Punctuality

[jwslam]

Posting this under "society" as a pet peeve of mine.
Not even a pet peeve, really; it's common courtesy.


No, you are not ‘running late’, you are rude and selfish

This post may offend some readers. But only because it’s going to cut close to the bone for many.

And I don’t care if I sound old-fashioned, because actually it’s nothing to do with ‘fashion’ or ‘generation’. It’s got everything to do with basic good manners and respect for other people.

So here goes… How did it get to be “OK” for people to be late for everything?

Because as far as I am concerned, it’s not OK.

In recent years it seems that a meeting set to start at 9 am, for some people means in the general vicinity of any time which starts with the numeral ‘9’. Like 9.30 for example.

People drift in at 9.10 or 9.20, or even later. And they smile warmly at the waiting group, as they unwrap their bacon sandwich, apparently totally unconcerned that others have been there since five to nine, prepared and ready to start.

10 people kept waiting in a meeting for 20 minutes, while some selfish pratt who idles his way via the coffee shop, is actually 20 minutes times 10, which is 200 minutes wasted – while you keep us waiting because you did not catch the earlier bus. That is over 3 hours wasted. By you! How much has that cost the business? Shall I send you an invoice?

And an arrangement to meet someone for a business meeting at a coffee shop at 3 pm, more often than not means at 3.10 you get a text saying ‘I am five minutes away’ which inevitably means 10 minutes, and so you wait for 15 or 20 minutes, kicking your heels in frustration.

And often these ‘latecomers’ are people who have requested the meeting in the first place, are asking for your help, or are selling something. Fat chance, mate!

And it’s not only business.

Why do people, invited for a dinner party at 7.30, think its cool to arrive at 8.30? It’s rude. It’s inconsiderate. And it’s selfish, as I witnessed in a coffee shop near my home one weekend. Three “ladies who lunch” (a species not confined to, but heavily represented on, the lower North Shore of Sydney) were chatting loudly at the table next to me. One inquired what time the ‘drinks do’ was that night. The reply for all the world to hear was ‘Oh 7.30, but we won’t get there till 9 because by then it will have warmed up and all the interesting people will have arrived’. Nice. Imagine if everyone took that view. Cocktail parties would start at 3 am eventually.

Or a dinner at a restaurant where I was meeting two other couples. My wife was away, so I was flying solo. I arrived at two minutes to eight for an eight o’clock booking. At 8.20, I was into my second glass of Pinot and at half-past I got a text saying ‘on the way’. We finally were all seated at 8.45. There were not even attempted excuses from either of the two couples, who seemed oblivious to the fact I might actually have got there at the agreed time. Meanwhile I had put a huge dent in the bottle of Pinot, and was ready to go home.

And it is not that we lead ‘busy lives’. That’s a given, we all do, and it’s a cop out to use that as an excuse. It’s simply that some people no longer even pretend that they think your time is as important as theirs. And technology makes it worse. It seems texting or emailing that you are late somehow means you are no longer late.

Rubbish.

You are rude. And inconsiderate.

And I act on it, too. My dentist kept me waiting 50 minutes not long ago. She has done it for years and years. But enough! I walked out, past a literally open-mouthed receptionist who had never seen a patient act on their frustration, only to get a frantic call from the dentist herself as I got into my car.

Sure she was “busy”, another patient took longer than she expected, blah blah.

But hold on, I am busy too! I would not keep her waiting 45 minutes if she came to see me as a candidate. And yet I am HER customer. I told her I have been coming to you for 15 years but don’t take me for granted. See fewer patients in a day if you have to, but see me on time or close to it. She has never kept me waiting again.

Me? Am I ever late? Sure, sometimes. That’s inevitable even with the best intentions. But I never plan to be late. I never ‘let time slide’ because my stuff is more important than yours.

I am not talking about the odd occasion of lateness. I am talking about people who are routinely late. In fact, never on time. You know who I am talking about!

And certainly I consider serial lateness a character flaw which I take into account when working out who to promote, who to hire and who to count amongst my real friends.

It’s that important.

http://vitamintalent.com/vitabites/no-you-are-not-running-late-you-are-rude-and-selfish#.VGO4QM5wphI.facebook

[Masked Bandit]

I despise people who are routinely late / running behind. Get your shit together you rude bastage!

[spike98]

I agree 100%. In the case of the dentist (and other doc appointments), its usually because some assclown is late and puts the whole schedule out of wack.

I can't stand people that are late. If you aren't 10 minutes before your suppose to be there, you're late.

[killramos]

One of my biggest frustrations in the world. I make it a point to plan when i need to leave and account for uncertainty in that.

I always say if you are late to something it is because you genuinely believe that your time is more valuable than mine. There is no other excuse in a world where buses have GPS, Tom Tom can tell you traffic delays to the minute, and iPhones with calendar reminders for you to be any more than 5 minutes late for something.

I hate it when people routinely show up 5 minutes late to their own meeting. Or if people in the meeting have to make a statement about "well i guess your part will ave to be moved down on the agenda because you are never here when we reach you", i would be so embarrassed in a professional setting but so many people just don't care....

/rant

[jwslam]

Originally posted by spike98
I agree 100%. In the case of the dentist (and other doc appointments), its usually because some assclown is late and puts the whole schedule out of wack.
The guy should be billed as a no show and have to book another appt. Seriously.

[95EG6P]

i hate people even more when they late and dont text you saying they are gonna be late drives me up the wall :banghead:

[cet]

I agree with everyone above. I hate being late and will always try to be at appointments 5-10 mins early.

[Thaco]

it's all situational, if it's important, i'll be early, but at the same time, i wont rush unnecessarily or take any risks to get there on time if it's not critical...

All depends on the situation.


But yeah, there are some people i know that are chronically late for everything, it is irritating, but really not a big deal most of the time.

[heavyfuel]

Who gives a fuck lol and the whole 20 minutes x 10 people = 200 minutes wasted, that's just some over exaggeration bullshit to further demonize somebody who understands that, give or take 5 or 10 minutes, whatever needs to be done is gonna get done just the same.

[lasimmon]

If I am meeting with a vendor and they are late, they can pretty much kiss the work good bye. I'm not talking 2-3 minutes late. But I have went to meetings where the guys don't show up for 15 minutes.

[nissanK]

My wife was a hair stylist and this happened ALL THE F&$(ING TIME.

People don't give a shit about other people's schedules and think that they are just hanging around waiting for them to show up. THEN when they do show up, my wife would have to turn them away because her whole scheduled gets farked. Then they throw a hissy fit......

She' so happy to be out of that industry.:thumbsup:

Vendors have lost business from me because they showed up late. I don't stand for it....

