As a business owner, I live by my calendar. Meetings are the rhythm of my day, and over time, I’ve tried to improve my punctuality. But I’ve noticed that not everyone shares the same internal clock. A friend from Germany once told me that for business meetings, “if you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late.” In the US, we have our own version of this—being five minutes early might be seen as being right on time, but 15 minutes would seem extreme.
These cultural differences got me wondering – are there variations in punctuality within the US? Living in the Seattle area, I’ve started to ask myself if we have a local concept of “Seattle On-Time,” which I define as “if I’m there within about five minutes after the start time, I’m still Seattle on-time,” which other cultures would simply call “late.”
(I’ve even observed a funny variation of Seattle On-Time. When there’s an in-person meeting in a conference room, people will show up on time or even early, leave their coffee cup on the table to claim their spot, and then disappear. When the meeting starts, are they considered present if their coffee is there?)
In other regions, the pace might be different. For example, Hawaii is famous for “Island Time,” which often means that the person you’re meeting might not show up at the expected time, or even the expected day! I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Kauai, and I think this standard might have some truth to it.
This raises the question: should we explicitly state our expectations around timeliness, or are we all silently adhering to an unspoken local rule?
The roles we play also matter. Does punctuality differ if you’re the vendor or the customer? I believe that as the vendor, you set the standard, and hopefully your customer respects that standard. Most of our prospective customers show up for our online free initial consults on time, but unfortunately some show up late or not at all, despite reminders that the meeting is coming up. Would they be more punctual if they were paying for our time?
Speaking of online meetings, are they different from in-person? For online meetings, arriving too early can be awkward. The host might feel pressured to start before they’re ready if they are notified that you’re waiting. On the other hand, being late isn’t a good look. With my team, our weekly Teams meetings often start with casual chat among those that arrive early, but we expect everyone to be there at the start time when the business part gets going. I’d say that a good practice for online meetings is to log on just as everyone’s ready to start – not more than a few minutes early, but definitely not more than a minute late.
For in-person meetings, especially interviews or meetings at an unfamiliar location, go early to make sure you can find it and park. If you successfully get there early, I suggest you wait in your car or somewhere nearby until about five minutes before the scheduled start. Punctuality isn’t just about showing up; it’s about showing respect for the other person’s time, too. We’ve all seen the movies where the interviewee waits awkwardly in the lobby trying to avoid (or establish) eye contact with the front desk staff.
What are the punctuality standards in your company or region? Reply and let me know!
