Seriously – if you want to move ahead in life, there are two things you must always do. First, you have to show up, and second, you must show up on time. Sounds pretty basic, huh?
Here’s my rule, and it took me longer to fully learn this than I’d like to admit. If someone doesn’t honor this commitment the first time, it will only get worse from there.
Once I understood this, it made how I respond to these situations much easier. If I am paying someone for a service and they are late, we’re done. Especially if it’s the first time we meet. Because I now understand that they will always be late.
The type of service doesn’t matter – it could be a plumber, a house cleaner, or a doctor. There are exceptions, but these exceptions generally involve either someone who provides a unique service (e.g. a highly specialized surgeon), or a corporate monopoly. The former we will wait for because they are the best at what they do, the latter we will curse and hate with every fiber of our being while they continue to make us wait while taking our money.
The ones who don’t show up are not even considered to exist. They have doomed themselves to failure by their own hand.
Oh, and BTW, on a related but separate note – if a restaurant is empty, turn around and leave. There is a reason why it’s empty. It sounds cruel but you’ll thank me later.