[ga16i]

I am rarely late for meetings, but don't really care if others are late. If I'm meeting someone, I've usually blocked off a good chunk of time just for them and am not in a hurry anywhere afterwards. :dunno: Everything is more stress free when on island time, they'll get there when they get there. Just sit back and enjoy a coffee or something in the mean time.

[FixedGear]

I was taught to always be 5 minutes early for everything, so it used to really annoy me when people were late for things. But then I started realizing that the concept of being on time varies depending on where you are... e.g. in Spain, when people say "meet at 9" everyone knows it really means "meet at 9:15." If you showed up 5 minutes early there, you would be the one considered weird and annoying haha.

as for the poll, I wish there was an option for generally on time, but don't completely agree with the guy.

[Canmorite]

Originally posted by heavyfuel
Who gives a fuck lol and the whole 20 minutes x 10 people = 200 minutes wasted, that's just some over exaggeration bullshit to further demonize somebody who understands that, give or take 5 or 10 minutes, whatever needs to be done is gonna get done just the same.

200 minutes is 3.3 hours, at 10 people for $40/hour, is ~ $1,300. If YOU were paying the salaries and bills, you'd probably think differently.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by ga16i
I am rarely late for meetings, but don't really care if others are late. If I'm meeting someone, I've usually blocked off a good chunk of time just for them and am not in a hurry anywhere afterwards. :dunno: Everything is more stress free when on island time, they'll get there when they get there. Just sit back and enjoy a coffee or something in the mean time.

I agree and have had that experience with people I know and do business with often.

However, if you are trying to get my business you need to show a little more respect.

[spike98]

Also if something unplanned happened and you are going to be late, if you don't call (yes CALL) to let me know, im leaving.

[blairtruck]

5 min early is on time.

[Manhattan]

Only time it's acceptable to be late is dinner parties. There's a common understanding that dinner won't be served until at least 30-60 min after the scheduled time. If you show up early to a dinner party you're an a-hole.

Bugs me when people are constantly late for coffee meetings. They give you the whole I was busy thing but what it really means is their time is more valuable than yours.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by Canmorite
200 minutes is 3.3 hours, at 10 people for $40/hour, is ~ $1,300. If YOU were paying the salaries and bills, you'd probably think differently.

No. It depends who the late person is and what kind of meeting it is. If its the person who called the meeting, or the person with the important update or information to contribute, then yes that can impact the whole room. But to say the average joe-blow attendee is holding up an entire team because they are late.... bullshit.

Also, surely anyone in the modern office environment has had to work with those kind of self-important people that seem to request meetings for everything. You could apply the reverse logic to what the OP was getting at in terms of presumptousness. The meeting originator is assuming his time is more important than yours. Maybe you really do have more important things to do than attend yet another fucking pointless meeting.

[rage2]

I'm obsessed with time and time management, so being on time is very important to me. Although with kids, it's a lot tougher, which drives me insane whenever I'm late.

My mom does the reverse, knowing that other people will be late, and it always fucks me over. She will tell everyone that dinner at a restaurant is an hour before the actual reservation, and I show up way too early.

[killramos]

Originally posted by heavyfuel
Who gives a fuck lol and the whole 20 minutes x 10 people = 200 minutes wasted, that's just some over exaggeration bullshit to further demonize somebody who understands that, give or take 5 or 10 minutes, whatever needs to be done is gonna get done just the same.

No you are being a prick and wasting everyone time. Maybe when you spend your day sitting around doing nothing do you think that everything gets done at the same time but for people with real work ethic you wasting 20 minutes of my time is me going home 20 minutes later. And when you make 10 people go home 20 minutes later i think it is way worse that 200 minutes wasted. All so you can idle your truck and sniff the fumes for an extra 20 minutes I'm sure.

But then again I am arguing with this guy:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a103/killramos/1A4ADF44-C11B-4F28-8799-B80D535A12BD.jpg

I shouldn't expect any less...

[riander5]

Everyone just take a breather here

[killramos]

Originally posted by Inzane


Also, surely anyone in the modern office environment has had to work with those kind of self-important people that seem to request meetings for everything. You could apply the reverse logic to what the OP was getting at in terms of presumptousness. The meeting originator is assuming his time is more important than yours. Maybe you really do have more important things to do than attend yet another fucking pointless meeting.


That is beside the point, if you don't want to attend a meeting don't agree to attend it.

However if people are having a discussion you show up late and have to have things re-explained to you so you can contribute. That's on you and you are being a prick for it. In some cases meetings are a way to provide information for people, you don't even need to contribute. But if you are late to a meeting, miss a key piece of info, and have to ask someone about it later you are once again wasting peoples time.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by rage2

My mom does the reverse, knowing that other people will be late, and it always fucks me over. She will tell everyone that dinner at a restaurant is an hour before the actual reservation, and I show up way too early.

We actually do this to a lesser extent with one of our friends. He's chronically late so if we want to be somewhere for 7:00 PM, we tell him 6:45 PM. More often than not, 7:00 is when he arrives.

[Tik-Tok]

I absolutely HATE being late myself, I always make it a point of being on time, and if I'm running late I get pretty angry at myself, lol. That being said, so long as I'm on time, it doesn't bug me if someone else is 10 - 15 minutes late :dunno: I've just gotten used to it over the course of my life.


Originally posted by rage2

My mom does the reverse, knowing that other people will be late, and it always fucks me over. She will tell everyone that dinner at a restaurant is an hour before the actual reservation, and I show up way too early.

My wife is perpetually late, so I learned long ago to tell her a fake time of when we're "supposed to be there"... e.g. if our reservation is for 7pm, I tell her it's for 6:30.

I always tell anyone else the real time though, except her sister, who is also always perpetually late :rofl:

[heavyfuel]

Originally posted by Canmorite


200 minutes is 3.3 hours, at 10 people for $40/hour, is ~ $1,300. If YOU were paying the salaries and bills, you'd probably think differently.

Once again, a mere fabrication. It's all gonna get done in the end. People need to settle the fuck down with petty tardiness.


Originally posted by killramos


No you are being a prick and wasting everyone time. Maybe when you spend your day sitting around doing nothing do you think that everything gets done at the same time but for people with real work ethic you wasting 20 minutes of my time is me going home 20 minutes later. And when you make 10 people go home 20 minutes later i think it is way worse that 200 minutes wasted. All so you can idle your truck and sniff the fumes for an extra 20 minutes I'm sure.

But then again I am arguing with this guy:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a103/killramos/1A4ADF44-C11B-4F28-8799-B80D535A12BD.jpg

I shouldn't expect any less...

Who's arguing? :dunno:

[killramos]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
I absolutely HATE being late myself, I always make it a point of being on time, and if I'm running late I get pretty angry at myself, lol. That being said, so long as I'm on time, it doesn't bug me if someone else is 10 - 15 minutes late :dunno: I've just gotten used to it over the course of my life.



