Punctuality is an important American virtue. If you are in the USA or if your boss is an American and you have made a commitment to meet at a specific time, it is a good idea to get there on time. Whether it be a dinner engagement, a walk in the park, a business meeting, a tennis match, a conference call or whatever, care should be taken to be there at least 5 minutes before the set time.
If you are more than 5 minutes late, that is unacceptable. If you arrive late, it is considered disrespectful to the other person or persons, and it is not taken well. It could be disastrous if you are consistently late and could mean losing a friendship, a deal or even your job. When you are late you convey the message that those waiting for you are not as important as you, that their time is not as important as yours. Even if that is not your intent, it will be seen that way.
Photo: Personal Archives
Hardly anyone ever misses a flight. Why? Because it is important. It would cost us money, a lot of time and inconvenience if we were to miss a flight. Americans will use this comparison to stress the importance of being on time to colleagues who are late. Everyone's time is valuable, so if you want to show you agree with that, show up on time!
The only acceptable cases for being late are emergencies such as a car accident, sickness, or an act of nature like an earthquake or an unavoidable traffic jam. In any case, if you know you are going to be late, you should inform the people you are going to meet.
This is the American mindset concerning punctuality. If you make the effort to arrive 5-10 minutes before the set time of any commitment, Americans will love you for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment