Have Our Expectations of Courtesy Changed?
Since the cell phone has become such a pervasive part of our culture, has our expectations of courtesy changed? Today I was to meet a friend for lunch. This friend was 35 minutes late for our appointment. He also refuses to buy a cell phone. One of the first things I ever used my cell phone for when I purchased my first one in 1992 was to call ahead when I found myself running late for an appointment. I am one of those people who would rather be 15 minutes early than 1 minute late. Letting the party I’m meeting know I’m running behind is only common courtesy. Sometimes things happen that we cannot control that puts us behind schedule, but leaving someone waiting is just not cool.
Once, I found myself in the reverse of this situation. I was supposed to meet the same friend at my house. Ahead of our appointment I was running some errands in my father’s truck and blew a tire. My father didn’t have a spare and I had to call for roadside assistance. I called my friend’s home and left a message to indicate that I’d be late, but I feared he’d already left for Indianapolis as he lives an hour away. By the time the truck was fixed I ended up being almost two hours late to meet him. Since he has no cell phone I had no way to let him know what was going on. I felt horrible.
This same courtesy extends to our service professionals such as dentists, doctors, and hair stylists. They deserve our respect to know when we are running late for our appointments and the cell phone is the easiest and best way to make such communication.
Now, back to my question. With the advent of the cell phone, have our expectations of courteous communication changed? What did people do before cell phones when a traffic accident left them stranded on the highway making them late? Did those they were meeting just wait patiently, or was there some unwritten rule about how long to wait before leaving? I’ll admit that I honestly cannot remember.
