Keeping appointments. Sorry bit of a rant.

[Gromit]

I like to keep appointments and usually do my best to turn up when I have arranged to meet people. Even phoning ahead if I'm going to be late.

We are doing a 10 minuet group presentation for our Horticulture foundation degree, which we are going to be presenting to the rest of the class. This carries 50% of the marks for the module.

Arch can vouch that I'm no angel when it comes to preparing for lectures, seminars and presentations gaining a 3rd for my Archaeology degree proves that.

We arranged on Wednesday during the personal effectiveness class, that our group would come in at 1pm on Friday.

I went in early to do some research on Nitrogen fixation in plants. One of the group bobs in to the HE computer room saying we have decided to do our experiments for the soil science assignment and would you mind waiting till 1.45pm to do the presentation.

I was a bit shocked and thinking that they were finishing off stuff in the science lab I said I didn't mind. An hour later 2.45pm they turned up, they hadn't done any preparation for the talk, one of them stated that he had views on the matter in his head and could easily waffle on for two and a half minuets on everything.

What a complete wast of my time that was. I'm planning to do my bit and do it really well, without having to look at notes. I don't want to look like the person who has done no work for this assignment.

 

[Theseus]

I couldn't agree more! If I say I am going to do something or be somewhere by a specific time, it is a matter of personal honor to do it. Similarly I take it as a bit of an insult if someone else is late without good reason and even more so if they pass it off as OK.

 

[Gromit]

I'm still angry about it, and it is insulting being told I was over reacting. Think a should of walked out after an hour of waiting.

 

[Noodley]

I have a 10 minute rule.

 

[soulful dog]

You're quite right to be angry, I'd have given up and gone home long before 2.45pm.... though I'm not quite as strict as Noodley, I'd maybe wait 20mins!

 

[Globalti]

Even if I made an appointment with you to be somewhere in 2 years time I would make certain I was there in time.

However now most people allow the mobile phone to rule their feckless lives and they are incapable of keeping any appointment or taking note of directions given them. Time and again when selling household stuff through small ads we have turned up to find nobody there. When we have phoned them they have said "Oh, I was expecting you to call and confirm!" And when you give directions to people you know they aren't listening because they know they can call you on the cellphone when they get lost. Useless feckers, all of 'em.

 

[wafflycat]

Keeping appointments in a timely fashion is important. Yes, there are things that can happen that will cause you to be late and in that case, a swift telephone call/text can be all that is needed to smooth things out. I find that if people fail to keep appointments/turn up late without *attempting* making a call (easy enough to find out from them), I find I may have to tell them that I find their assumption that it is ok to waste my time is lacking in basic manners and exceedingly rude of them.

 

[Gromit]

Its the attitude to the assignment, not getting that next week is our first deadline, we had a week to prepare for it and they did nothing.

Going into the science lab instead of keeping a pre arranged appointment, is an insult to me and the other guy who bothered to turn up on time. Not bothering to do the work, which took me just an hour to do before the said meeting, and saying it was all in their heads is an other big insult.

 

[Kirstie]

Does the mark you get for the assignment in any way reflect the different levels of effort that people have put in in the group? If not it should, and there are ways a tutor can implement it.

Can you negotiate with the tutor to hand in an individual piece of work because of this?

 

[Gromit]

It carries about 50% of final subject mark. I did ask the tutor whether a bad group presentation would bring down the final mark for all of us. He said that it would show if some people hadn't done the work. But it shouldn't affect my overall mark, if I show that I have done the work.

We do get to write a report at the end on the experience of working within the group, so I can dish the dirt and hopefully claw back any any points dropped.

I'm just really upset that they left us waiting for two hours.