Are people in your country also always late

[phantasia]

I am so frustrated. It seems that South Africa has developed a culture of lateness

This week we had post Grad contact sessions... more than half the class will just be 20-30 minutes late and the lecturer would just wait for them... making things run into the next lecturers time and then even after lunch they will not take a shorter lunch no they will be late again!

Is this normal... it this ok your your country?:

[I_royalty_I]

I guess it depends. I’m usually “fashionably late” for parties and stuff like that. I have friends who show up at 1 o’clock on the dot if I say a party at my place starts anytime after 1 though. If it’s something important and scheduled, I’m early. I don’t like being late. Usually if you’re late to class, it starts anyway. If you’re late for an appointment, they may take the next person in line. I don’t think the US really has the same culture as South Africa in that regard.

If you’re early, you’re on time.
If you’re on time, you’re late.
If you’re late, don’t even bother.

[Cinnamoroll]

I can’t speak on behalf of all Canadians, but personally I find we are usually timely people.

I personally am full of anxiety if I’m not 15 minutes early for something. I think it’s rude when people are late, especially if it’s for something like a date or a class, for example. I hate when people are late, so I can understand your frustration.

[kittyray]

I feel like in the States it varies more by region. Like in the Bay Area I feel like there was more a chill vibe and it wasn't even a matter of being fashionably late,but just more go with the flow california time is always a few minutes late, whereas when i was in new york it wasn't uncommon for people to be late to things because of the subways, but generally people were expected to do their best to be on time, at least in my experience.

As far as being-early-is-on-time, I personally feel like being early can be just as bad as being late. If somebody is picking me up or coming to my place and they show up fifteen minutes early, suddenly I need to rush so not to keep them waiting, or I wouldn't have my place quite ready to have them, or sometimes I wouldn't even be there yet to let them in, then suddenly I feel late and stressed when I'm not.

[Trash Panda]

In my country being late is like, part of the culture. I like to be be very punctual so it can be very frustrating when everyone tends to come in late, but you get used to it XD.

Like this one time, me and my friends went to see a stand up comedian. The event was supposed to start at 8. The opening sketch started like at 9:30, and it wasn't performed by the main comedian we went to see. He ended up getting on stage around 11 pm. Same thing happens with concerts or any other big event.

Even with parties or friend gatherings, it's a non-written rule that you never arrive at the time the party starts. The right time to arrive is at least 1 or two hours AFTER lol.

[Synth Salazzle]

I know americans that won't even show up at all. My sister's mom is the worst she literally just will either show up an hour late or not at all because she thinks "be there at this time" means "get ready to leave and take your sweet time at this time"

[Hawking]

A lack of punctuality drives me insane.
Making people wait for you when you've agreed on a time makes my blood boil...especially when they don't communicate that they're running late.

[Ice]

Haha there's a reason why the term "asian time" exists 😂 I think on one hand asians are notorious for being late (at least in the younger crowds, we always joke about running on asian time and it's a very real joke-but-not-actually where we have to tell certain people events start 30 min before just so that they'll have a snowball's chance in hell of being close to on time lol) but interestingly enough in asian countries punctuality is god - train schedule, services, etc. I think maybe it's just western/american asians who have horrible internal clocks then LOL... but regardless I agree with kitty, being too early isn't ideal and can be a burden depending on the situation. In a perfect world we'd show up exactly when we intend to, not too early or too late haha.

[Totodile]

I'm apart of the hispanic/mexican timing aha but we go by

If you arrive early; You help set up the party
If you arrive on time; You still help set up the party
If you arrive late; Foods all gone (Majority of the time)

Its just how it is for where I live

[Polorin]

yeah, people are always late here, even for medical appointments. some months ago, i went to a doctor who would typically see the patient at least five hours later. i eventually gave up on her.

i don't like that either, but with time, you get used to it. unfortunately, you might find yourself being late too, just so you won't have to wait for too long doing nothing. hahah

if you're looking for tips to deal with this when meeting with a small group of people, i have a few of my own, haha. firstly, try to arrange the meeting about half an hour earlier than you actually want it to start. alternatively, you can pretend to already be at the meeting place without actually arriving there, hahaha. if they care about you, they'll feel the pressure to arrive earlier than they normally would. xD yea, i did it multiple times.

however, as other people have mentioned, i think punctuality might vary depending on the country and the size of it. for example, i can't speak for the entire country because i'm pretty sure there are some places here where people are more punctual...