My wife is perpetually late, so I learned long ago to tell her a fake time of when we're "supposed to be there"... e.g. if our reservation is for 7pm, I tell her it's for 6:30.

I always tell anyone else the real time though, except her sister, who is also always perpetually late :rofl:

The fiance always takes to long to get ready and always pushes things to the last possible second. So when its 5:30 and i want to leave the house at 7. I tell her to be ready for 5:45 lol

[jwslam]

Originally posted by Manhattan
Only time it's acceptable to be late is dinner parties. There's a common understanding that dinner won't be served until at least 30-60 min after the scheduled time. If you show up early to a dinner party you're an a-hole.
Still, half hour arrival window. Especially when you know the host is polite enough to wait til all guests arrive to serve, you don't waltz in to a 6pm dinner party at 9pm looking for appy's to be served to you on a silver platter.

[speedog]

Be late for an appointment once in our shop and it's a warning, the next time we add a fee on and the third time usually means you'll be looking for those services elsewhere. Being late screws up our pet groomer's schedules and time is money - I do like the story above about the dentist appointment although I have to admit our family's current dentist and doctor are very punctual in having you in the chair/room when your appointment time says so.

Myself, always at our shop an hour before it opens and even when I worked for TELUS, I was at the workplace at least 45 minutes before my shift started - easy way to gain respect from the bosses. Sliding in just on time or a bit late just isn't cool and if anything, is a huge show of the lack of respect one has for others. Just not cool at all.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by heavyfuel
Who gives a fuck lol ... whatever needs to be done is gonna get done just the same.

No offense man, but as a business owner, that's really cavalier attitude to have. It could be a contributing factor to lacking business at times.

You can get away with that kind of thing on Vancouver Island (otherwise known as Island Time), and the interior of BC, but in Calgary people expect you to be fucking prompt, as they generally have other things to do that day as well.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by heavyfuel
Who gives a fuck lol and the whole 20 minutes x 10 people = 200 minutes wasted, that's just some over exaggeration bullshit to further demonize somebody who understands that, give or take 5 or 10 minutes, whatever needs to be done is gonna get done just the same.

I give a fuck. For example, I have a rental that is open right now. I am flexible with my work so if it works best for a prospective tenant I will meet in the daytime.

Just a few days ago we make a mutual arrangement to meet at 2:00 pm. 2:15 and not a word. 2:20, I'm gone. I have better things to do than wait for you to decide to show up, ESPECIALLY if you aren't courteous enough to call/text/email and say you're going to need a half hour.

They called saying no one is there, I said I was there for 20 minutes and I left. Too fucking bad.


EDIT - same goes for service calls/repair men/etc. "Between the hours of X and Y" doesn't fly for me. I tell them to call and give me 30 minutes notice, when they do I say exactly when I'll be there and see you then. They leave me hanging, I'm gone. Too bad, I'll hire someone else.

[lilmira]

Alright, I'm here for the discussion now.

[Canmorite]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


No offense man, but as a business owner, that's really cavalier attitude to have. It could be a contributing factor to lacking business at times.

You can get away with that kind of thing on Vancouver Island (otherwise known as Island Time), and the interior of BC, but in Calgary people expect you to be fucking prompt, as they generally have other things to do that day as well.

It is a pretty shit attitude. If I had that attitude with my VPs while attending meetings, I'd be fired. I also think it depends on the work place environment though, I know a lot of O&G people who don't give a shit about this, yet still get paid a mint and brush it off.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by lilmira
Alright, I'm here for the discussion now.

:rofl:

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by jwslam
Posting this under "society" as a pet peeve of mine.
Not even a pet peeve, really; it's common courtesy.

The western world's idea of "on time" and "late" is vastly different than the majority of the rest of the worlds population.

Scheduling is a bit like engineering; everyone approaches it as a theoretically perfect system, but one fuckup and everything turns to shit since they never "planned" for some leeway.

As someone said, its situational. At the end of the day, to be on time for EVERYTHING I have scheduled would mean to treat everything with the same amount of importance. Some things are more important than others.

If I tell friends I'll be at their place at 830, IDGAF if its 845 (if I was an hour late, I'd cancel). Likewise, if we have a company meeting at 10, then I am there 5 minutes early.

But in general, I agree about the business end of things.

[ercchry]

yeah i physically cant do mornings... but once im up for the day i tend to be on time for everything... my office is aware of my issues and have accommodated for me, yes its a medical issue, so fuck your 9am meetings

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by rage2
I'm obsessed with time and time management, so being on time is very important to me. Although with kids, it's a lot tougher, which drives me insane whenever I'm late.

My mom does the reverse, knowing that other people will be late, and it always fucks me over. She will tell everyone that dinner at a restaurant is an hour before the actual reservation, and I show up way too early.

I can't stand being late for anything. I always build some contingency time into anything I'm doing so if everything goes as planned I'm almost to early and have to drive around or surf the internet on my phone for a while. But then if I do end up in a jam or something I generally just make it on time or am slightly late and then I'm not impressed.

[A790]

My friends and colleagues know that my time is important to me. If someone has a habit of arriving late to plans or meetings, they stop getting invited.

If you can't arrive on time, tell me BEFORE the time you're supposed to arrive. Quite a few times I've been waiting at restaurants for friends only for them to text when they were supposed to be there that they were on their way. Every time I just left. My time is valuable to me. If it isn't to you, then get fucked and see you later. I respect your time and I expect the same respect in return.

[E46..sTyLez]

People who let this kind of thing bother them THAT much, are generally not going to be happy in life. Not saying be a pushover, but pick your battles...

If I let every little thing bother me to the bone, I would be miserable all the time. I'm not going to let someone else jurisdict my happiness like that.

I agree in a business environment it is more important, but general day to day life...don't get so bent out of shape.

