Some people are constantly late, , , late for work, , , late for meetings, , , late for events, , , they are always late.
What’s the worst excuse you have heard as to why people are late?
Here are a few I’ve heard:
- Had a flat tire (you probably will now that you say it)
- Accident on the freeway delayed traffic
- Overslept
- Sick
- Ran out of gas
- On the phone
- Took a wrong turn
- Road construction
- Car battery was dead
- Hit a deer
- Forgot we had a meeting scheduled
- Was up all night with a sick child
- Went to the wrong office
Being prompt and on time is a sign of being organized and courteous to those who you work with. Being late wastes people’s time and it causes companies to lose lots of productivity when a dozen people sit around waiting for a meeting to start because a key person is late.
If you have a habit of being late all the time, you are telling others around you that you are unorganized, lazy, and that you don’t respect them, , , not a good thing. A word to the wise is that we need to be on time, , , and encourage people who work for us to do the same.
Got any good ones? I would like to hear them.
ITLever™ 
My dad used to tell me the quickest way to get people to be on time for meetings was to start them on time regardless of who was there. It’s worked for me. I make 1 page on our overhead system 5 minutes before starting time, then start on time. Folks aren’t late any more…
Richard, good approach. I believe you are right, , , often it’s the culture you create or allow to exist in your company.