“Sorry I’m late. Stuck in traffic”.

There’s a strange phenomenon I’ve noticed over the years I’ve been running workshops, coaching meetings and other events.
It’s this.
The people who have the furthest distance to travel are the first to arrive. Sometimes these attendees have had to get up at 4AM, in time to catch a plane. Or they have come in the night before and incurred the expense of a night’s accommodation. From there they have had to wait in line, negotiate new streets, catch unfamiliar public transport, find a new location and get through security systems of the like they have not seen before. Yet, there they are. Politely, patiently waiting for the locals to arrive.
Then in they come. The people who live in the city, who even work in the same building. Sometimes they arrive a couple of minutes before we are due to start. More often than not, it’s after the scheduled time. Looking harassed and announcing to no one in particular “SILSIT”. Well, actually they don’t say that - they give it the full name of “Sorry I’m late. Stuck in traffic”.
Well excuse me.
You live here. Did you not know how long it takes to get here? Did you not make a calculation as to what time you would need to set out? Would you not factor in a buffer time of 10 minutes? And, if you were running late, was it absolutely critical to stop for that takeaway coffee?
And excuse me again.
I’m ready to go, I’ve got up early too. To make sure I’ve got everything organised. So that we can start on time. Please spare me details of the particular intersection where you lost all that time. Please don’t engage other locals in a dissection of the day’s traffic flow.
Let’s just get down to business and have a productive day together.