A post highlighting the frustration of a last-minute appointment cancellation has gone viral on Reddit.
On January 22, a Redditor shared a post titled “My 10:00am appointment was cancelled at 9:45am,” which amassed 19,000 upvotes before being deleted.
The post included a screenshot of a voicemail transcript showing that a woman named Kathy had left a message for a woman named Nicole, informing her that the appointment had to be reschedule for the next day. The voicemail was sent at 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment time.
In an August 2024 survey conducted by Monster, 50 percent of workers said that respectful communication was the most important workplace manner, while 14 percent of workers named punctuality as the most important.
“It’s only mildly infuriating because I live a block away, but they called 15 minutes before my appointment to say that it needs to be rescheduled for tomorrow,” the Redditor wrote. “I was literally entering their office 2 seconds after seeing their voicemail because I already was walking there since it said show up 15 minutes early for the first appointment.”
She added: “I’m lucky that I live close to this office, but imagine if someone didn’t. How do you cancel someone’s appointment at the time you told them to show up?”
Newsweek has contacted the poster for comment via Reddit. The details of the case have not been independently verified.
‘Very Unprofessional’
The post has sparked a discussion on professionalism and etiquette in scheduling. Experts say that while cancellations are sometimes unavoidable, giving such short notice can be disruptive and inconsiderate.
Elizabeth Soos, the founder of the Auersmont School of Etiquette and Protocol, told Newsweek that it was “very unprofessional of the office to cancel, giving 15 minutes’ notice, especially when they asked the Reddit user to come earlier than the confirmed time.”
She said: “This experience would have left me feeling highly annoyed that my time was not respected. I hope that the office was able to provide a clear explanation for why the cancellation occurred.”
Life coach Jennifer Perri echoed these sentiments, telling Newsweek, “I totally get why this would feel infuriating—it’s not just about the inconvenience, but the lack of respect for your time.”
She said situations like these can have a greater effect than the immediate frustration. “It’s moments like these that can throw off our day, especially when we’ve made the effort to show up early and prepared.”
While Perri acknowledged the annoyance of the situation, she also advised against dwelling on the frustration for too long.
“At the end of the day, your time is valuable, and their mishap doesn’t diminish that. It’s OK to feel annoyed, but don’t let it steal more of your energy than it deserves. You’ve got bigger and better things to focus on,” the life coach said.
For those who found themselves dealing with recurring scheduling mishaps, Perri suggested setting clear expectations with the office to avoid future frustrations.
“If this becomes a recurring issue with this office, it’s worth setting boundaries or communicating your expectations,” she said. “Something like ‘I’d appreciate a heads-up earlier if there’s a scheduling conflict in the future’ can be powerful and respectful.”
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