DEAR MISS MANNERS: I see two service providers fairly regularly. In one instance, the provider canceled an appointment due to a family emergency. In the second instance, the provider had an obvious injury.
My reaction on greeting each at the next appointment was to proceed with business without calling attention to the emergency or the injury. My feeling is that we are not friends, and they most likely do not wish to share personal information with every client they see.
I do, however, feel that I may be perceived as cold to not inquire into their well-being. How should I handle a situation like this in the future?
GENTLE READER: Whether your providers are in the habit of sharing personal information with every client, the first provider has done so with you. It is therefore not a question of respecting privacy. Miss Manners sees no harm in the civility of a polite follow-up inquiry -- assuming that your provider will not take it as an invitation to use the appointment to discuss his problems instead of yours. By contrast, the injured provider has not invited personal inquiries, and you are therefore right not to inquire.
(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.)