That is what this cute 6-year-old demanded from her mother at the Mall.

Her mother replied, ‘What do you say?’ The little girl repeated her original demand, even more loudly. The mother repeated her response too, while ordering ‘the said ice cream’ (that’s legal talk, you understand).

Then, while actually giving the child her ice cream, her mother said, “You should have said ‘please’. The little girl didn’t even add ‘thank you’ to the occasion, and started licking her ill-gotten prize. Right there, I saw the demise of enlightenment.

When good manners, civility, courtesy, etiquette, protocol, propriety and respect die, they will take society with them! Had she been a ‘parent’ and not just a ‘mother’, she would have told her daughter that, due to her lack of self-discipline, no delicious, creamy delight would pass her lips that day.

If it had been moi, I would have eaten it muhself, right in front of her. That might have ‘saved’ her life later on (like at ‘teen-time’). So, where have all our manners gone? Probably, on a one way ticket to Siberia…because they haven’t come back lately! The internet sure helped with that too…

Why talk about politeness, respect and protocol (I don’t mean the wimpy, pathetic, politically correct version of it…)? Mainly because, in TomorrowWorld, good manners is also good business. Manners maketh the moment, and more, like money!

Why do the overwhelming number of business premises fail to have a ‘Welcome’ mat, sign or greeting for ordinary, wallet-bearing folks like us (I will fight for the right of every Kiwi to bear wallets…). ‘Thank You’ is often forgotten and sometimes offered only as a ‘throw-away’ line or after-thought.

E-mails don’t even say ‘Hello’ any more, or add a pleasant ‘See Ya’ at the end of them.  Apparently ‘grunting’ is in. People don’t ‘Smile’ that much either, in case someone misinterprets that as being a sign of intelligence…

And why can’t we add ‘My Pleasure’, when someone thanks us for doing something nice. ‘Excuse me’ has been laid to rest sometime back and ‘Thank You’ is only just hanging in there. Now that accountability has been cancelled, ‘I’m Sorry’ is obviously out of the question.

Pity. Manners are one of the greatest measures of ‘Character’. Oops, I’ve introduced something ancient and silly. I am going to mention ‘Character’ twice, just in case. Without it, your life stays in neutral…and then you die!

In an indifferent world, meeting bright, enthusiastic, well-mannered people, restores our faith in the capacity for human beans to be great. People with manners reveal only one message… ‘I Care About You Too’.

So here is the ‘Manners Hot Seven’: Please; Thank You; Excuse Me; I’m Sorry; You’re Welcome or My Pleasure; May I and Is it OK to… The partner of Good Manners is… ‘Right Conduct’. This combo is unstoppable, because, you actually ‘care’.

If your precious offspring brings home a partner who doesn’t have good manners, tell them to go out and look again…

Some people are Terrific, but they don’t seem to be able to achieve terrific things or lead a terrific life. That doesn’t seem right, right? Townies tend to notice that more quickly because Country Folk don’t have time to get bored.

So if you are even remotely concerned about becoming the you, that you really believe you can be, choose to do some ‘new you’ coaching and mentoring entirely online. E-thingie me for the good oil at duitdammit@xtra.co.nz If you have the guts… Thanks for listening.

Bill Potter is a ChangeOvator, with THE DU IT GROUP.  He is an author, international speaker and strategist.  duitdammit@xtra.co.nz