Seriously, living here has become such a nuissance. Everything is so frickin complicated. From purchasing a phone to having cable installed. When we purchased our washer/dryer, we had to pay the store we bought it from and then pay to have it delivered and then pay someone else to install - who by the way did not show up when he scheduled, didn't even bother to call to let me know he was not showing up. Getting cable installed - what a joke.

I know I shouldn't compare but this country needs to get up to speed with the rest of the world.

I wanna go home (Seriously, I feel like such a cry baby)

hey, you need to swerve into the Italian way of doing things

Go up to Locarno and cycle around the lake, that'll cheer you up and you'll appriciate the beauty of the country.

Or you could try this " Hey Cabrones !!! Venga!! Karamba chicos y chicas, No Toca mi las grande polatis por favour, para mi uno cable TV und rapido, No pagado muchas persona .... entendiendo?"

or something like that......( Excuse the grammer)

I've always found that people turn up when they say they will, usually to the minute!! Hope things improve for you soon, it's not all bad here.

That's the German speaking part of the country. Poor Margie is in the Italian part, which isn't quite so punctual.

sneaky, they do speak Italian down in Lugano. And why you'd want to leave Lugano for Locarno, I don't know. There's a perfectly good lake there.

Lou - don't confuse Swiss-German punctuality with Italian "I'll be there sometime"...

Shell - Margie's not poor for being there, honest

Margie, seriously don't get riled. It's nothing personal..!

Sorry didn't see the location part. That's what I get for surfing with a baby in my arms!

It is my tin foil hat! I see things more clearly with it on!

I must admit when I first read this post that I thought "Hey buying a phone and getting something installed is really easy, what's she talking about". Then I saw the location Point taken.

But I hope you don't wear a t-shirt resembling that avatar...

I think the rain is making me crazy. I do recognize this is a beautiful country - just not convenient.

haha But I dont, thats why I mumbled in Spanish.

I just prefer Lucano to Lugano, easier parking and the town is excellent. The lake is really nice. But so are all lakes in my eyes.

Italians are not late ... we arrive when we intend to. tsk tsk!

Heya
I have the opposite problem here. I have come from a life where the only thing that I had to be on time for was work ( normal) to a life where absolutly everything seems to be perfectly on time. Obviously things like trains and appointments kind of need to be on time but other things like social occasions - heaven forbid if one is 15 mins late !! Has no one here heard of the " ish" part of 8ish??? As far as i see it that gives me a window of about 45 mins Can you tell that i am late for everything ( even work ) ???
But seriously things will happen when they happen - not point to getting upset that someone or something is late , cant change it!! But it certainly helps for things to happen when they say they will if one has had to organise ones day to make something happen!!
Its all good
kt

Hiya Katie,

I have quite strong feelings on this, because in the past I have dealt with people that were habitually late, or didnt turn up at all (both sexes). Apart from being very rude, it assumes that their time is worth more than yours and they do it deliberately. For some its even an ego thang. Its one thing turning up to a party late, its quite another to arrange to meet a friend in the street and not show. Stupidity is no excuse.

There was an incident with one of these guys where we were going to a gig and one of the three did not show (without the courtesy of phoning). So we left the Dub after waiting exactly 15mins so as not to be late. He went bezerk as we didnt wait and the point was made. We hardly spoke since that, but some people have to learn...

Incidentally I am talking about general "turn up when you say you will" definition of punctuality, not the swiss anal obsession. My window of acceptability for waiting alone for an arranged appointment without receiving a call is about 20mins....

dave

I think it depends on the situation. If you're coming to meet a group of people in a bar or whatever (like a Friday meet up at Münz), then 8ish meaning anytime between 7 and 9 is fine.

On the other hand, if we're meeting at a specific time and place (like under the Fraumünster clock and I'll be wearing a red rose in my lapel) then it's pretty rude to be more than 15 mintues late. It only takes a few seconds to send a text to explain.

I'm not sure if this is relevant to Switzerland, I think it's a general point of politeness.

A couple of years ago, I worked in India freqeuently and our local CEO always made a point of showing up 15 minutes late. It was pure ego. Since I'd point out to him the whole week long about how he was making mistakes in his work, at least being late was one area where he was still in control.

=DM=

i think diem is pretty right.
when you meet somewhere with loads of people in a pub or at a party, it's okay when you're late, cause the other ones got someone else to talk to / to do.
or when you say you're there at 8ish (in german "so um acht") then it's clear that you can't tell if you're there exactly at eight.
but when you say you meet at eight maybe at the barfüsserplatz ore wherever just with one or two guys and they have to freeze till you show up half an hour later, it's not very nice. Then it seems like you don't care if someone have to stand somewhere in the rain and wait for you...

the other thing is that i think since everyone got a cellphone, the people are more and more too late. the people care less if they're on time or not. it's like "oh, i can send him a message that im late". but getting the message doesn't makes the waiting better...

probably it's right that beeing on time is a swiss spleen. but i'm shure it shows in every culture kind of a respect for a person when you're there on the time you've said you would be there.

basilea

Hey
when I am late I mean absolutly no disrespect by it-and I do think that not letting people know that you are running late is rude - I am simply one of those people that no matter how hard I try to be somewhere on time , it never seems to happen. But I must say that it has got a lot better since I have been here and not working horrendous hours and trying to maintain a social life. Now I work 35 hour weeks and well I have no social life here ( which sucks ) but its better so I am kind of hoping that it will continue where ever I go ( fingers crossed as I dont like being late ).
kt

I just had to dig this out because it made me feel so much better. I am often late because I tend to try and cram too much into a day and I get very flustered because I hate making people wait. However, to me, 15 minutes late is incredibly late when a meeting time was arranged, seeing the responses here made me feel that I should not get so worked up about it.

My mum, bless her, has this clever trick of giving me a meeting time or schedule that is actually a bit "fast" every once in a while when she wants me to go somewhere. That way I am sure to be on time and enjoy the feeling of not being rushed. I just wish I could manage it on my own, I am over 25 after all...

It's not the first time I see people confusing spanish with italian, or assuming italian-speaking people would understand spanish. Where has this come from originally?

What are you still doing with those horrible swiss-italians? It's true, they are always late and never care about anything. Poor you.

I suggest you to come to Zurich or any place in the german part. Here everything works like a clock, and due to this people are extremely friendly and show happiness from miles. Food is great, weather is a pleasure, and the swiss german dialect is one of the most beautiful languages I've ever heard.

I don't know what are you waiting for..