One thing I hate is people who are late for appointments. I just think it’s disrespectful of the other person’s time to be late, it’s like saying that their time isn’t important to you.
That is why I get annoyed when people wait to the last minute to leave for a destination. They look at Google maps, and if the map says 48 minute travel time, they will leave the house at 9:12 for a 10 o’clock meeting. If they are late, they blame traffic and not their own lack of planning for their tardiness.
I was always taught that if you are 5 minutes early, you are already 10 minutes late.
11 Comments
BobF · December 8, 2022 at 12:05 pm
AMEN!!!
It's just Boris · December 8, 2022 at 12:34 pm
I tend to agree. There are things beyond your control that can make you late (e.g. traffic accident on your route, parking not available for some reason, etc.), but if you are routinely late it’s probably not due to an ongoing series of unfortunate and unpredictable events.
Matthew W · December 8, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Early is on time, on time is late and late is never acceptable……
Glypto Dropem · December 8, 2022 at 3:44 pm
Kinda parallels my work ethic:
Early is on time, on time is late, and late is fired.
mike · December 8, 2022 at 4:36 pm
I used to drive an hour to work and often showed up ahead of people who lived 10 mins away during large snowstorms. Sometimes these nearby workers would even call out in such a case, explaining that the roads were too bad. I told myself that the management was keeping mental notes about all of this and it would pay off someday. I was wrong.
BobF · December 8, 2022 at 5:38 pm
Mike, I had a supervisor come to me with his young airman in tow, airman on his umteenth time late and we had already done a letter of reprimand. Airman was complaining supervisor made him work 3x the amount he was late and thought it was unfair. I was the first sergeant; told the supervisor next late bring it to me and we will prefer charges by Article 15. (Airman can refuse to accept, but we then go to court-martial. Told airman my recommendation to the commander would be extra duty and confinement to quarters (barracks). Supervisor said he would be fine to escort to and from work — airman could walk beside his car. !! An amazing turnaround occurred. Funny how the right motivation MAKES it the right motivation. 🙂 Bosses who let it go get more of same, as you have observed. Retired ’93 and I miss those days. Well, most of them.
D · December 8, 2022 at 8:52 pm
> Sometimes these nearby workers would even call out in such a case, explaining that the roads were too bad.
Heh. Same here. But then again, I’m way out in the middle of nowhere. I’m used to the snow and can get through just about anything. I carry a chainsaw in the back of my car. In order to stop me, the tree has to be pretty big, the snow has to be more than ~3-4 feet deep. As for water…I could probably cross 2-feet deep, but not knowing what’s under the water could be dangerous. Sinkhole, road washed out, etc…
Hell…at one point I worked for a small business that was hanging on by their teeth. They had an emergency and I was the closest person by about 2 hours. Everyone else was out of position.
I dragged my sorry ass to a client site with a 103.8 fever, a bunch of meds, a barf can next to me, and a splitting headache.
The client was pretty nice to me, but seriously pissed at my boss. They paid a lot of money for emergency service, and honestly…my boss fscked up. He was keeping most of the money, and skimping on hiring staff. They fired him a few months later.
But yeah, if I can put in 3 hours with a high fever, make it through snow, and cut downed trees to get to work, Suzie and her Prius should be able to make it a few blocks.
KurtP · December 8, 2022 at 9:30 pm
Anyone who was in the military was taught in boot camp/basic…whatever- that you’re on time if you’re 15 minutes early.
Aesop · December 9, 2022 at 1:47 am
You’re correct, but the reverse is also true. If I’m on time by being early, and then I have to “hurry up and wait” because the person I was early for is running late, they’re an even bigger douchecanoe.
The unwritten rule on TV/movie production construction crews was
Late once = you’re buying donuts for the crew.
Late twice = you’re buying breakfast for the crew.
Late thrice = Turn around. You’re not on the crew any more.
No one was ever late twice on a show.
The military, by contrast, which taught many of us the 15-minutes-early rule, was famous for “hurry up and wait”, and the corollary: Never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.
nunya · December 9, 2022 at 8:18 am
all the lessons from mil service served me…and my kids well. that said, med offices that allways over schedule so they are 45 min to hour late can kiss my ass.
Pat H. Bowman · December 14, 2022 at 8:26 am
In the live production industry, early is on time, on time is late and Call Time is the time we call your replacement.
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