Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993 TAG: 9305260111
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Sandra Brown Kelly
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ Most of us know better than to slurp soup or suck up spaghetti. But what's the power seat in a business meeting or the most graceful way to remove a fish bone from your mouth? Exactly how should you shake hands?
A new book on business etiquette, "Don't Slurp Your Soup," says a "firm, assertive handshake" means the web between your thumb and index finger should meet firmly with the other person's hand.
As for the fish bone, it can be removed with your thumb and forefinger, although unwanted food generally should be taken from the mouth the way it went in - in on a fork, out on a fork. Don't spit it into your napkin.
This book doesn't give just lightweight advice about steak gristle and sweaty hands, however. It has suggestions for everyday professional behavior - try to get off the telephone if someone comes into your office - and some tips on international business etiquette: Don't write on the back of your business card in Japan, because the practice is considered offensive there.
Also, there are sections on which fork or spoon to use when, what not to talk about at a business dinner, how to host a business dinner or hire a caterer, what the more common menu terms mean and the basics you need to know about wine.
This is a first book for author Betty Craig, who has an MBA in business communications. More important, she claims 18 years experience in organizational management.
\ The 7-Eleven convenience stores haven't been open those hours for many years. They've been operating 6 a.m. to midnight, and now most of them are going to be 24-hour operations.
Fourteen of the 25 stores served by the Southland Corp.'s Roanoke regional office already are open round-the-clock. All but two of the others will go full-time by August.
The two that won't stay open are on Colonial Avenue Southwest and Cove Road Northwest in Roanoke.
In recent weeks, the stores also launched a price-reduction campaign to meet the increasing competition in the convenience-store business.
\ Beginning this weekend and going for two more, Montgomery Ward stores will offer a free photo ID for children as part of Project KidCare, a national standardized identification program developed by Polaroid Corp.
The program is co-sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Polaroid. Montgomery Ward promises consumers they won't be asked to buy anything when they get the photo ID, but children who participate will get posters featuring safety hints.
The center was scheduled to be featured on "America's Most Wanted" program Tuesday night. In its 10 years, it has helped return more than 22,000 children to their parents.
Its 1-900-THE-LOST phone line gets more than 600 calls a day.
\ The Buck Mountain Grille, which opened for dinner a week ago in the old Parkway Restaurant on U.S. 220 South, had promised to serve breakfast and lunch by this week. But owner Doug Robinson said 18-hour days preparing for dinner and problems finding enough trained staff have delayed daytime meals for several weeks.
"There's no way I can do breakfast and lunch until we can get a grip on staff," he said. "You couldn't ask for something to be more successful, though."
by CNB