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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Friend is always 'running late'.

241 replies

katseyes7 · 20/01/2020 10:52

FFS. Arranged to go out with my friend today. l've only seen her briefly in the last month, haven't been out together for ages.
Without fail, almost every time we've arranged to go out, l've either had a text saying she's 'running late', 'fell asleep' or something similar. And l can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times she's actually been ready when l've got there. There seems to be no concept of other people's arrangements or time wasted.

Just had a text. "Sorry l fell asleep (? - it's half ten in the morning!) - should (!) be ready for 12.30". Usual time is 12:00, because it takes her that long to get ready. l've been ready to go out of the door for nearly 2 hours.
On one occasion last year, we arranged to go to meet another friend of mine for about an hour (for a specific reason) before she (other friend) went to work. When l arrived at my friends to collect her, she'd only just started putting her makeup on. (Which takes forever. At least an hour). She sat there, painstakingly putting her face on, no hurry, no sense of urgency whatsoever. The result being that by the time she got ready, we didn't leave her house until after the time we'd actually agreed to meet my other friend. Twenty miles away. By the time we were halfway there, my other friend had to leave for work. So l wasted god knows how much time, and forty miles worth of petrol for nothing.

ls it me? Or is it cheeky and bad mannered?
l work. She doesn't. So my days off are precious to me. AIBU to be annoyed, yet again? She's otherwise a good friend.

OP posts:
CuriousaboutSamphire · 20/01/2020 11:43

l've just texted her and cancelled. Said l have to be back earlier than planned and it's not going to work time-wise. We'll see what she says! She'll be the aggrieved party now... you dropped her for something else... how could you? You know how much she looks forward blah blahblah

Next time, or in reply to her answer, tell her the truth. You feel pissed off that she is always so late that you waste much of your time off just waiting for her. So now you won't wait. If she isn't ready you will do whatever without her.

An

TheWickerWoman · 20/01/2020 11:45

My MIL is exactly the same, thankfully I barely have contact with her now (not because of that) and she could get to work on time or to hospital appointments, She just couldn’t get her arse into gear when we were doing things together.

Saddler · 20/01/2020 11:45

She's an arsehole with no consideration for your time. Don't bother with her

Gatehouse77 · 20/01/2020 11:50

It seems that she is taking advantage of you.
I would either lie about what time you're collecting her - no harm in her waiting around for a change - and we did this with my sister for any years.
Or, be tougher. State what time you'll be at hers and what time you'll be leaving and then go.

I think it's about deciding which consequences you can carry on with.

unfortunateevents · 20/01/2020 11:50

Spend the time you are wasting on this woman meeting some other people. Seriously, she treats you like this because she can! It's not good that you have lived somewhere for four years and she is your only friend. Time to expand your horizons.

Ikeasucks · 20/01/2020 11:50

You have every right to be annoyed but i think there is possibly something else going on with folk who are compulsively late/leave everything to the very last moment/always veer off to something else

Nodancingshoes · 20/01/2020 11:50

Every single time...we've been friends for years and she is late every time we meet. Recently went out and my dh agreed to drop us. Just leaving the house when she text to say she was running late so we had to go back in and sit around for 30 minutes until she was ready. Dh was fuming and rightly so. It's so rude

Drum2018 · 20/01/2020 11:50

I certainly wouldn't hang around waiting for her if you are to meet another person. I'd have told her to do her make up on the way or just say you were going ahead without her. She shouldn't make you late to meet someone else. That's just making you as bad as her where the other person is concerned. If she's late to meet you I'd carry on with lunch and leave if she didn't turn up. And stop being her taxi. Tell her to start making her own way to wherever you are going. No taxi would sit around for an hour to wait for her to put her slap on, or if they did it would cost her plenty.

PineappleDanish · 20/01/2020 11:53

have no idea why she does this

I asked my flaky ex-friend why she was never on time, wouldn't respond to text messages and the rest of it and she was initially flummoxed. It's not a big deal to her and so why would it be a big deal to anyone else? Then, when she'd finally got head head around it she was all "What am I like? I'm just soooo easily distracted and time runs away with me, and it's just one disaster after another, and the kids let the battery run down on my phone, and I was driving and didn;t see your text and i;m just soooooo busy and what am I like??"

