Why are some people always late?

[Swede]

Appointments are bad enough,but we had a guy in our carpool who showed up late at least once a week.

[Road Scholar]

1. It's a pretty good sign of arrogance.

Proof of it, some would say.

[raccoon]

2. Well, I know somebody who is frequently late. He had a traumatic

brain injury.

Then some people don't allow themselves enough time to get somewhere. I confess, sometimes I do that.

[KG]

3. because they can get away with it. leave the mofo behind next time.

[geardaddy]

4. I'm late a lot to work

but I'm not a morning person.

[BOSSHOG]

5. I always told my Sailors - "When you're on time you're late."

If work starts at 0700, it starts at 0700, you don't show up at 0700. I've got an extremely low tolerance (non-existent) for tardiness. There better be a damned good excuse attached.

But to answer your question - ACCOUNTABILITY! If someone always gets away with it, they'll continue to do it thinking nothing is wrong.

[Road Scholar]

14. Vince Lombardi used to tell his players. "If you show up here on time

you're 15 minutes late". LOL I always liked that one.

[BOSSHOG]

17. And I bet Vince

could chew ass better then me and I was a damned fine ass chewer in my day.

[Duer 157099]

6. I have a new theory

I'm not convinced, but considering it.

I think people who are chronically late are impatient people who don't like to wait, and thus never like to be early. So they try to cut it as close as possible, and then other things always come up.

Maybe?

[Fran Kubelik]

18. YES!!!!!!

[Iggo]

7. My brother's like that.

He has an aversion to being early for anything. Like if he's early, he loses. It's almost clinical.

[BarenakedLady]

8. Bad time management.

:shrug:

I'm always early or on time, unless I'm held up by the kids.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

9. Try living on "Pakistani" or "Indian" time

My husband is the exception to this rule, thank God. If you're invited to someone's home for dinner at 7, you might as well not show up until close to 9, because you'll be the first one there and end up STARVING while you wait for EVERYONE to show up before you can finally eat. I have gone to fancy functions at hotels when we were invited at 7 and food was not served until 10:30. I HATE this and think it's extremely rude. I don't know why it happens this way, but it does. I find myself waiting until the last minute to go somewhere now, and I hate that about myself, but I'm used to it from all the dinners we've attended at people's homes.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. I've run into that in Indian restaurants, occasionally

Show up with a reservation, and dinner is served two or three hours later. And find out from some other patrons that it's normal. I try not to go back (unless dragged). I hate having dinner somewhere that I have to pack a lunch.

I'm way too impatient for dinner at "a stately pace".

:hi:

[Chovexani]

25. That sounds like Pagan Standard Time

PST means if the ritual is listed as starting at 7, people don't show up till 8 and the ritual doesn't start till 9. :rofl:

[DarkTirade]

27. It's that whole 'herding cats' thing. :)

[KitchenWitch]

33. Yes...

Or Indian (as in indigenous people of North America).

I have been to pipe ceremonies that did not start until 3 hours after the stated time.

[NaturalHigh]

10. As someone who is compulsive about being on time...

it really irritates me when people are late. That said, my wife and most of my family tend to be late, so I have learned to let it roll off my back.

[TZ]

13. I have the same problem

I am compulsive about being on time. However my stepfather (Clay) is notorious for being late so much so that we have coined the phrase "Claytime" which means add 30 minutes to whatever time you want a get together to start.

[NaturalHigh]

15. That describes my sister-in-law and her husband perfectly...

except (and I'm not exaggerating) it's more like two hours instead of thirty minutes. If we're waiting on them for a meal, everyone is ravenous by the time they arrive.

[calico1]

20. You should go ahead and eat without them.

Then when they finally arrive and ask about dinner you can tell them it was good and sorry they missed it.

[NaturalHigh]

22. That is usually my suggestion (and my father-in-law's)...

but not everyone agrees with us.

[CreekDog]

31. you just tell them a different time than everybody else

i think you can be forgiven for that lie. :hi:

[calico1]

11. For some people at least I think it is a

control thing. This is a friend of mine to a tee. She is ALWAYS late. I used to work with her and when there were any kind of company celebrations she was always the last one there, making her grand entrance. I once told her she liked the control and the attention she got from always being late. I used to go to movies with her because my hubby doesn't like movies. One time we got there and the movie had already started. Pissed me off. I am a very prompt person. Always have been. So I think constant lateness is rude.

[Road Scholar]

16. I agree, it is a control thing, but these chronics have no respect

for other people's time. Therefore arrogant and disrespectful.

[unpossibles]

12. sorry, I don't believe in linear time

that, plus years of jobs where the time did not matter as much as the quality and speed of product have spoiled me.

I can be on time or early if I try, but... meh. Punctuality is for losers.

That said, I make it a point to not be late when meeting someone somewhere because I don't like to worry or wait, and don't expect others to. Otherwise though, I am not concerned with time, schedules, or most of that crap unless it is important.

