Politeness serves as a buffer. It gives you time to evaluate the situation and gain more information while keeping you from making a rash judgement - both posi

Politeness serves as a buffer. It gives you time to evaluate the situation and gain more information while keeping you from making a rash judgement - both positive and negative. Later on, it keeps you from unnecessarily making enemies of the people you don't respect but must nevertheless deal with. It works hand in hand with patience, which I see as being in very short supply these days. In my experience, it is an extremely valuable trait.