You're a fucking nightmare, that's what you're like.

unlikelytobe · 20/01/2020 11:57

Is she oblivious to your annoyance? Would it be water off a duck's back even if you told her how it made you feel? She has an entrenched behaviour pattern which may be about a sense of entitlement, a little game play, anxiety - it's hard to say as we don't know her. Either way you need to have a frank word with her and see if things change or stop pandering to her.

Chickydoo · 20/01/2020 11:58

I cancelled on a friend who is perpetually late last week.
Have arranged to meet her several times over the last couple of months. She prefers to come to my house. I tidy up, get some cake in and wait and wait. Then the predictable text comes at least 1/2 an hour after she was due to arrive 'sorry Chicky running late'
last weeks text said she would be with me within the hour ...she wasn't.
I have one day off a week, she doesn't work. Her time apparently is more important than mine.
I told her I was going out & not to come.
I have decided not to contact her again.
Op I get where you are coming from, some people are just very rude.

MamaGee09 · 20/01/2020 11:58

If she isn’t on time for everything else then she’s just being disrespectful to you!

I had a friend like that, we always met near her home as it meant she had more time to get ready even although I had a 40 minute drive and she was always late. We aren’t friends anymore. I can’t be doing with people who are constantly late, i find it rude.

messolini9 · 20/01/2020 12:03

ls it me? Yes
Or is it cheeky and bad mannered? Also Yes.

I can't see a moment in your entire initial post where you have spoken to your friend about this - you seem to just put up with it:

On one occasion last year, we arranged to go to meet another friend of mine for about an hour (for a specific reason) before she (other friend) went to work. When l arrived at my friends to collect her, she'd only just started putting her makeup on. (Which takes forever. At least an hour). She sat there, painstakingly putting her face on, no hurry, no sense of urgency whatsoever.
You already knew she takes an hour to put her make up on.
That was the time to say "look, you're not ready, AGAIN, I am not prepared to be late or miss seeing Other Friend, I'll see you next time" - & left.

The result being that by the time she got ready, we didn't leave her house until after the time we'd actually agreed to meet my other friend.
Until you take responsibility for your part in allowing your friend to keep showing you how much more important her time is than yours, she is always going to be late.
You are an adult - who MADE you stay in Tardy Friend's house, who stopped you from leaving to meet Other Friend?
It is your own fault you missed Other Friend - you did not leave Tardy Friend's house in time. You can blame her for her own lateness - you cannot blame her for yours.

Twenty miles away. By the time we were halfway there, my other friend had to leave for work.
You already knew how much time Other Friend had available.
What possessed you to carry on regardless?
Had you phoned her from Tardy Friend's house, did you phone her on the way?

So l wasted god knows how much time, and forty miles worth of petrol for nothing.
But my point is - why did you?
You know Tardy is a useless timekeeper.
You knew when you arrived at Tardy's that she was going to blithely apply make up for an hour without reference to anyone else's schedule.
You presumably were not held at gunpoint, but decided to await Tardy's pleasure instead of being sensible & leaving her to it.

Even if for some as yet undisclosed reason you were unable to leave Tardy's house without her, why did you not ring ahead to postpone meeting Other - what on earth was the point of driving there when you knew she'd be gone before you arrived?
What did you say to Tardy about it? Or were you BOTH acting surprised that other people actually stick to their time promises?

You are not going to change Tardy's behaviour - she clearly has issues & no qualms about acting them out no matter the inconvenience to you.
So you need to change YOUR behaviour.
Tell her clearly & calmly "I will be picking you up at 10, if you are not ready I will be going on without you."
If you are meeting at the cinema "OK show starts at 7.15, meet you there at 7.10, if you are not there, I'm going in without you."

You need to mean it, you need to stick to it, & you need to do it.
Your biggest problem is you allow her to get away with it.
Why, I can't imagine - she clearly has no respect for you.

What did Other Friend think about you blowing out the meet up with her? Because in effect, that is what you did. How do you think she feels about that? You also made her time less important than Tardy Friend's, & showed her that Tardy is more important than she is. That's not fair or kind is it?

You can continue blaming Tardy for it & feeling pissed off - but that won't change a single thing.
What weird voodoo has Tardy cast on you to make you believe that you have to hang on for her like this?
The only way to change it is to take responsibility for yourself & stop believing that Tardy has the power to make you late, or miss events & meet ups.

You don't deserve to be treated like this, & imagine how your self esteem will improve when you start refusing to be.

messolini9 · 20/01/2020 12:06

That's just a waste of a text. She won't be. l'll be sitting there waiting while she puts her face on.