I would also not be able to stand any of my asian friends lol :rofl:

[jwslam]

Originally posted by Unknown303
I can't stand being late for anything. I always build some contingency time into anything I'm doing so if everything goes as planned I'm almost to early and have to drive around or surf the internet on my phone for a while. But then if I do end up in a jam or something I generally just make it on time or am slightly late and then I'm not impressed.
You and I should be like best friends :D :D :D
I literally decline invitations because the 2 hour leeway between my daytime and evening events is not enough to go grab a coffee

[C_Dave45]

I find it depends on what industry you work in.
In construction, it's almost impossible to see meetings, appointments, etc get done on time.
Punctuality is a peeve of mine. Dinner dates, first appointments of the day, I'm almost always on time, and hate those who are late just because they didn't leave on time.
But in my line of work, any meeting's after the first one are a complete crap shoot. I might have three different appts scheduled in a day. Usually a service call or two, repair..and they almost NEVER go as planned. And it never bothers me in the least if a customer/client/contractor is late himself.
I was at a customers job, who asked me to come over and do a specific repair. I had another repair to do after hers at x:00, allowing a good hour or so for her small repair. While I was there she was complaining about the electrician who hadn't shown up on time. She then went on to ask me to repair "this and that, while I was there". That simple one hour repair turned into about 3 hours. Had SHE been the second customer, waiting for me at x:00, she would have been mad as hell that I wasn't there at the expected time. I tried explaining this to her about those in construction and she would have nothing to do with that. "My dad was never late for an appt. .." yeah, her dad was an office worker.
We in the industry call it "construction time". You're lucky if we show up on the planned day, let alone a specific time.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by jwslam

You and I should be like best friends :D :D :D
I literally decline invitations because the 2 hour leeway between my daytime and evening events is not enough to go grab a coffee

We can meet somewhere and we'll both get there 1/2 an hour early. :thumbsup:

[rage2]

Originally posted by Unknown303
I can't stand being late for anything. I always build some contingency time into anything I'm doing so if everything goes as planned I'm almost to early and have to drive around or surf the internet on my phone for a while.
I'm so obsessed, that I track my commute times in my head to analyze driving time, so I don't have to build in contingency times in order not to be late. It's so fucked up that I can guess how long my trip takes within 2-3 mins consistently just to push the envelope a little further.

[killramos]

Originally posted by C_Dave45
I find it depends on what industry you work in.
In construction, it's almost impossible to see meetings, appointments, etc get done on time.
Punctuality is a peeve of mine. Dinner dates, first appointments of the day, I'm almost always on time, and hate those who are late just because they didn't leave on time.
But in my line of work, any meeting's after the first one are a complete crap shoot. I might have three different appts scheduled in a day. Usually a service call or two, repair..and they almost NEVER go as planned. And it never bothers me in the least if a customer/client/contractor is late himself.
I was at a customers job, who asked me to come over and do a specific repair. I had another repair to do after hers at x:00, allowing a good hour or so for her small repair. While I was there she was complaining about the electrician who hadn't shown up on time. She then went on to ask me to repair "this and that, while I was there". That simple one hour repair turned into about 3 hours. Had SHE been the second customer, waiting for me at x:00, she would have been mad as hell that I wasn't there at the expected time. I tried explaining this to her about those in construction and she would have nothing to do with that. "My dad was never late for an appt. .." yeah, her dad was an office worker.
We in the industry call it "construction time". You're lucky if we show up on the planned day, let alone a specific time.

I understand things are difficult but in the end you are choosing to work on her thing for 2 more hours than she was allocated. Especially when you know that you have a full day afterwards.

If she was your 8 AM and I was your 9AM why should I be punished when i take a morning off work etc and you show up at 11:30 or after lunch?

Could you not have scheduled to come back the next day/available appointment? Understanding the scope is the whole point of booking quote appointments etc.

Ultimately it sounds like you are booking 12 hours of work in for a 8 hour day.

Small things here or there are very different than 2 extra hours on a one hour job. I'm not trying to be an ass but it just comes off as a weak excuse...

[riander5]

Originally posted by A790
My friends and colleagues know that my time is important to me. If someone has a habit of arriving late to plans or meetings, they stop getting invited.

If you can't arrive on time, tell me BEFORE the time you're supposed to arrive. Quite a few times I've been waiting at restaurants for friends only for them to text when they were supposed to be there that they were on their way. Every time I just left. My time is valuable to me. If it isn't to you, then get fucked and see you later. I respect your time and I expect the same respect in return.

Going out for dinner or lunch with friends and they got held up and you just left and told them to get fucked?? Way to make a stand :nut:

Business related things I understand, but with friends? Gotta cut a bit of slack.

[lasimmon]

My biggest issue is when I tell my friends that I will give them a ride somewhere. I tell them I will be tehre at say 6:00. Since I am a punctual guy I am there either right on time or slightly early.

After I arrive you are either waiting outside at 6:00 for me or coming down the stairs if it is cold out. If I am waiting a couple minutes more I just leave.

If I am doing you a favour you damn well better be ready when I arrive. After a couple friends getting angry when I left them they learned and now I don't have to wait.

It works both ways. When someone is picking me up I am outside waiting for them.

[JustinL]

Agreed, it depends on the situation. If I get stuck waiting in a chair for someone, I can get pretty miffed. If I've got something to do while I'm waiting, then it's not such a big deal. Like if someone's coming over to help wrench on a car or buy something, I've always got garage work to do while I wait.

[HiTempguy1]

Favours are a completely different story. If I offer someone a favour, its on my time.

Again, time and place. Sometimes these things are important, other times (late for dinner with friends) not so much.

[jwslam]

Originally posted by riander5
Going out for dinner or lunch with friends and they got held up and you just left and told them to get fucked?? Way to make a stand :nut:
"Got held up" because they need to finish their video game is not an excuse, especially if it's every time.
"Got held up" because the baby was throwing up, then yes that is valid; because it was unpredictable and an isolated incident. And even then, give some notice when you're done dealing with that.

[ercchry]

so how do you guys deal with doctors and dentists that run late?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

None of the poll options apply to me. I'm always on time for things during the week (meetings, appointments, professional stuff, etc.) but I can be a little slow (within a 10min window) on weekends before noon for random shit with friends and whatnot. At the same time, I'm not usually bothered if other people are a bit late for meetings and things as long as it doesn't keep us from getting done what needs to be done.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by ercchry
so how do you guys deal with doctors and dentists that run late?

My dentist doesn't mess around.

[KRyn]

Originally posted by lasimmon
My biggest issue is when I tell my friends that I will give them a ride somewhere. I tell them I will be tehre at say 6:00. Since I am a punctual guy I am there either right on time or slightly early.

After I arrive you are either waiting outside at 6:00 for me or coming down the stairs if it is cold out. If I am waiting a couple minutes more I just leave.

If I am doing you a favour you damn well better be ready when I arrive. After a couple friends getting angry when I left them they learned and now I don't have to wait.

It works both ways. When someone is picking me up I am outside waiting for them.

This shit pisses me off to no end! I used to pick a few buddies up as they lived on the way to various places. After waiting outside in excess of ten minutes on a few occasions I stopped offering to pick them up. I make sure when people are coming to get me from anywhere that I am waiting ready to go at my door.

[speedog]

Originally posted by ercchry
so how do you guys deal with doctors and dentists that run late?
Don't have that issue with our current dentist and doctor - in fact, at my last doctor appointment I was about 7 minutes early and they took me in right away - how cool is that. One of our previous doctors - hell, waiting 45 minutes was not unheard of and was part of the reason we moved on as our time has value too.

