Dating Diaries Roundtable

In this week’s Dating Diaries roundtable, we asked our daters how long they'd wait for someone on a date.

Written by Kelly DiNardo | Published on November 26, 2008

How long will you wait for someone on a date? What is polite protocol when running late for a date?

Mark Drapeau: “I think that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. There are exceptions to every rule, but I generally go with a ‘15 minutes or finishing one drink’ standard.”

Sally Colson Cline: “Ugh, I don’t like lateness. I’ll give her a freebie if she calls or texts to let me know how late she is, but if she doesn’t, I reserve the right to flirt with the barista. The precise amount of late minutes I’ll allot is a complex equation that factors in where I’m waiting, whether or not I have something to read or someone to talk to, how into her I am, if I know she’s taking Metro, and how often she’s late. Let’s say 15 to 30 minutes.”

Max Schwartz: “I’d expect a call or text from someone if they were going to be more than ten minutes late. I used to be horribly unpunctual. Now I don’t quite have those problems anymore, but I think I’m pretty forgiving of lateness in others. Of course, if I’m always waiting outside the restaurant for my date to arrive, it’s time to kick her to the curb.”

Dana Neil: “Thirty minutes. If the person has called me to let me know they’ll be late, then I’ll wait longer. I understand that things come up, but I do think if you’ll be more than a few minutes late, you should call and let the person know. We all have cell phones, so it’s not difficult to do this.”

Lucas Wall: “I usually allow a 15-minute grace period. I probably wouldn’t wait for a date longer than that unless he called and had a really good explanation for his tardiness. For me, lateness protocol means sending a text or calling if I’m running more than five minutes late. I know how awful it is to be the first to arrive and then be waiting, wondering if the guy is going to show up. So I always try to communicate when I’m behind schedule.”

Kate Searby: “I’m very punctual, so I always tend to arrive five or ten minutes early wherever I’m going. However, I totally understand that everyone runs late from time to time. It’s part of being human. If my date is going to be more than ten minutes late to meet me, I’d appreciate a call. Likewise, if I’m running late, I’ll always call to let my date know.”

Michael Amesquita: “If she hasn’t called to tell me she’s going to be late, then I wouldn’t wait longer than 40 minutes. You should text or call if you’re going to be more than ten minutes late. If you don’t have his or her phone number, then you can call the place and have someone let your date know.”