Friend always late

[TaraMoon]

I have a friend who I often meet for a dog walk. We live fairly close to each other and tend to meet at a certain spot.
So, for example, we’ll agree to meet at 4pm at the park gate and so often she’ll turn up at 4.10. Not always but mostly. I think it’s getting worse … and I’d just love to know what goes on in the mind of someone who does this? Is it about control, is it disrespect, is it just sheer disorganisation?
She’s a lovely person in every other way but this is so rude and inconsiderate (to my mind), I just don’t understand why she thinks it’s ok to make me stand somewhere for 10 mins.
Yes, I could do this too but somehow I can’t bear to play the same game.
I’m not a confrontational person but last time I said ‘I see you like to keep me waiting’ quite sharply. She looked surprised but didn’t comment.
We’re meeting again this afternoon and already I feel irritated at the thought of her thinking her time is more important than mine!
Are you habitually late meeting people, and if so, do you think it’s fine? Why do you do it?!

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed and considered post.

The fact that this takes place during your working day changes things - it isn’t social time, it’s your break and it has firm boundaries. The level of stress associated with work and deadlines is going to encroach and make it difficult for you to be relaxed.

Honestly, I would walk the dog with her at another point when you’re not working.

As a former chronically late person (usually about 10 minutes, sometimes up to 20), the reason I was almost never late for work was because I found it much easier to be on time for things that happened in a set routine, and the reason I never missed a flight or an interview was because I'd allocate so much extra time that I was often an hour or more too early. That's a viable strategy for dealing with things that happen every couple of years, but not a feasible way to meet up with friends 2-3 times a week.

I'm not usually late anymore but I tend to be accommodating of people who are, either by arranging to meet up somewhere where it doesn't matter, being more relaxed about my own timekeeping if I know they're likely to be late, or like others have suggested in OP's situation I would either start the walk alone and let friend catch up or walk towards her house to meet her. If it gets ridiculous, like I've been waiting 30 minutes and they haven't even sent a text to apologise, then I will just leave, but that's very rare. You could argue that other people's lateness isn't 'my problem to solve', but I find it a lot less stressful to tweak my own behaviour slightly in a way that makes no real difference to me, than to be on time out of principle and then wait around getting irritated when they inevitably aren't there.

I have one friend like this. She is persistently 20 - 60 mins late. I now ask her to message me when she’s leaving unless we have a booked reservation somewhere in which case I tend to get there on time and just wait. I know she would like more frequent meet ups but I am buggered if I’m doing this every week so I purposely end up seeing her less.