[Stephen81]

6am sharp means a quarter to six.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by killramos


I understand things are difficult but in the end you are choosing to work on her thing for 2 more hours than she was allocated. Especially when you know that you have a full day afterwards.

If she was your 8 AM and I was your 9AM why should I be punished when i take a morning off work etc and you show up at 11:30 or after lunch?

Could you not have scheduled to come back the next day/available appointment? Understanding the scope is the whole point of booking quote appointments etc.

Ultimately it sounds like you are booking 12 hours of work in for a 8 hour day.

Small things here or there are very different than 2 extra hours on a one hour job. I'm not trying to be an ass but it just comes off as a weak excuse... I see someone with absolutely NO clue about construction time management. I'm not booking 12 hours of time..circusmtances change, not at my end.
So I should clean up my buckets, pack up my saw, load up my tools (about an hours time) drive to the other end of town..set up all those same tools again for second customer..pack up, clean up...only to then drive all the way back AGAIN to first customer and repeat same performance a third time?? That's about an additional 3 hours of set up time for an additional 2 hours of requested changes/repairs. (Whether it's the next day or not is irrelevant...that day is already spoken for) Who's gonna pay for all that time and gas? HER? Would YOU pay an extra 3 hours @ $95/hr, when I'm already set up with tools and supplies? What about when the finishing carpenter pierces a water line and we have to rip the wall apart before tile goes on the wall? What about....*an infinite amount of "shit happens" in construction*

Add to that I don't have 37 employees that I can borrow from one job to take up slack on another. Welcome to the small construction company.

[Unknown303]

If you've committed to a certain time with customer 2 that's exactly what I expect. When I was PLC Programming if I completed my job with a customer and they had other requests and I had already made arrangements to meet another operator at a wellsite/compressor station etc, I pack up apologize and leave. Why? Because I made a deal with someone to be there at a certain time. I'm not holding up someones day because another client didn't bother to schedule me for all the work required.

[jwslam]

Originally posted by lasimmon
My biggest issue is when I tell my friends that I will give them a ride somewhere. I tell them I will be tehre at say 6:00. Since I am a punctual guy I am there either right on time or slightly early.

After I arrive you are either waiting outside at 6:00 for me or coming down the stairs if it is cold out. If I am waiting a couple minutes more I just leave.

If I am doing you a favour you damn well better be ready when I arrive. After a couple friends getting angry when I left them they learned and now I don't have to wait.

It works both ways. When someone is picking me up I am outside waiting for them.
Originally posted by KRyn
This shit pisses me off to no end! I used to pick a few buddies up as they lived on the way to various places. After waiting outside in excess of ten minutes on a few occasions I stopped offering to pick them up. I make sure when people are coming to get me from anywhere that I am waiting ready to go at my door.
Off topic rant: Since when is it appropriate to use text messages to tell someone you've arrived at their door to pick them up? If it's warm outside, come knock or ring the bell; if it's cold, give me a phone call to make sure I get your message.

[lilmira]

A reliable person will do whatever needs to be done to show up when needed, a sloppy person will find whatever excuse to justify why he/she isn't there when needed.

Was at the airport last month, couple american pilots were late I assumed. They skipped right to the front of the line without even asking while still mumbling I hate this and that about canadian airport.
It has nothing to do with the airport, you were fucking late. You should know better to get there ahead of time like the rest of the population you dimwit.

[dubhead]

Originally posted by killramos


I understand things are difficult but in the end you are choosing to work on her thing for 2 more hours than she was allocated. Especially when you know that you have a full day afterwards.

If she was your 8 AM and I was your 9AM why should I be punished when i take a morning off work etc and you show up at 11:30 or after lunch?

Could you not have scheduled to come back the next day/available appointment? Understanding the scope is the whole point of booking quote appointments etc.

Ultimately it sounds like you are booking 12 hours of work in for a 8 hour day.

Small things here or there are very different than 2 extra hours on a one hour job. I'm not trying to be an ass but it just comes off as a weak excuse...

The problem with returning is he's likely making less on those 2 hours than the gas to leave and come back as it sounds more like work to keep a whinny customer off your back then chargeable work. I'm also sure that as someone who gets paid directly on what he's getting done he a has more interest in being on time then most of us.


As for being late I work in a 24/7 work environment and it is really annoying when people are consistently late as I can't go home until my cross shift comes in. Believe me the last thing I want to be doing after a 12 hour shift is waiting for you to come and relieve me.

Biggest pet peeve is dealing with getting my hungover friends to meet to go out to the Mountains in the winter it's gotten to the point where I tell everyone a the night before a time that's a half hour later than I want to be out of town and they still show up late. Oh your hungover :( well so am I and I want to go shred.

[spike98]

Originally posted by jwslam

Off topic rant: Since when is it appropriate to use text messages to tell someone you've arrived at their door to pick them up? If it's warm outside, come knock or ring the bell; if it's cold, give me a phone call to make sure I get your message.

This happened the same time people started to think that SMS's were an acceptable form of contact for matters above meanial or casual conversation.

I almost pushed my wife down the stairs the other day because of this:

On the phone...

ME: "Im stopping on my way home to get wine for the dinner party, can you call XXXXX to find out if i should bring red or white"

HER: "Sure dear, ill let you know"

5 minutes later, arrive at the store

ME: "Did you find out what type of wine i need to get, im in the store now"

HER: "No, she hasn't text back yet"

ME: :eek: :banghead: :confused: "Call her"

HER: "But i already sent her a text"

ME: :banghead: "Merlot it is" click

[The_1]

i'm always on time
hate being late for anything and would rather be there early
things have changed with a baby...no matter how prepared you are in advance...shit comes up and it makes me late
it drives me nuts

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by killramos
.....

Dave is in a tough spot, it's not cut and dry at all. His further explanation is exactly right, setup/cleanup/teardown times are a killer for small work - as is one angry/annoyed housewife. The best he can do in that situation is contact the next person and say unknown conditions have forced him to spend more time there while asking them to have patience or, make alternate arrangements.

I'm in construction at the GC level, trades are constantly late and there's a hundred good enough reasons why 99% of the time (the 1% are hungover drywallers hahaha). THAT doesn't bother me because I know that even if they're 4 hours/1 day late, they'll do what it takes to hit the deadline. Hell, 80% of the time they're late because of shit that happened one of our other jobs anyways.

When their Owners or site reps. are late for scheduled project meetings? THAT pisses me off.

[BavarianBeast]

It all depends on the importance of what you are trying to get to on time. If I commit to a time, I will try my absolute best to make it.

If some pickle biter makes a meeting request to discuss some menial bullshit that will take up an hour of my day, I will be late. Fuck you and your useless meeting, cheddardick.

