Has “being on time” lost it’s meaning?
Below is a question I recently posted on LinkedIn looking for feedback from other professionals to a situation I was experiencing that morning. Please let me have your feedback as well.
She never did show up nor does she seem to realize how inappropriate her behavior was.
My Question:
Is it just because I now live in South Florida (6 years) and things are more laid back or is being on time just not important anymore?
I am helping a colleague who was downsized out of a job earlier this year. We spoke yesterday. I suggested 10:00am instead of lunch time so we could really focus without food in the way. She said she would be at the meeting place by 9:30 so I hustled to get there even though I had told her 10:00.
At 9:28 she sends a text message that she will be here by 10:30, she has to run an errand. I was already here. It is now 10:40 and she is not here.
I am making good use of the time without her here and do have the time to spend here today for a while longer. This makes me concerned about how she will present herself to employers and people I may introduce to her.
What’s your take on this? Am I too anal about time? Is the world more relaxed than I think? Is she exhibiting poor professional behavior?
Here are 3 of the 23 answers I received from LinkedIn members. They are reflective of the rest:
Heather – Trainer, Translator, Tutor and Wordsmith
I’m going to make a judgment call on this one and say that it sounds like there will be problems in the future for her if this was a meeting to establish some job searching techniques.
The key thing for me in this judgment call was the text message though. The red flag is that in light of all the devices for communicating that we have at our disposal, the lame excuse is becoming more commonplace via cell phone or text message. I think we’re losing our coping skills at staying together in a crowd, taking care of emergencies ourselves, finding directions, and other things that we’d have known how to do before this. I wonder if people would do this if they couldn’t call or text the person waiting.
Now, I have noted a cultural difference in some countries and it’s true that in France, you really aren’t expected to be too on the dot for dinner invitations and you may be greeted by the hostess who’s not ready yet. They used to use the term ‘le quart d’heure’ then the region name. The South of France was the region known for being the latest because of the climate.
I also lived in Hawaii for three years and there is a general tendency not to get upset over time that you don’t find in other areas of the world. “No huhu’ means ‘don’t fret over it…big deal.’
However, for a business related appointment, arriving on time is required. Even if you are not employing her yourself, you are offering your services to help her find work.
I’ve been fighting a five minute late tendency myself because I was dealing with so many things at once that I’d be out the door on the way to work when some major crisis would hit. It was a life and death situation, so I know I managed as best I could, but I’m getting back to the one or two minute late thing and then, will be early. I literally was handling hospital calls and things simultaneously with work so, my employer knew this. She also knew that I’d never missed work and that I’d gladly stay late without any fuss if it was necessary. I have addressed my weakness though and am working on it.
You’re not overreacting though and if you do leave it’s up to her to call you and apologize.
Clarification added 11 days ago:
I forgot to mention that when I was teaching college classes, time and time again, I’d get stood up by students and it was my duty to ask them politely, ‘hey, didn’t we have an appointment on Thursday? I could have sworn we did and it was on my calendar’ and then, just let them realize they’d blown it. It’s not humiliating but a good way to remind them that, you were there for them and that it makes a difference to you.
FRANK – Global Business Futurist
She is thoughtless, inconsiderate,
selfish, and cannot prioritize.
If it were a routine errand, not crisis,
she attend to it after your meeting.
So it is not just a matter of being
on time as scheduled and agreed,
but she is demonstrating several
scatterbrain behavior traits.
I suggest you point these facets
out to her and encourage her to
be better organized. Otherwise
she is unlikely to be re-hired.
Alex – Director of Program Management, Debit Processing
John,
Sounds like she actually really needs your services. Her decision making abilities sound as if she does not either have a firm grasp of priority setting or business etiquette.
I don’t know what her other errand was. Perhaps it was time-sensitive, and crucial for her to get completed. In that case, better communication on her part would have helped in understanding why she had to delay your meeting at the last minute. And further communication to let you know she was running late might have smoothed the waters too. You must be a saint to sit and wait for more than an hour – I know I would have been upset about it.
If the other errand was not in fact crucially important or time-sensitive, then she has a larger dilemma in how she addresses issues and sets her priorities. This may have had something to do with why she is downsized out of a job.
In either case, I feel for you. People do seem to be more preoccupied these days, and it leads to issues like this. I feel she may not understand the importance of good communication skills nor time management skills – and could benefit from some heartfelt advice. I don’t consider her actions professional in any form, and would inform her of that.
[...] Several weeks ago I posted about a colleague who wasted my time by not showing up for an appointment we had made to benefit her. I posed a question on LinkedIn and posted responses here. [...]