This post was originally going to be about Frank Bruni’s book, Born Round, but I’ll save that for next week.  Because right now, I’m a little fired up.

What happened? Well, a distracted, indifferent restaurant employee hung up on me as I was in mid-sentence, that’s what happened.  As much as I’d like to name the restaurant – OHHH, would I like to – I won’t, since one rude person is not necessarily a reflection of a restaurant as a whole.  But it doesn’t help.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been hung up on or hustled off the phone either.  It’s been occurring with more alarming frequency when I’ve called to make a reservation, requested information, or asked to leave a message.

Phoning up a restaurant these days can be like dealing with a harried physician rushing you through an appointment to meet an HMO patient quota. Some of these front of the house staff act as though they’re running The French Laundry, and you’re some gnat to be disposed of as quickly as possible.

And it’s not as though when I call I’m trying to initiate a lengthy discourse on nuclear proliferation. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not a long-winded talker (long-winded blogger, yes, but not talker). I’m polite, and I get to the point quickly.

So what’s going on?

How is it EVER acceptable to hang up on a person, especially a potential customer?  Are restaurants so busy that they can’t speak with you in a considerate manner for 30 seconds to a minute? Is it not good sense to put a person in place who can answer the phone with defter social graces than Chloe of 24?  Or is that too logical.

Look, I realize this criticism cuts both ways. Customers are no picnic, either. Diners whip out cell phones in restaurants with abandon. They no-show on reservations and make ridiculous food demands.  And I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been caught behind Johnny Bluetooth at the supermarket checkout line, for whom it’s too much to ask that god forbid, he pause a cell phone conversation while purchasing a can of stewed tomatoes.

So we’re all to blame. And to be fair, the majority of restaurants are a pleasure to deal with.  It’s the 10%, inching up to 15%, who are ruining it for the rest of them.

I don’t know what the answer is here, but maybe like a misbehaving five year old, we all could use a “time out,” to slow down, take a deep breath, and learn how to play nice with others.