If I'm meeting a client for a kickoff meeting, or anything of significant importance I'll be 15 minutes early..

It just all depends, so yeah I am a rude selfish dick.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by BavarianBeast
If some pickle biter makes a meeting request to discuss some menial bullshit that will take up an hour of my day, I will be late. Fuck you and your useless meeting, cheddardick.
Grow some balls and decline the meeting if it's not something that matters to you.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by jwslam

Off topic rant: Since when is it appropriate to use text messages to tell someone you've arrived at their door to pick them up? If it's warm outside, come knock or ring the bell; if it's cold, give me a phone call to make sure I get your message.

Because when you do that, this is what people think:

"Oh he just called me, I will now start to get my stuff together and get ready to go outside"

If I get this request from someone I call when I am about 5 minutes away and say I am outside. And I STILL have to wait. People always think their time is more important.

Again if I am doing you a favor by driving you I should not be hassled in the situation.

[E46..sTyLez]

Some of you dudes are wayyy too high maintenance for "friends". I can't believe some of the shit that's being said. If I had a buddy with as many "rules" as mentioned on here, I would be the one severing the relationship. Relax guys, you sound like a bunch of clucking chickens.

[ianmcc]

My wife is obsessed with being "on time" which to her is being there 30 minutes early.



Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
Some of you dudes are wayyy too high maintenance for "friends". I can't believe some of the shit that's being said. If I had a buddy with as many "rules" as mentioned on here, I would be the one severing the relationship. Relax guys, you sound like a bunch of clucking chickens.

Being late once-understand. Being late habitually-lack of respect.
Cluck cluck.

[Mibz]

I'd page kenny and buh_buh but I'm sure somebody already alerted them to this thread and they'll just get here when they get here.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
Some of you dudes are wayyy too high maintenance for "friends". I can't believe some of the shit that's being said. If I had a buddy with as many "rules" as mentioned on here, I would be the one severing the relationship. Relax guys, you sound like a bunch of clucking chickens.

Sorry I am not a pushover who wants to wait on you hand and foot. I have better things to do.

Obviously if shit happens its different. But I have some friends (some, not all) that are ALWAYS late. No matter the situation.

[killramos]

Originally posted by C_Dave45
I see someone with absolutely NO clue about construction time management. I'm not booking 12 hours of time..circusmtances change, not at my end.
So I should clean up my buckets, pack up my saw, load up my tools (about an hours time) drive to the other end of town..set up all those same tools again for second customer..pack up, clean up...only to then drive all the way back AGAIN to first customer and repeat same performance a third time?? That's about an additional 3 hours of set up time for an additional 2 hours of requested changes/repairs. (Whether it's the next day or not is irrelevant...that day is already spoken for) Who's gonna pay for all that time and gas? HER? Would YOU pay an extra 3 hours @ $95/hr, when I'm already set up with tools and supplies? What about when the finishing carpenter pierces a water line and we have to rip the wall apart before tile goes on the wall? What about....*an infinite amount of "shit happens" in construction*

Add to that I don't have 37 employees that I can borrow from one job to take up slack on another. Welcome to the small construction company.

I think that if me as a costumer didn't do a good job explaining to you what needed to be done (when you come to do a quote) or adding things on then I would absolutely expect you to bill me 95 dollars an hour to pack up and come back and set up, unless you are quoting things by the job in which case it is your job to do them on time or deal with coming back at your expense.

It is not my problem how much money you spend on gas, factor it into your business costs.

Whenever I have had work done in the past if I CHANGE my mind in the middle of the project I end up paying the cost. Trades pack up and leave without finishing jobs all the time.

Besides your times seem pretty out of wack here. 1 hour TOTAL job that has 1 hour of packing up? Did you do any work? You aren't doing a good job convincing me here...

As for extenuating circumstances that takes extra time. I would not expect you to blow off your other clients to take care of me. If the finishing carpenter fucks up that's on him to eat the cost.

Writing it off as "that's just how construction and trades work" is a BS excuse that allows zero accountability in the industry, which is a HUGE problem.

Again I am not trying to be a dick its just that your reasoning doesn't line up with proper customer service. It is very self serving.

[killramos]

Originally posted by JRSC00LUDE


Dave is in a tough spot, it's not cut and dry at all. His further explanation is exactly right, setup/cleanup/teardown times are a killer for small work - as is one angry/annoyed housewife. The best he can do in that situation is contact the next person and say unknown conditions have forced him to spend more time there while asking them to have patience or, make alternate arrangements.


I don't disagree that things are tough and things come up I just don't think the reasoning justifies the result. He has alternatives to blowing off clients, ultimately it appears he chooses not to take them.

I think pleasing ( or merely satisfying) one client is not a good excuse for completely alienating another that's all.

In my experience with renos etc (including family friends who we have hired to do the work) there really isn't always a good reason. In my experience the good reasons are actually few and far between.

[BavarianBeast]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Grow some balls and decline the meeting if it's not something that matters to you.

Know what the word mandatory means?

Most of these menial meetings have a sign-in sheet, some pencil pusher writing the minutes and require you to attend. :rolleyes:

[E46..sTyLez]

Originally posted by lasimmon


Sorry I am not a pushover who wants to wait on you hand and foot. I have better things to do.

Obviously if shit happens its different. But I have some friends (some, not all) that are ALWAYS late. No matter the situation.

I've got a friend of mine, that is one of my oldest and best friends, and is ALWAYS late. I can usually guess what time he'll actually show up because he is THAT consistently late.

He is one of the greatest friends I could ask for though, there for me if I ever need him (albeit late haha)...would do anything for a friend and is one of the most selfless people I have even known. He can offer great advice, and is basically like an uncle to my son. Best man at my wedding etc

So with all that said, I should crucify him for one trait that isn't "up to my standard"? I can live with him being late, cause he's a great person and more than makes up for it in other ways.

Long story short, are you guys all perfect friends with no faults? Personally, I think being an asshole over tardiness is much more of a shitty friend than being the late guy. I bet there are certain things about me that bother my friends, but they look past it. It's called being a friend, get over yourselves. YOU sound like the selfish ones from where I'm standing.

/rant

[killramos]

Originally posted by BavarianBeast


Know what the word mandatory means?

Most of these menial meetings have a sign-in sheet, some pencil pusher writing the minutes and require you to attend. :rolleyes:

Is your work/company particularly bureaucratic? Is it your boss or higher up who is mandating you to attend?

I find that most of my meetings are non-mandatory in nature and more work as information sessions so I can do my job more effectively and support other people in their roles and priorities.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
Some of you dudes are wayyy too high maintenance for "friends". I can't believe some of the shit that's being said. If I had a buddy with as many "rules" as mentioned on here, I would be the one severing the relationship. Relax guys, you sound like a bunch of clucking chickens.

Cluck cluck :guns: Fuck friends with no respect.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez


I've got a friend of mine, that is one of my oldest and best friends, and is ALWAYS late. I can usually guess what time he'll actually show up because he is THAT consistently late.

He is one of the greatest friends I could ask for though, there for me if I ever need him (albeit late haha)...would do anything for a friend and is one of the most selfless people I have even known. He can offer great advice, and is basically like an uncle to my son. Best man at my wedding etc

So with all that said, I should crucify him for one trait that isn't "up to my standard"? I can live with him being late, cause he's a great person and more than makes up for it in other ways.

Long story short, are you guys all perfect friends with no faults? Personally, I think being an asshole over tardiness is much more of a shitty friend than being the late guy. I bet there are certain things about me that bother my friends, but they look past it. It's called being a friend, get over yourselves. YOU sound like the selfish ones from where I'm standing.

/rant

Except you described one of my best friends. And lo and behold now he doesn't keep me waiting if I give him a ride or simply doesn't ask. I fail to see the issue here. He understood that I found it disrespectful and since we are best friends changed the way he acts in that situation.

You are a push over for allowing your friend to walk all over you and "accept" it because that is the way he is.

[E46..sTyLez]

Originally posted by lasimmon


Except you described one of my best friends. And lo and behold now he doesn't keep me waiting if I give him a ride or simply doesn't ask. I fail to see the issue here. He understood that I found it disrespectful and since we are best friends changed the way he acts in that situation.

You are a push over for allowing your friend to walk all over you and "accept" it because that is the way he is.

IMO you're a douchebag and your friend is a pushover for putting up with your shit. You don't mold your friends into what you want them to be, you sound like a controlling dick. You should be friends with someone as they are, not who you want them to be.

[rage2]

Originally posted by Mibz
I'd page kenny and buh_buh but I'm sure somebody already alerted them to this thread and they'll just get here when they get here.
:rofl:

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez


IMO you're a douchebag and your friend is a pushover for putting up with your shit. You don't mold your friends into what you want them to be, you sound like a controlling dick. You should be friends with someone as they are, not who you want them to be.

Haha alright buddy. I'm a douchebag for asking for respect and he is putting up with my shit because I don't want to wait for him when I am doing him a favor. Whatever you say

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by killramos

Again I am not trying to be a dick

Rofl..that boat sailed a long time ago.

You know nothing about my customer service principles. You wouldn't last 5 minutes in this business with your rainbow expectations and "what YOU would do" scenarios.
I'm currently eating a $1,000 for a customer, based on my "self serving" principles. And every one of my customers will vouch for my customer service.

To those who understand, no explanation is necessary. To those that don't, no explanation is possible.
You fall under the latter.

[E46..sTyLez]

Originally posted by lasimmon


Haha alright buddy. I'm a douchebag for asking for respect and he is putting up with my shit because I don't want to wait for him when I am doing him a favor. Whatever you say

No you're a douche because you put yourself on a pedestal and tell your friends how they need to act if they want to be friends with you.
Putting up with your shit is in reference to the fact you are chastising a grown man.
I did not narrow this conversation to a specific issue like doing someone a favor either.

Clearly, we can agree to disagree.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by killramos
In my experience with renos etc (including family friends who we have hired to do the work) there really isn't always a good reason. In my experience the good reasons are actually few and far between.

Perhaps, in your experience, you weren't hiring competent professionals like our friend Dave here. ;)

I hear what you're saying but, in my experience, I KNOW what Dave means and I understand him completely.

I think the last line of his response above says it best.

Moving on......

[A790]

Originally posted by riander5


Going out for dinner or lunch with friends and they got held up and you just left and told them to get fucked?? Way to make a stand :nut:

Business related things I understand, but with friends? Gotta cut a bit of slack.
I don't tell them to get fucked. My response is usually "Waited XYZ minutes and don't appreciate you disrespecting my time. I left. Next time you want to make plans please be on time."

I have cut a lot of "friends" out of my life because of that kind of thing. It's a respect issue. It's not even about being on time at that point, it's about the fact that they don't respect me and my time enough to make the effort to be on time.

If you don't value my time, I don't value yours. I don't think that's unreasonable at all.

[jwslam]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
I've got a friend of mine, that is one of my oldest and best friends, and is ALWAYS late. I can usually guess what time he'll actually show up because he is THAT consistently late.
Yup. One of my best friends: meet 8pm = leave his house at 8pm. Something we've discussed and doesn't seem to change, so I factor in his travel time into everywhere I tell him to meet me.


Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
IMO you're a douchebag and your friend is a pushover for putting up with your shit. You don't mold your friends into what you want them to be, you sound like a controlling dick. You should be friends with someone as they are, not who you want them to be.
Uh NO. This guy is a FRIEND because he values lasimmon's presence and therefore improved himself to show it.


Originally posted by A790
I don't tell them to get fucked. My response is usually "Waited XYZ minutes and don't appreciate you disrespecting my time. I left. Next time you want to make plans please be on time."

I have cut a lot of "friends" out of my life because of that kind of thing. It's a respect issue. It's not even about being on time at that point, it's about the fact that they don't respect me and my time enough to make the effort to be on time.

If you don't value my time, I don't value yours. I don't think that's unreasonable at all.
Very much appreciative our few transactions have been very punctual.


Originally posted by Unknown303
Cluck cluck :guns: Fuck friends with no respect.
I gotcha buddy!:love: :love:

[BavarianBeast]

Originally posted by killramos


Is your work/company particularly bureaucratic? Is it your boss or higher up who is mandating you to attend?

I find that most of my meetings are non-mandatory in nature and more work as information sessions so I can do my job more effectively and support other people in their roles and priorities.

It is quite bureaucratic, but it is usually the consultant or owner who is making it mandatory for me to be present.

[flipstah]

Sorry, I'm late. What'd I miss?

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by flipstah
Sorry, I'm late. What'd I miss?

Sorry man this isn't going to work out. :cry:

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by jwslam

Yup. One of my best friends: meet 8pm = leave his house at 8pm. Something we've discussed and doesn't seem to change, so I factor in his travel time into everywhere I tell him to meet me.


Uh NO. This guy is a FRIEND because he values lasimmon's presence and therefore improved himself to show it.


Very much appreciative our few transactions have been very punctual.


I gotcha buddy!:love: :love:

This is essentially what I am trying to say but he doesn't understand.

And I agree I have a friend who didn't change, and now all my friends do the same, You tell him 15 minutes earlier than everyone else :rofl:

Just because you ask someone to do something differently doesn't make you a dick and certainly doesn't make you a shitty friend.

