WHY YOU SHOULD STOP WAITING FOR LATE PEOPLE

I am often left waiting for people. There I sit alone at a coffee shop, at an office building, or waiting for the phone to ring for a pre-planned phone call at my home office.

I’ll tell you from personal experience, and from experiences of others, that being left to wait for someone leaves most people feeling ripped off and taken advantage of.

To me, showing up late is like the other person quietly telling me they think they are more important than me.

We all know people who always show up late with a carefully rehearsed or familiar excuse. It’s annoying and can stretch a relationship beyond repair.

Why is everyone running late?

There are many excuses for running late: traffic, trying to do “just one more thing” before leaving, losing track of time. The real reason for our society’s tardiness is we know our associates and friends will accept it.

What is late?

Let’s be clear – late is any time after the time you agreed to meet.

Three minutes after the agreed upon meeting time is still late.

We can be a bit flexible and allow for unexpected challenges, or our watches being set late by a couple of minutes – but 20 minutes late? Really?

That’s just rude.

I can only offer one tip to people who are always running late:

Plan ahead. It’s that simple.

If a meeting is important you will be there on time – you will find a way.

By the way, calling your associate to say you’ll be ten minutes late when he/she is already waiting for you does not excuse you from being late. You should have made that call long before the agreed meeting time so that person could make alternate plans.

Here are tips to help the “late people” in your life realize punctuality is expected:

Be honest with people who are always running late about the impact their tardiness has on you.

Does it make you feel taken advantage of, ripped off, or stressed?

Stop waiting! Set a time limit for how long you will wait for someone - and leave when that limit expires.

My personal standard is 15 minutes if the person has not called to provide an explanation.

If they have called within that time frame, I will not wait for more than 10 minutes beyond the time of their call.

My time is far too valuable.

Start meetings and events on time – don’t wait for late folks.

When the late person arrives, don’t take time away from the meeting or event to update them on what was missed. In other words, stop rewarding people for being late.

Tardiness should be the exception, not the norm.

Being late EVERY time for EVERY event is unprofessional and impolite.

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By Sarah Daviau . First Published in Island Gals Magazine . 2012 . Volume 2 . Issue 4

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