DEAR MISS MANNERS: Whose responsibility is it to utter the first greeting -- a home’s resident, or the visitor? Does it matter if one of the residents is not the one I have come to see?
Every time I visit my friend at her house, she greets me immediately, but her roommate never says hello or acknowledges my presence in any way. I eventually say hello to her and she replies politely.
GENTLE READER: While no one should open a door in silence, the nonessential resident in a visit can be forgiven for not immediately stopping to greet someone who is not that person’s guest. Still, there must be some acknowledgment of the guest’s presence, and Miss Manners agrees that a seething, “I said ‘hello, Tina,’” should never be necessary.
(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.)