One of the fundamental prerequisites of living a life to the full is
actually turning up! As Woody Allen
famously said, "80
percent of success is just showing up".
I would add to that showing up on time. I recently needed
a plumbing job done in my house,
“I’ll come over at 11.00am”, said the plumber.
Needless to say, 11.00am came and went. No plumber and no phone call. After
chasing him for a couple of days,
“Sorry about that. I’ll be over tomorrow at
2.00pm”.
Guess what? No plumber and no phone call. Several
more phone messages later and still no response. Without giving all tradesmen a
bad name, what the hell is going on?? Is it just me asking too much?
I was running a Customer Service course for a
Health Care provider last week and was talking about the critical importance of
delivering products and services on time and yes, I admittedly had a little
rant at some people’s inability to be on time, when one of the delegates
accused me of “nitpicking”, while another said I should lower my expectations
so as not to be disappointed! Can you believe that?
Maybe it’s because of the work I do that I notice more
deficiencies? But I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds it totally
unacceptable. Why is it so difficult for people to be on time?
I was driving to Norwich to visit a friend at the
and I turned the radio on to hear,
“Stay with us after the news when we’ll be talking
about people who are always late….”
This should be interesting, I thought. Sure enough
the first caller exclaimed,
“Yes, I’m always late for everything! I drive my
husband mad!”
And what’s worse she said it with an element of
pride as if it was something to brag about. Clearly her loving husband was not
a priority in her life. This kind of issue can be a “deal breaker” in
relationships. I had a ex girlfriend who, no matter how much time we had to
prepare for an evening out, always contrived to be just a little late. I would
often be in the car waiting while she was still deciding which dress to wear!
Do you know people like this? It is as prevalent in
business relationships as social ones. You know the kind of people who say
they’ll get back to you and never do. They say they’ll ring you back and never
do. They say they’ll e mail you and never do. They fall into the category of
what I call “Flaky”. The kind of people you just know you can’t rely on.
Is it me being a nitpicker or is it hugely
disrespectful of people’s time to be late or not turn up at all?
One of the callers on the radio show said he had
asked one of his best friends to do a reading at his wedding. Guess what? He
missed the reading, I fact he was so late he missed the entire ceremony!
Your time is your most valuable commodity. Please
don’t let others waste it by keeping you endlessly waiting. The essence of
integrity in your social or business life is simple:-
Do what
you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.
Is it just me? Please let me know if you have the
same experiences.
(By the way, the plumber......... yep, still waiting.)
(By the way, the plumber......... yep, still waiting.)
