DEAR ABBY: I was taught that punctuality is important. My husband and I are almost always at least a few minutes early for everything we do. I realize not everyone can be -- or wants to be -- early. However, it seems that almost everyone we know is late. Sometimes it's five minutes, others it's 20 to 30 minutes. And it's not just people we know. I was kept waiting for 25 minutes by someone who was buying an item from me.
Why do people think this is OK? I was taught that it's rude to keep someone waiting for you. What are your thoughts on punctuality?
P.S. I'm not talking about running late once in a while. I'm talking about people who are consistently late everywhere they go. -- AMBER IN THE SOUTH
DEAR AMBER: I was raised the same way you were. My parents impressed upon me that it is disrespectful to keep people waiting, and that if a delay is unavoidable, the person who's expecting me should be informed that I will be late. I'm not implying that someone must make an appearance at the stroke of the hour -- a delay of 10 or 15 minutes is understandable. But to keep someone waiting longer than that is rude, disrespectful and bad manners.