But why will you be?
You say she's always on time for e.g. a hospital appointment.
She knows how to do it, & she's taking the piss out of you.
Why are you sitting there like a lemon, while Lady Muck plays with her makeup?

IntermittentParps · 20/01/2020 12:07

Strangely enough, if she has hospital appointments at 9.30am, she's out and ready....
Well then, there it is. She just doesn't give a shit about inconveniencing you.
Tell her straight you're tired of her wasting your time (and this other friend's who you were meant to be driving to visit), and that unless she sorts herself out you won't be bothering to make arrangements with her any more.

messolini9 · 20/01/2020 12:08

l have no idea why she does this.

To demonstrate her dominance over you.
Stop letting her.

Frenchw1fe · 20/01/2020 12:08

@Hahaha88 absolutely.

OP you should definitely have met up with your other friend and left without late friend.
As long as you put up with this behaviour it will carry on.
My Aunty was 5 minutes late leaving the house to visit her stepfather many years ago. My uncle left without her. He was pretty mean though.

pasturesgreen · 20/01/2020 12:09

l'll be sitting there waiting while she puts her face on

OP, don't be a martyr. It doesn't have to be that way. Your "friend" has shown you time and again that she clearly thinks your time is less valuable than hers and she doesn't think twice about causing you inconvenience.

You have power here as you drive, she doesn't. Tell her you'll be leaving at X time and mean it. If she can kick her arse in gear and be ready in time, jolly good. If she can't be bothered, just get on your way, don't wait around for her. I can bet money she'll stop pulling that stunt once you show her you mean business.

Frenchw1fe · 20/01/2020 12:09

*stepfather in law

bpirockin · 20/01/2020 12:09

I was going to ask if she has mental health issues, and see that you mention social anxiety. I have brain damage and a blood disorder which cause me social anxiety, as well as a physical disability. I am also notoriously 'late' - 'late' because I don't arrange specific times, because even when I aim for a set one, I rarely make it. I don't sleep well, and my brain cannot cope with more than one thing and I am easily distracted. I have long since given up wearing any make-up.

She doesn't miss trains and buses because she probably just gets the next one, has all day, and doesn't need to worry about it.

I think that you need to put your foot down with her, insist that she has to either be ready or do her make-up in the car. Remind her that there are alarm clocks and alarms on her phone that she can utilise. It sounds like she is rather too wrapped up in herself and needs reminding that not everyone has the free time that she does. If she doesn't make more of an effort then she doesn't place enough value on the friendship IMHO.

joggingon · 20/01/2020 12:10

YANBU. lateness is saying I'm more important than you. You can wait for me. It's plain rude.

YouokHun · 20/01/2020 12:13

If she has social anxiety she might actually be struggling to get out of the door and may have created rituals and diversions and be in a general tizz. I’m not excusing her but wondering if that’s the reason as it’s common among people I treat for anxiety. It’s not necessarily an indication that she doesn’t care about your time being wasted. If you value the friendship it would be worth having a conversation about it. I think it’s right to cancel with a “sorry, that rescheduling doesn’t work for me”. I don’t think telling her a different later time is productive, just be straight with her, it doesn’t have to be done unkindly.

I had a friend like @PineappleDanish has and yes it was a pain in the arse. Turns out she has ADD and couldn’t manage to hold things together. She got a dx and treatment - like a different person!

BlueChangeling · 20/01/2020 12:15

My sister is like this, it caused me so much stress for years, she was quite literally late to everything, I like to be early or on time so for my own sanity I had to draw the line. Now if she's late for a family dinner her meal now goes into the oven and we eat without her (she was often over an hour late), if she's late for a shopping trip I head on without her and if she eventually shows up I refuse to double back to the shops I've already been too. I also refuse to make her hair / beauty appointments when we've a special occasion to attend because she wouldn't show up or show up late and the Salon staff would be giving me grief about it which is completely understandable.

We had several arguments once I stopped pandering but now that she knows I wont wait around for her she makes more of an effort to be on time. She just didn't seem to understand that my time is just as valuable as hers.

IntermittentParps · 20/01/2020 12:15

She doesn't miss trains and buses because she probably just gets the next one, has all day, and doesn't need to worry about it.
How do you explain how she doesn't miss hospital appointments?

Elphame · 20/01/2020 12:19

Just cancel each time she says she's "running late".

She's not worth hanging around for. Your time is as valuable as hers and it is not her's to waste