apple when she is talking to me. She had said, according to him, "It's rude; he shouldn't do it."

In fairness, he delivered this in a reasonable, non-abusive manner, and he was pretty decent about hearing what I had to say. But the statement "It's rude; he shouldn't do it" didn't sit very well with me.

I didn't mean anything by eating the apple, so what was "rude" about it? If I had done something inherently disrespectful, like saying, "Shut the (expletive) up," that would have been another matter.

This was a hot button for me, because a number of people in my life, including my parents, have said that my innocent actions were rude. And unlike my then-employer, they were quite nasty about it. Why can't I decree that other people's innocuous actions are rude?

GENTLE READER: Because you know firsthand how unpleasant that is.

But that is not to say that unintentional rudeness does not exist. Apologies are due for unfortunate consequences, whatever the motivation. If you step on someone's foot, it hurts even if you didn't mean to do it.

You cannot expect Miss Manners to judge the apple question without knowing the circumstances; neither does she know whether your nasty relatives nevertheless had legitimate grievances. It seems to her that all of you would profit from questioning your own actions.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)