The Etiquette Guy Newspaper Column: John H (Jay) Remer Jr.

CORPORATE ETIQUETTE AND INTERNATIONAL PROTOCOL

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The etiquette guy - by Jay Remer

Appearing weekly in the National Post

Every week in the National Post, Jay Remer answers your business etiquette queries.

Look for Jay's column every Saturday in the Financial section of the National Post.

Invited guests don't pay their own way
I am organizing a professional networking meeting for 10 people followed by drinks and dinner...
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Tip for service beyond call of duty
From time to time I am asked to go to the local coffee shop and pick up coffee and muffins for our staff or for a business meeting. The order is usually for about 10 people. Should...
Saturday, May 23, 2009

President is always junior to client
I have an important client coming to meet our company's president. I want to make sure I introduce them correctly. The client is a young woman who is new to her business. Our president is a seasoned business executive with ...
Saturday, May 9, 2009

Break executive's 'palm tickle' grip
Not long ago, a new male executive commenced at work. When he shakes the hands of female employees, he has the unsavory practice of including a "palm tickle" with his handshakes. To receive a handshake that includes your palm being ...
Saturday, May 2, 2009

Preparing for the power lunch
Dear Etiquette Guy: My boss has suggested to me: "Let's do lunch. You, me and the client." I'm terrified. How can I make sure this goes well and keep my job? Gut Wrenched
Saturday, April 25, 2009

In saluting ladies, please make sense
Dear Etiquette Guy: I am writing a letter to the board of directors of a corporation. The board consists of six men and one woman. "Ladies and Gentlemen" doesn't seem appropriate as there is only one woman on the board. ...
Saturday, April 18, 2009

Smile, show your face, please the boss
Dear Etiquette Guy: I have to go to a corporate cocktail reception and I am reluctant to do so. My boss will be disappointed if I don't go. What's the best way to get through this?
Saturday, April 11, 2009

If you argued, both sides are at fault
Dear Etiquette Guy: In my workplace, there is me, the boss and the other lady. The other lady is the boss's daughter-in-law. I have been working there for seven years now. And I had my first verbal fight with the ...
Saturday, April 4, 2009

No room at table for late responder
Dear Etiquette Guy: I sent out dinner invitations three weeks in advance to 10 business associates for a dinner at my house. "RSVP" was clearly stated. Nine gentlemen promptly replied affirmatively within a week. I then organized a catered sit-down ...
Saturday, March 28, 2009

Money queries are always tricky
A frequent question I receive is about discussing money in the workplace. Questions such as how much you paid for that dress, those shoes or that jacket. Men will ask each other how much those hockey tickets cost, the price ...
Saturday, March 21, 2009

When the boss speaks, staff listen
I employ five people in a small shop. I don't have a problem with my employees talking to each other during work, but an issue has come up regarding my handling of their personal conversations.
Saturday, March 14, 2009

Never mention gifts on the invitation
My family and I are giving my dad a retirement dinner. Is it proper to print on the invitations that he would appreciate a gift card from the store of the guest's choosing? We just want to make things as ...
Saturday, March 7, 2009

Jay's column "The Etiquette Guy" appears weekly in the Telegraph Journal.
Read the Columns...

"Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace."
~ Judith Martin

"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."
~ Jesse Jackson

"Whoever one is, and wherever one is, one is always in the wrong if one is rude. "
~ Maurice Baring

"Good manners: The noise you don't make when you're eating soup."
~ Bennett Cerf

"Visitors should behave in such a way that the host and hostess feel at home."
~ J.S. Farynski

"Outcomes rarely turn on grand gestures or the art of the deal, but on whether you've sent someone a thank-you note."
~ Bernie Brillstein

"Good manners can replace morals. It may be years before anyone knows if what you are doing is right. But if what you are doing is nice, it will be immediately evident."
~P.J. O'Rourke

"The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork"
~Oscar Wilde

"Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential."
~Will Cuppy

"Etiquette requires us to admire the human race."
~Mark Twain

"Don't reserve your best behavior for special occasions. You can't have two sets of manners, two social codes - one for those you admire and want to impress, another for those whom you consider unimportant. You must be the same to all people."
~Lillian Eichler Watson

"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use."
~Emily Post

"A general rule of etiquette is that one apologizes for the unfortunate occurrence, but the unthinkable is unmentionable."
~Judith Martin

"I am a journalist in the field of etiquette. I try to find out what the most genteel people regularly do, what traditions they have discarded, what compromises they have made."
~Amy Vanderbilt

"Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat."
~Robert A. Heinlein

"A diplomat's life is made up of three ingredients: protocol, Geritol and alcohol."
~Adlai E. Stevenson

Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong."
~Thomas Jefferson

"It isn't what I do, but how I do it. It isn't what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it."
~Mae West

"Interestingly, young people don't come to you for advice. Especially the ones who are related to you. "
~Meryl Streep

"This has always been a motto of mine: Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work."
~Bette Davis

Site Updated on June 5, 2010