Miss Manners: My customers text “I’m here” but won’t knock - it’s so frustrating!

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.

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Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to dearmissmanners@gmail.com, or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.