[A790]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
People who let this kind of thing bother them THAT much, are generally not going to be happy in life. Not saying be a pushover, but pick your battles...

If I let every little thing bother me to the bone, I would be miserable all the time. I'm not going to let someone else jurisdict my happiness like that.

I agree in a business environment it is more important, but general day to day life...don't get so bent out of shape.

I would also not be able to stand any of my asian friends lol :rofl:
What makes it a "little" thing?

I dated a girl who lived three blocks away from me, yet she was ALWAYS late coming over. ALWAYS. How can you plan around someone like that? We'd make dinner plans and we'd constantly miss our reservations because she'd be late.

Maybe that's little to you, but that's straight-up disrespectful as far as I'm concerned.

[rx7boi]

:rofl: :rofl: I don't think it's necessary to make a huge point when people are late.

I have a good friend who used to be late for dumb reasons and it didn't take a fight or to ditch an event to make things right. Like others have said, sometimes it gets too annoying and you have to make a stand for yourself.

Some of you have this idea that you need to punish the other person somehow and some of you probably haven't even tried to broach the topic like grown men ought to.

@heavyfuel, from your response it's easy to see why someone of your caliber needs to make threads about learning how to deal with people, meet women, and otherwise improve yourself overall.

[D'z Nutz]

I'm pretty anal retentive about punctuality. I do my best to always be on time and I expect that of others. There is no fucking thing as fashionably late. It's called being fucking rude and one of my biggest pet peeves. I was taught that if I'm being late, I'm implying that their time isn't as important as mine. I aim to be 5-15 minutes early for meetings but usually end up being 15-30 minutes early when I have to travel just because I usually end up over estimating commute time. If I even think I'm going to be 5 minutes late, I call ahead.

That said, I totally understand shit happens so if it happens on occasion I give it a pass, especially if people I'm waiting for are dealing with children but people who are routinely late drive me bonkers.

I remember a few years ago some friends and I were planning on meeting for dinner for someone's birthday. Someone mentioned they never have to worry about being on time because I'm always there to hold the seats for them so they can come whenever they want. I'm talking about people who always show up 30-45 minutes late and let people wait for them before they can even order. When I heard that, I didn't leave the house until 90 minutes after when we were supposed to have arrived. When I got there, they told me they almost lost the reservation because nobody was there at the table. Some of them got the point.

I also hate people who are late for their own meetings because they haven't come into the office yet. Especially when that meeting is scheduled for 11:00 :dunno:

[J.M.]

I hate being late.

When I use to work downtown I'd be in the office by 5:45 haha.

[E46..sTyLez]

Originally posted by jwslam


Uh NO. This guy is a FRIEND because he values lasimmon's presence and therefore improved himself to show it.



My point is that of all the good things about said friend of mine, I'm not going to make a stink over the one thing that isn't perfect about him. I don't expect my friends to be perfect, cause I know I'm not.

I guess each situation is different though, and it would largely depend on how good of friends you are to begin with/what kind of relationship you have.

Sorry if I was rude Lasimmons...friends? I promise I won't ever be late :D haha

[E46..sTyLez]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I'm pretty anal retentive about punctuality. I do my best to always be on time and I expect that of others. There is no fucking thing as fashionably late. It's called being fucking rude and one of my biggest pet peeves. I was taught that if I'm being late, I'm implying that their time isn't as important as mine.

Hmmm, no one relayed that info to your cousin lol :rofl:

[jwslam]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
My point is that of all the good things about said friend of mine, I'm not going to make a stink over the one thing that isn't perfect about him. I don't expect my friends to be perfect, cause I know I'm not.
NONE OF US HERE (yes I speak for all of us) are asking for late friend to be perfect, we're asking for them to be courteous and respectful of our time.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[heavyfuel]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


No offense man, but as a business owner, that's really cavalier attitude to have. It could be a contributing factor to lacking business at times.



No offense taken, because by traditional standards you are right. But there is very little traditional anything to how I do things. I give my customers a 2hr window, and I aim to be there at the top of that window so no one is butthurt if I arrive at 9:15 or even 10 when I said between 9 and 11. Then I book the next appt. for 10-12, and so forth until 2pm, then I make sure I hit the dump and call it a day or only take on jobs near home so I don't have to deal with rush hour bullshit. My "shitty" attitude is also what makes me a genius. Say what you will- the vast majority of my customers are very happy with me.

I remember getting in shit for being 7 minutes late on this bullshit labor job like almost 20 years ago, fuck off already. Once I got written up when I worked at Gienow cuz the bus got held up by a train. Some things you just can't control. And it works both ways- if I tell a helper to meet me at X location at 9 am and I show up at 9:15, clock started at 9 am. We spend 70% of the day sitting in the truck driving anyways and not like $3.75 is gonna impact my day in the least.

And I'm never really "Lacking" lol I don't WANT to work 12 hour days 6 days/week, fuck that lol


Originally posted by rx7boi
:rofl: :rofl:

@heavyfuel, from your response it's easy to see why someone of your caliber needs to make threads about learning how to deal with people, meet women, and otherwise improve yourself overall.

I started lifting so now I don't give a fuck about all of that anymore lol

Just gotta make sure I make it to the gym on time, right?

[J.M.]

Originally posted by heavyfuel



Just gotta make sure I make it to the gym on time, right?

Damn rights brah can't skip leg day

[killramos]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


Rofl..that boat sailed a long time ago.

You know nothing about my customer service principles. You wouldn't last 5 minutes in this business with your rainbow expectations and "what YOU would do" scenarios.
I'm currently eating a $1,000 for a customer, based on my "self serving" principles. And every one of my customers will vouch for my customer service.

To those who understand, no explanation is necessary. To those that don't, no explanation is possible.
You fall under the latter.

Fine then.

So you eat $1000 dollars out of the goodness of your heart (because you totally didn't fuck something up bad enough that you had to pay for it) but you are unwilling to pay 50 bucks (and I'm vastly overestimating here) in gas to make an appointment because it's more convienient to stay where you are and do extra work?

That's great that your customers like your service but from everything you have told me you will blow off your customers appointments for basically any reason and convenience. Even to avoid cleaninf up twice for a job. That doesn't sound like good customer service in any way shape or form to me.

If you made an appointment for 8 am to do work for me and showed up at 10 you would find a locked door. And I sure as hell wouldn't be paying for your gas to come by.

By saying wasting 95 dollars an hour isn't worth it to keep my appointment. Back to the original topic of discussion how much money does it cost me to take a morning off to wait around for a contractor who doesn't show up. Guess what. It's a lot more that 95 dollars. And is just showing that you don't balue your clients time.

Whether or not you believe I could last in the prestigious land of tiling is irrelevent to client relationships and wasting people's time.