RE: When does courtesy matter?
If I hadn't learned to tolerate interrupting behavior from most of my freelance co-workers, on those rare occasions when I see them, I wouldn't work with them. Oh wait, I rarely see them for a good reason... So maybe I haven't learned to tolerate them, maybe I've just learnt to avoid them or those who are the interrupting kind. :D
Not answering or leaving is always a good option if those attention seekers come to my way. But on the other hand it's pretty tricky for an entrepreneur if that interrupter is a customer. At that point I have noticed a thought pattern. I find myself thinking that how much do I want that persons money if he doesn't know how to behave and other customers are there, around us. A tricky situation and I can just hope that I've handled those situations well.
There's no room for tolerating people who I don't value. Sure, in my job I may have to deal with them in some way but I find avoidance preferable. Customers are a different matter, I get paid to tolerate the bad ones. It's all subjective and in a post as short as my original also difficult to get the whole message across.
Essentially, I have no tolerance for rude people. Accepting their behaviour condones it.