DEAR MISS MANNERS: I run a shop from my house. It’s mostly online, but occasionally I have customers make an appointment to visit “in store.” Many of them will just text “I’m here” from their parked cars and stay there, waiting for some kind of invitation by text.

I think this is stupid and rude. I am in my “shop,” waiting for a knock at the door. When I get a text like this, I have to go to my phone to see the message, then go to the front door, only to find that no one is there. Sometimes they see me open the door, but still wait for me to text back, “Come to the door.”

Either way, I’m standing at my open door, waiting. I would like to tell them to grow up (some are even middle-aged!), but of course, I don’t want to drive away customers.

Is there a polite way to handle this but still get the point across that their behavior is weird and inconsiderate? If I try to preempt this by texting something like “Please ring doorbell when you arrive,” is that rude?

GENTLE READER: While this shop-at-home arrangement might feel normal to you, well-intentioned people may find it intrusive. (Miss Manners will remind you that people now think it rude to make a telephone call without sending a text message first.)

Assuring your customers beforehand that it is fine to walk right up to the house will give them the permission they need. And more importantly, it will guard against them annoying you with all those unnecessary texts.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I have been having an argument for days now about something one of his friends did.

We moved to a new apartment, and said friend has been here twice. Both times, he spent an hour or two with my husband, and then went outside to meet up with people he invited over. They do not actually come in, they just stay outside chatting, but it infuriates me that he is giving out our address to people whom 1. I do not know, and 2. we did not invite.

My husband says that where they are both from, it’s normal for people to do that, and it is not a big deal. I say it’s unsafe and also very rude.

This last time he was here, he also arrived three hours later than he said he would, at night. I find him a very rude guest, and we have agreed not to have him over anymore.

Do you think I am overreacting, since these people he randomly invites to my home stay outside and don’t stay for a long time?

GENTLE READER: Does this friend not have a home to go to?

It seems odd to Miss Manners that he would otherwise invite people over to the outside of yours. In any case, she finds him an ill-mannered guest and your decision to cease inviting him a sound one.

If your husband wishes to continue the relationship, he can meet him outside another friend’s house.

(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: My husband and I were hosting a casual dinner party in our home for two couples we like very much. One couple brought their two children, who get along well with my two children.

I planned to make a dish that is usually easy for me, but somehow, between helping the guests find things in the kitchen and helping the children with snacks and drinks, I burned my one-pot dish severely. While only the bottom layer was charred, a potent, undesirable smoky flavor was infused through the dish, and I considered it to be inedible.

I apologized to the guests that we would not be able to eat the meal, saying that I would order some takeout instead. I thought that would be the most polite course, since I wouldn’t impose a dish on my guests that I didn’t enjoy myself.

Well, Miss Manners, I expected some polite reassurances after my apology, but one guest took it to the extreme. She vehemently insisted that the dish was fine and that everyone would eat it. I know that in her heart she thought she was helping me save face, but I was much more embarrassed by the thought of forcing everyone to eat burnt food than by admitting it had gone wrong.

I protested. She counter-protested. I insisted. She counter-insisted!

Finally I gave in, because I didn’t want to sour the evening with an argument, but I spent the rest of the evening anxious that I was actually serving this truly atrocious food. Everyone politely mumbled that the smokiness added something, and the guest who had insisted was even kind enough to take a second helping.

In the end, the evening proceeded smoothly and all relationships were preserved, but please tell me, Miss Manners: How would you have handled this if you knew -- just knew! -- that no one could possibly be enjoying the food?

GENTLE READER: Is it possible that your guests were so hungry, they did not care? And that the time it would take to order food would have been excruciating in light of their mounting starvation?

To be clear, Miss Manners is not disagreeing with you. Your friend went too far -- and should not have acted as ambassador for the other guests if she was not authorized to do so. But it does make Miss Manners wonder if the guests who were rooting around in the kitchen were doing so in the hopes of finding scraps of food.

Since your story ends happily, however, it would be best to let it go. Remember to keep hearty appetizers on hand next time -- as well as a careful watch on the stove.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: While taking our morning walk in the park, my partner and I will often meet a business associate of his. After an exchange of greetings, my partner and his associate will begin discussing work.

I have no interest in their business. How can I politely continue my walk without having to listen to their discussion?

GENTLE READER: “I’ll leave you two to discuss your business. I’m going to go attend to mine.”

(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: The opportunity to work remotely has offered many individuals the freedom to engage in work-related activities not only at home, but also in public places such as libraries and cafes -- basically anywhere that offers Wi-Fi and provides tables and chairs for patrons.

This is the case at a coffee shop where I often go to enjoy a coffee and a pastry. They serve coffee in paper cups and bag all food items to go, but if there is an open seat, one can stay and consume the items in the shop.

Unfortunately, this is rarely possible because all of the tables for two are occupied by single customers and their laptops. Usually, they have no food or beverage beside them (presumably having consumed it earlier), but they still retain their spot for one to three hours. I therefore have no choice but to consider my items takeout.

What is the etiquette for working with a laptop in a coffee shop? And what is a reasonable time frame for doing so?

GENTLE READER: This is a commercial transaction, but even commercial transactions can be gracious -- if everyone knows the rules and abides by them.

Unfortunately, no one does -- not only because camping out in the coffee shop is a relatively new phenomenon, so the rules are still evolving, but also because everyone has a strong opinion and is only too happy to share it. Those opinions are usually punctuated by scolding those who do not immediately comply.

A reasonable guideline is that as the establishment is selling refreshments, not office space, those who wish to remain should replenish their purchases at more-or-less regular intervals.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I had a text message argument with my best friend’s husband. None of the exchanges were offensive.

I thanked him kindly for trying to help find a job for my partner, but said that I preferred to handle the situation myself. I had mentioned that working as a caregiver to psychiatric patients was not in alignment with my partner's professional experience, and that I had concerns he could be potentially injured at the job. He then implied that my partner was unmotivated.

My friend said that her husband is very mad at me. She often invites me to see her new home; however, I do not want to inconvenience either of them. What should I say to my friend, as I genuinely do not want to annoy her husband?

GENTLE READER: Too late. You already annoyed him with your suggestion that psychiatric patients were going to injure your partner, and he already annoyed you by calling your partner unmotivated.

Assuming that you want to maintain the friendship, what you need to avoid is not your friend’s husband, but communicating with him only via text. Texting is already prone to misunderstandings because it strips out necessary context. This is exacerbated when the people on either end do not know one another well.

If you do not want to go to your friend's home, invite her to yours for some actual social interaction.

(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.)