How about this scenario, mgr comes out and directly says something like "listen, I'm tied up with my boss right now. It should only take 30 minutes or so, if you want to grab a cup of coffee and come back that would be great." Communication, that's the key.

It’s completely up to you and the company but I think 30 minutes late from either side and it’s generally over. No second chance.

I refuse to wait more than 10 minutes past a scheduled time regardless of the job. If you suck at time management you're likely to suck at paying properly also

At the college I went to, students were allowed to leave class once the professor was 15 minutes late. I now hold employers to this same standard, because it would be unacceptable for me to be so late.

Sounds like manager has head up their a*s. They should have asked to reschedule.

Why do some BP articles, like this one, basically say exactly what the original Reddit thread said, barely re-worded? It's nice to have curated content but honestly I just skip all the redundant text that has been needlessly added!

I remember going to an interview for a csr position with a trucking company, of course I arrive 5 minutes early and politely greet the receptionist and I was guided into their stairwell to fill out an application form for some reason, even though they had my resume from the recruiter who sent me there. I was told someone would come get me and I was sitting in their at a student desk like an idiot for over half an hour, feeling like a disrespected fool.

Nothing but a bunch of snow flakes.

I had an interview where I waited 20 Minutes, no sign of any manager or HR. I got up and went to the receptionist. She said, Just a moment, I'll let him know you're here. I had signed in when I arrived, so I thought, Huh, didn't you before? It was downhill from that point.i knew I wouldn't work him, he was grumpy and acted as if it was my fault! Another man joined us about 15 min later; they started talking about something unrelated to the interview as if I wasn't there! After about 10 minutes I got my things together and said goodbye. They barely acknowledged it. Inexcusably poor protocol and lousy manners. Easily worst interview ever.

My take is this, if the perspective employee had shown up 30mins late more then likely they wouldn't be given an interview at all so managers should be prepared for said interviews... While we know emergencies happen n things can be delayed, proper communication would have went a lot further then giving the it'll be just a min...

I once waited an hour and 30 minutes for an interview. But at least they explained that the interviewer was in a 3 hour time zone away so he messed up the time in the schedule. Fair enough that they explained and he rushed over as soon as he could

Interviews are as much about the company deciding if they want to hire you, as it is about you deciding if you want to work there. You made the right decision.

Downvote me if you want, but I do not tolerate lateness from anyone without a real emergency excuse. Not family, not friends, and definitely not employers.

I recently had a phone interview scheduled. The time came and went with no call and no email letting me know what was going on. I reached out and 4 days (!) later I got a response saying “So sorry about that, but the position got put on hold. I’ll keep you informed, or you can check with me next week”. I did not reach back out - I figured if they treat a prospective employee like this, how do they treat actual employees?? I heard nothing until yesterday when I got an email saying the position was filled.

I had an interview once where the guy kept on taking calls and checking his cell phone. I work in graphic design, and they gave me some test work (common and doesn't usually take long), but after they started nagging me to get the test work back to them, and coupled with the inattention at the interview, I decided it wasn't worth it. It was probably work they were actually going to use instead of just use for skill evaluation.

It really does seem like the management didn't care at all about the workers. The person who kept saying it would just be another minute is also very guilty of this.

Tata consultancy services in the Philippines has the worst application process. I was surprised when they confiscated the phones of applicants, saying they do not allow mobile devices on application. They made us wait for such a long time, too long that almost everyone left except for some of us that were desperate for a job I suppose. To cut the story short I waited for almost 4 hours for lest than a 5 minute interview just to be asked of how much was my expected salary

I would have walked out too! Our time is just as important and if you schedule an interview then be there on time yourself manager's. If you can't then reschedule asap. If you get stuck speaking to your boss about an issue that can't be delayed then excuse yourself for a few minutes to acknowledge the job seeker, tell em' you need to call them later to reschedule, and then you can go back and finish up with the boss. There are several other ways this could have been managed properly and professionally but obviously someone has some poor management skills to say the least.

In my vast corporate experience (20 years, global level) managers quite frequently create vacancies to justify their incompetence. The vacancy remains unfilled for years, while the manager complains that right candidates are unavailable, and at the same time he does not have enough people to get the job done. It is all politics. In very large organizations it is actually very easy to get away with shamming for incompetent managers.

Hostility is often the immediate reaction when you expose wrongdoing or incompetence...

Congrats on dodging a massive bullet, OP!!! My guess is the area/ district manager showed up unannounced to chew @$$ itching to whip walking papers from their sleeve. Managers disappear for a worrying amount of time w/o giving possible reason, outcome or scope. An information vacuum causes the ever-present retail gossip-mill to meltdown in panic, chaos & angst. OP just had the rotten misfortune to inadvertently book a front row ticket to a 5 alarm, 3 ring retail $h!# show. IMHO, OP was really lucky to cut bait & move on with full confidence & very little time, effort or energy invested. We should all be so blessed.

I mean...it's Harbour Freight, not IBM. S**t's going to happen, which will occasionally be more important than interviewing a new stock boy or something. I respect the OP's right to leave, but again "s**t happens." One thing I do hate is when companies have these ridiculous multi-tiered interview processes that drag on for weeks. As if the interviewee has nothing better to do.

Sorry but i see no standing up for anything here, this is no heroic act and no message came across to this company. OP knew very well he didn't really want the job before he even went there, he also knew he had another interview the same day. It has happened to me, i left in the middle of the first interview because i just knew this was not for me, and everything turned great with the other job. Nothing to brag about. Also, whoever has worked in a company knows very well that more often than not, job interviews are the only appointments that never start on time, and you know it's true.

Not like you had anywhere to be

I never left an interview but I once left a doctors office because they made me wait over a half hour. Some people don’t respect your time.

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Wow! Just wow. First of all, there r a variety of reasons why the wait was 30 mins. Perhaps the reason the wait was 30 mins was the sense of entitlement the poster displayed as well as the impatience. While there could have been some communication regarding this wait, I personally wouldn't want to hire this person because he cant handle delays and when things dont go the way HE thinks they should, he stamps his feet. He obviously doesnt feel secure in his behavior otherwise he wouldnt be asking 4 validation from people he doesnt know.