I’m surprised at how many people don’t use a diary, whether it’s the traditional paper type, or on one's mobile. Some may have the ability to remember their arrangements, others may ask for a reminder beforehand, that’s up to them, but not something I'd be happy with and it seems to me that it lacks organisation as I like to plan ahead.
Perhaps you arrange an appointment and then can't keep it, so what do you do? Decency says that you cancel it as soon as possible and inform everyone involved. A person would naturally assume that you'd be at the appointed place at the appointed time unless you told them otherwise, so you'd tell them. There can be a valid reason to cancel and, if you communicate it, there's no harm done. Well, that's how I think it should be, but, increasingly, it’s not so. Last-minute cancellations seem to be occurring more frequently and, possibly because of apps like WhatsApp, a brief message to cancel is thought acceptable and it's assumed that the recipient will read it immediately and that'll be enough. It's as if some people's busy lives mean that they double book their time and make last- minute decisions as to which appointment they’ll keep. In doing this, they'll cancel without a second thought, feeling that their time is more important than yours.
For instance, I arrived at a café the other day to meet someone for the first time, for a chat, and received a message on my phone while I waited for him; he wasn’t able to make it. I was annoyed at the late cancellation and told him so, as it was a waste of my time and he could have told me earlier. There was no apology and I decided not to arrange a future meeting with him. Maybe he caught me at the wrong time and maybe his last-minute cancellation was unavoidable, but I wasn’t in the mood to be reasonable and didn’t regret my decision. For me, his nonchalance was an indication of someone I didn’t want to spend time with.
It’s a busy, stressful world for many, and they try to make their lives less stressful by organising their time more efficiently. Could I make a small plea that they also consider others who lead similarly busy lives and it’s good manners to inform anyone involved if there's an appointment that isn’t going to happen? Maybe it’s arrogant of me to have that attitude, maybe I’m old enough not to care if it’s acceptable or not, but that’s what I think. Now, would you like to meet?