[Xithras]

19. I'm chronically late.

And I have to say that a few people here have come close, but haven't nailed it. I just don't care to live my life by some imaginary lines on the face of a machine. If I'm late, I'm late. No biggie. Sometimes I'm early, sometimes I'm late, sometimes I get there on time. Just depends on the weather and my mood that particular day. It's not arrogance because I don't think of myself as being any better, I just think that we as a society have some rather silly beliefs about the importance of some fairly inane things.

I drive my wife nuts, but she figured out many years ago that complaining isn't going to change anything. Personally, I just think that I have my priorities in order. Living well is important. Living according to a daily regimen of time isn't. To me anyway.

And yes, it's cost me a few jobs over the years.

[New Earth]

29. I second all of that.

[RadiationTherapy]

38. I was going to say, 'I can't be arsed'

but I would have meant what you said.

Additionally though, because I am very punctual to work and with my family events, I am sort of hostile about other people trying to hold me to a schedule. I am scheduled enough, dammit.

[Chovexani]

21. Because I can't pull myself away from the Lounge

:blush:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

24. Well, THAT's an acceptable reason!!!

:hi:

[Cabcere]

35. Same here

:toast:

Actually, I do have a tendency to get distracted/caught up in doing other stuff, and then not leave quite as early as I initially planned. :blush: When people ask, though, I tell them that it's because I was born late (which is true - three days late!). :hi:

[IntravenousDemilo]

26. Punctuality is an easy virtue...

...frequently adopted by people who can't be bothered with the effort it takes to cultivate more difficult and worthwhile virtues like loyalty, compassion, and kindness: "Well, I'm pretty much a shitheel otherwise, and there's nothing I can (or will) do about that, but at least I can be on time. And while I'm at it, just for good measure, I'll trumpet my singular virtue, and make myself feel good by making other people feel bad for being late."

Really, in the great scheme of things, and compared to other faults, tardiness really isn't so bad. In fact, I can think of one instance in which if I'd not been running late, I'd either be dead or seriously injured. We had a major subway crash a few years ago, and I'd just missed a train that got into an accident about five minutes later. Since then, punctuality has mattered much less to me than it did before.

[New Earth]

28. I'm usually late for everything

I really have no concept of time.... :(
Fortunately, my job is finally used to it so it's not a threat to my employment anymore...and I've gotten a little bit better. But i am also usually late for everything else too. Time does not exist...it is an illusion. I also am NOT a morning person, AT ALL.

[hedgehog]

30. We aren't arrogant, just very disorganized and/or overwhelmed.

As I explained to my daughters who needed simultaneous rides to places 30 miles apart the other day, I've attempted bi-location for years and haven't managed it yet!

[av8rdave]

32. I had a friend in flight school whose father actually told him,

"If you're not at least 5 minutes late, you're wasting your time and everyone else's!"

Unfortunately, the military never saw it that way.

[Dangerously Amused]

34. There's no simple answer to this question.

People are chronically late for various reasons, many of which are listed here. But one reason I haven't seen listed here is fear and/or shyness. I know people who are late to functions not because they are rude or arrogant or disrespectful or "want to make a grand entrance," but for the opposite reason: they want to slip in unnoticed when the shindig is already underway and people are otherwise occupied.

[cbayer]

36. Haven't worn a watch in 2 1/2 years.

I used to be an incredible stickler for time. Now I go to bed when I am tired, get up when I am rested, eat when I am hungry and totally avoid anything that requires that I do something by the clock.

But I am unbearably lucky.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

37. I personally think it is a sign and symptom of narcissism --

of course there are many more but, to me chronic tardiness is the height of rudeness and disregard of other people.

[InvisibleTouch]

39. Usually late here. Various reasons.

The joke among my friends has become that my time generally runs half an hour later than everybody else's time, and it's just something they accept and expect. Usually it's just because I can't seem to get it together in any organized fashion, to leave in time (and "organized" is another one of those qualities I seem to lack). Likewise I don't mind if someone is late meeting me - but I DO mind if they're early!

I personally hate to be early because I then end up with "dead time" that I might have filled with something else.

There's an adrenaline rush to trying to beat the clock that has become fairly habitual for me too.

And finally, there have been instances where I was quite deliberately late in order to express my displeasure with the person I was meeting. Not the recommended way of doing it, in retrospect - though I did finally tell him more directly to go to hell. ;)



On edit: there are one or two things I'm obsessive about being on-time for, however. Movies come to mind. If I can't see it from the very opening scene, I won't go in. Other than that, I'm pretty casual with time.

[Critters2]

40. Okay, I admit it. I'm often late to things I don't really want to be at in the first place.

I'm ALWAYS late to my association committee meeting. Cuz I'm not that psyched about being there.
And I know it.

[Forkboy]

41. Sorry I'm just now getting around to answering.

:P

Actually, punctuality is a pet peeve of mine. If I say I'm going to be somewhere at a certain time that's when I'm there. And I hate waiting when others are late. x(