Boyfriend’s sales tactic a turnoff

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My boyfriend stopped at my best friend’s home unannounced to drop by something he told them was a good product. I asked him not to do that and told him I never drop by my friend’s home unannounced. I call first. Now he did it a second time to another very good friend of mine.

It drives me crazy, and I feel I have to apologize for his bad behavior. He could ask me for a phone number and call first. I just think it shows a lack of respect for me and my friends.

GENTLE READER: Don’t you think it shows that he has a job touting this product and is going to drop off samples everywhere he can? In that case, Miss Manners would count it as a double transgression: annoying your friends and exploiting them.

It is possible, she supposes, that he is merely running around bestowing presents. That would be merely bizarre.

But whether he is exploiting people or overwhelming them, he seems to have a problem with social boundaries that goes beyond the transgression of dropping in without warning. Miss Manners suggests that you address the deeper issue instead of requiring him to annoy your friends with telephone calls.