"May I Please..."

All day I was hearing demand after demand. If I ask him, "How do you say it nicely?" He's respond with, "Please?" But I want him to say it in an entire sentence. I was tired of hearing him say, "I want it" or "Get it". Finally I just ignored his requests until he figured out to say, "Please, may I have..." And it worked! Why didn't I think of this before? He knows, he just wouldn't do it.