People have varying opinions on the importance of time.
Some arrive five minutes early to everything, so concerned they are about being even a few seconds late.
Others, however, don't see the harm in being a few, or even more than a few, minutes late every now and then.
Often without thinking about how this might affect other people.
Redditor KaleidoscopeIll1229 recently agreed to give a friend of his a ride to a gathering.
However, the original poster (OP) ended up going to the party alone, leaving his friend to fend for himself.
A decision that didn't sit well with their friend one bit.
Wondering if they had. been unreasonable, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**Hole" (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA for not waiting for my friend after he said he’d be ready in 5 minutes?"The OP explained why he gave up on being patient while waiting for his friend:
"I (21M[ale]) was supposed to pick up my friend (22 M) Saturday night to meet some friends."
"I got there at 8:30, and he said he just needed 5 minutes."
"I waited about 15 minutes, texted again, and he said 'bro literally 5 more mins'.”
"I waited another 10 and then left."
"He ended up getting an Uber and met us about 30 minutes later, but he was pissed because he said I could’ve just waited a little longer."
"I get that, but he told me 5 minutes twice, and I ended up waiting 25."
"If he’d just said he needed 20-30 minutes, I would’ve waited."
"He says I made him pay for an Uber for no reason."
"I think he made me sit outside for 25 minutes for no reason lol."
"Maybe I should’ve just waited tho, idk."
"AITA?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community was in agreement that the OP was not the a**Hole for giving up on their friend.
Everyone agreed that the OP didn't need to be late to meet his friends all because of another friend's tardiness, and his friend should have taken this as a lesson not to keep people waiting:
"NTA."
"25 minutes past the agreed-upon waiting time is unacceptable."
"Hopefully he learns from this."- mountaingoat05
"NTA."
"Dude has main character syndrome and needs to learn he’s not it."- MadTownMich
"NTA."
"You were cool enough to pick him up, and not only was he not ready, but he was also d*cking you around with your time."
"I can't stand people like that."- BadOmen379
"NTA."
'Yesterday, my best friend picked me up, and I made her wait 5 min, and I felt so guilty lol."
"There’s something wrong with this person."- mgrateez
"NTA."
"You would have waited if he gave you the proper timeline."
"I also think people that are late are very rude and are showing no respect for my time."
"Pet peeve for me."
"I am triggered reading this."
"Lol."- acnh_stephanie
"NTA."
"Tell him that last part, and if he can't comprehend this is a consequence of his own lack of respect and time management, well, too bad."
"Do it again."- Fit_Rice_4433
"NTA."
"I'm usually waiting outside when someone picks me up."
"Twenty-five minutes is insane!"- No-Object-6134
"NTA."
"Saying 5 minutes once is the type of embellishment everyone does, I feel like."
"Like a random time u throw out when I don't actually know how long ur going to take."
"But him just repeating it again is crazy, bc at that point he's just straight up lying."
"At the same time tho, I would have given him a warning before actually leaving."
"Like hey man, it's been way longer than 5 minutes, but I'm going to wait another 5 minutes, and if u aren't out here by then I'm leaving."- Hoemaster91
"NTA."
"You did the right thing."
"There is no reason for you to wait that long, even if he wasn't ready when you got there. He deserved it."
"He apparently feels entitled; your time isn't important."
"Maybe next time he will try a little harder to be on time."- YouBetYourCraft
"NTA."
"HE made himself pay for an Uber."
"Now he knows to be prompt for a ride from you or hoof it on his own."- ToastetteEgg
"NTA."
"I really hate late people."
"Especially habitually late people."
"They are total pricks."- SilverPace6006
"NTA."
"The audacity of being late and still think he's in the right."
"You're a saint though."
"I would have left after 10 minutes."- O-Rain9078
"NTA."
"You shouldn't have to wait at all even if he was honest about how long he would be."
"He should respect your time and appreciate that you are giving him a ride."- Adventurous_Eye_1148
"NTA."
"Ask him why he thinks his time is more valuable than your's?"- Wonderful_Two_6710
"I'll bet he will be a lot more careful when forecasting his time and attendance."
"NTA."- WhiteHotRage1
"NTA."
"If your friend isn't going to respect your time then he can make his own travel arrangements."- Longjohn_Server
"NTA."
"By the time he actually arrived, it was an hour after what you planned."
"That's not just a little late."- NikkiPoooo
"NTA."
"If he’s going to run late and make people wait on him, the least he can do is be honest about it."- Swirlyflurry
"NTA."
"Perhaps he'll get the point that 5 minutes means 5 minutes or learn to communicate better!"
"Words matter."
"He can consider this a cheap lesson with the cost of an Uber."
"It's not like they hold airplanes for his '5 minutes'."- DocHoliday_69
"NTA."
"Bet he won’t do THAT again, at least not with you!"- myforeveranonaccount
"NTA."
"He doesn’t respect your time or your kindness for picking him up."
"However, you could’ve warned him."
"Something like, 'dude. Your ‘5 mins’ has been 25. You have 2 mins to get out here, or I’m leaving'.”- ramenloxley
"NTA."
"He doesn’t respect you or your time."- Southernms
"NTA."
"I had some friends like this before I moved."
"Nice people but chronically late."
"If we did group outings, sometimes I would offer to drive a few of us, but I finally started saying, 'I’m happy to drive whoever is here when the bus leaves at 2:15'.”
"Guess what?"
"People started showing up on time."- BullTerrierMomm
"NTA."
"You waited extra time; he knew when you were there and then kept pushing time back."
"Other people were waiting on you."
"He has zero respect for your time, so you don't have to wait on him."- WinginVegas
"NTA."
"You gave him more time than he asked for."
"The end result was you maliciously complying with his time limit."
"This is someone who has an issue with honesty and time management."
"This has been a lifelong issue that he likely never cares to address."
"The best way to handle friends like this is never trust them with anything that is time- or date-sensitive."
"Don’t put yourself on standby for them."
"It would be better to just meet up with everyone first, then have your friend call you when he’s at the door, ready to leave."
"Then excuse yourself and go get him."
"Or just have him come when he can get there."
"It’s way less stressful to be friends with someone like this if you don’t set yourself up to be anchored in place, waiting."
"Go through any plans or errands you have and just keep them updated on what you’re up to and how long."
"Keep including your location."
"Play hard to get."
"Just keep the plans basic and give them whatever time they need."
"I have preserved a good friendship by mitigating all the things about her that drove me crazy."
"She actually took to this well."
"She didn’t get any freezes, and she never got iffy on contact."
"I stopped getting mad about waiting for her."
"I also got more chores and errands done, because I was staying busy and purposely cramming more tasks in."- EvolZippo
The OP's friend should have considered himself lucky that none of the friends he was meeting called him out for being so late.
A fate that could have easily fallen on the OP had he waited any longer.
The fact that the OP's friend also felt the need to chide him for leaving rather than apologize for keeping him waiting is also a very telling indication of the type of person he is.
Leaving one to wonder how many more gatherings this friend group will include him in...
