Hang Up in Alabama writes Dear Abby: I am a 65-year-old male, and I recently went out of town on business with a 28-year-old male coworker. During the entire dinner, he continued looking up stuff and responding to texts on his cellphone.
You are correct that someone more polite would have put the phone down and socialized with you. But let’s discuss the realities of business travel. Not everyone is at work to make friends. You don’t get to pick your travel companions, and they might not like you or be interested in you. They might not feel any obligation to entertain you. And you should try to be sensitive to their needs.
Business travel means that your companion isn’t home with their significant-other or family. Mr. young-and-rude might have been looking forward to some quiet time on the phone with someone special after dinner, which he could have only if he got all of his work done first.
If your employer was cheap enough to put you both in the same room, Young-and-rude probably needed a break from his travel companion. In absence of that, he was doing his best to ignore you.
If there’s a next time, make your own arrangement to eat where Young-and-rude won’t be. And if you are sharing a room, arrange to spend the evening out of it – and tell him you will. He’ll probably appreciate the privacy.