The Charleston Gazette - Pam Harvit

Mind Your Manners: Tipping guidelines for service customers

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:00:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dear Pam, With the holidays quickly approaching, I would like to reward those who have provided continuous services to me throughout the year, such as my beautician, the paperboy and the gentleman who mows my lawn. However, due ...

Mind Your Manners: Texting: The good, the bad and the ugly

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:00:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Is texting rude. No, but when and where you text could be. Following is the good, the bad, and the ugly of this modern convenience.

The good ...

Mind Your Manners: An obnoxious audience disrespects event

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- "Seriously," my friend said, "I thought I was at a gladiator event instead of a graduation ceremony." She was describing all the offensive behavior she witnessed during her daughters recent high school graduat...

Mind Your Manners: The fine art of offering an apology

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 14 May 2011 23:45:00 -0400

"Eating crow is never pleasant -- no matter how much mustard or ketchup you put on it. But usually the sooner you eat it, the less unpleasant it is to the taste. -- Nido Qubein CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I thought something was wrong when ou...

Mind Your Manners: Office party is a business event, not a free-for-all

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- This time of year brings a plethora of parties, including the office party. Never has there been an event where so many have committed so much career-limiting behavior in such a short time. Remember, the word "office" is s...

Mind Your Manners: Courtesy helps head off Thankless-giving

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Judging from the e-mails I received after Thanksgiving, some of you experienced a very rude holiday, or as one reader coined it, a "Thankless-giving." @rag:She wrote about the first visit of her sons new girlfriend, in whi...

Mind Your Manners: Behavior in the time of death

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Several years ago, a friends mother was killed in a head-on collision. I remember my heart aching for her. I wanted to help, but felt totally lost. What do you do or say when someone dies. Unfortunately, many of us never consider ...

Mind Your Manners: How to part with a longtime beautician

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Recently, while dining with friends, the conversation turned to the people in our lives whom we couldnt live without. Naturally, at the top of everyones list were family and friends. When one friend mentioned she would include her...

Mind Your Manners: Why didnt someone tell me.

(Pam Harvit) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. --- When someone finally told me, I wanted to cry from embarrassment. I had just walked through a huge parking lot past throngs of people, through a large building, and into a crowded elevator when I heard a womans voice from the back s...

Nicknames for the elderly arent cute

(Pam Harvit) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As Tom Brokow wrote in his book "The Greatest Generation," we owe a debt of gratitude to our elders. They survived recessions, the Great Depression, numerous wars including World War II, political upheaval and much more. Yet ...

Getting out of the gift-giving cycle

(Pam Harvit) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Dear Pam,For years my husband and I have fallen into a pattern of continuing to buy gifts for folks with whom we are no longer close, such as former neighbors who have long since moved, to friends children (who are now grown). Beca...

MIND YOUR MANNERS: Know how to play your business cards

(Pam Harvit) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400
He walked into the cocktail party and began passing out his business card as if he were passing out coupons for free ice cream. Those accepting the cards appeared puzzled. They had neither asked for, nor indicated a desire to receive one.Yet he continued o...

Clothes predict talent, attitude

(Pam Harvit) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Im pretty sure that my mother would not let me wear flip-flops to the White House to meet the president of the United States. In fact, I know she wouldnt. Yet I saw a photograph of a girls sports team meeting President Bush, and some were wearing flip-flop...