Are you a punctual person?

The problem with being early is that you're usually left feeling like a bit of a lemon waiting for everyone else to arrive. I think this might be part of the problem. Most people would rather not be the first one there, and because there's no cultural consensus to be on-time, there's no real way to convince people to act otherwise (outside of some sort of coercion, I suppose).

heldel00 wrote: »

Better MilesMorales be late than be the late MilesMorales!

(My dad used to say this to me when I'd be hurrying out the door to go somewhere. Used to drive me effin mad!)

If my dad was talking to other people while I was leaving I'd be mad too.

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

I was only popping in for a cuppa. Early of course

I hope you were on time.

Hate when people are late.

Have been tempted to leave if someone doesn't show up within 5/10 minutes but never follow through on it.

I'm not late for anything important or formal but for anything else if there's any degree of flexibility I'm a disaster. I drove my ex mad last year because I would aspire to be on time for stuff but I was inevitably late for almost everything.

I genuinely hated being that way but in a nutshell, I was trying and failing to juggle full time work and first year of a degree course so was walking around in a bit of a haze all the time so something had to give. Like I said... ex

Lateness drives me INSANE!!! I'm usually somewhere 20-30 minutes early, and if I'm meeting someone, if their even 2 minutes late, my bloody pressure starts to rise!

I dunno if it's just me, but when there's a plan to leave somewhere at a certain time, just say 11am, I will be ready, waiting by the door and taping my foot being impatient at 10.50am! And I expect to be at the other side of the door and on the road by 11.01am.

I was 4 weeks early, maybe I was born impatient!

FrStone wrote: »

Never early, never get people who then up to the pub on time...

I'm often late for work, i'd never come early for a doctors appointment, sure you would only be waiting for ages.

To be honest I never feel like I should change it either. It suits me not to be waiting around like a tool for everyone else.

But yet it is ok for people to be "waiting around like a tool" for you.

I'm never late for official engagements, but I've become more relaxed about casual ones as I've gotten older.

I used to always turn up 15-20 minutes early for everything, but many years of standing around for 30-40 minutes when everyone else was then 15-20 minutes late battered it out of me. Now I just say something along the lines of "I'll be there around 7.30", make sure to let people know if I'll be a few minutes late so they're not standing around waiting, and then call when I arrive. In those circumstances, anywhere between 7.15 and 7.45 is okay in my book.

Mobile communication has diminished the need for absolute punctuality in casual meetings, in my view. If you're meeting someone to do something scheduled (like with a table or ticket booking or you're being collected), it's rude, but if it's just for a casual lunch grab or pints or something, I don't think it's so important. They can go in and sit down, or go for a wander, and you can make contact when you've arrived.

I know I'm no longer bothered if people are late (so long as they let me know they're behind schedule), since I no longer have to standing around outside in the cold and wet looking like I've been stood up because I'd never find them again if I left the "meeting spot".

That said, people who are late to scheduled events (if a friend is cooking for you, it's still a scheduled event) or time-sensitive events (like airport check-in) still drive me bonkers.

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

I get so irritated by people that are late. I can't remember the last time I was late for anything, I tend to aim to be 30 minutes early for everything, so I'm never late as a result. People being late sends a message that 'l don't value your time and my time is more important than yours'. So **** those guys.

That's a good chunk of time sitting in the pub on your todd.

Anyway, yes I'm always on time. I've got to the stage where I don't wait for people who are late anymore - one of the lads got a fright as we drove away from his house without him (heading to the airport) having waited there the guts of 5 mins (which would make it 5 mins later than the agreed time!). You'd think a €30 taxi fare would teach him a lesson. . . .nope