Does tardiness somehow lessen IQ?
How is it that people, ostensibly SMART people, can apparently be completely and utterly incapable of calculating their transit time in order to arrive somewhere AT THE APPOINTED TIME?
I mean honestly, if an iPod-listening, frowning and non-watch wearing teenager can get himself, his hair and his too-baggy pants into a community meeting on time, how is it that a double-Masters PhD like you can’t even get to a client meeting on time, when that client comes from a culture where PUNCTUALITY IS A MUST?
Or why can’t you, the software uber-geek, used to working insane hours to meet an arbitrary project deadline which even you deride, can’t get his sorry ass across town to meet the supposedly most important person in your life ON TIME?
Let me be clear:
1) Making others wait because you can’t get yourself organized to arrive on time IS NOT OK. It shows a complete lack of respect for their time.
2) If you can get an MS or PhD, you can get the concept of transit time. Until we have beam-me-up-Scotty technology, you DO need to take this into account when planning your movements. DO IT. Constantly arriving late doesn’t make you look busy and important, it makes you look stupid.
3) Calling 5 minutes before you’re meant to be somewhere just to say you’re going to be 40 minutes late IS NOT OK. Have you ever considered that maybe the person you’re meeting has just juggled their entire schedule and workload and risked several collisions to make absolutely, positively sure they WOULD be there on time? You didn’t suddenly realize you weren’t going to make it five minutes ago, idiot, you knew that at least 35 minutes ago. Why didn’t you call then, you dumbass? See 2) above.
3) Repeating 3) over and over doesn’t make it any less annoying or inconsiderate, it makes it MORE so.
Tardiness is for morons, my friends. Don’t make think of you as one.
I couldn’t agree more. My biggest pet peeve in the world is the fact that, to some people, time is relative and “eventually” is an acceptable expected time of arrival.
I agree completely. Back in my single days, if a man was late for the first date, there sure wouldn’t be a second one. I refuse to make plans with people who are never on time – to me it is just common courtesy and basic respect, and if someone can’t have that for me, they aren’t worth waiting on, and they aren’t worth MY time or respect.
My sentiments exactly..I can’t stand it when people are chronically late. I also hate when I have a rehearsal, and the conductor says to show up 15 minutes before he actually expects people to show up..because others are always late. Those of us who actually show up at the time he says to end up sitting around waiting..so annoying!!
As an avid “on time or early” person, I wholeheartedly agree. However, I married someone from the opposite end of the perception of time continuum.
The result: we haven’t been on time to an event or seen the previews before a movie in seven years, and it drives me crazy. If we use separate cars though, at least half of us get there on time.
It is funny how, by the simple existence of a cell phone, people feel allowed to run late now. Yeah, a call is nice, but it doesn’t stop the fact that I have to stand on a street corner for an extra twenty minutes pretending to look like I want to be there.
Like #4, I am a punctual person who married a time-deaf wife.
I learned early on that if, when it was time to leave for an event, she said “Two more minutes!”. I’d just better sit down and turn on the TV for an hour.
The things we do for love!