💬 A supplier who turned up 10 minutes early made me trust him straight away

Last month we needed a new packaging supplier at work. I met 4 of them over a week. 3 of them were late. 15 minutes, 25 minutes, 1 of them didn't turn up and sent a message after. The 4th, a man called Rao from Balanagar, was sitting in our reception at 10:50 for an 11 am meeting. He had a folder, a small box of samples, and a cup of tea from the machine in his hand. I'd barely met him and I already trusted him more than the others. That's how fast it works. His rates were a little higher. The quality was also a little better. We went with him. I told my boss it was the quality. It wasn't only that. It was the 10 minutes. It told me that if he's early for a first meeting, he'll be early for a delivery too. 3 weeks in, I was right. Every single delivery has been on time. Not once has he called to say 15 minutes. The other 3 would have called. I'm sure. People who are late for meetings are late for everything. I used to be a bit like that myself. 5 or 10 minutes late, never a big deal, I thought. Then I saw how it looks from the other side, and I changed. I leave 20 minutes earlier now. Is it just me, or has being on time become a kind of rare skill? It used to be a basic thing. I'm not saying everyone late is a bad person. Traffic in this city is a real problem. But Rao also drives through the same traffic, and he turned up 10 minutes early. He's coming on Thursday for the next delivery. I'll be there at 9:50 to see if he beats me.

Sitting in reception at 10:50 with a folder and samples, that man understood the job. I deal with 2 suppliers in Secunderabad, and the one who calls before every delivery gets my repeat orders, even at a slightly higher price. Did you choose Rao in spite of the rates, or did you manage to negotiate? I would pay a little extra for that kind of reliability any day.

Same, and a quick message when you're late changes everything. 10 minutes late is fine if I know. What gets me is the silence. I'm standing outside a mall in Riyadh for 25 minutes and the phone shows nothing. My cousin does this every single time. Last month I left after 20 minutes and went home. He called at 9 asking where I was. I was eating dinner.