Most people may say "what difference do a few minutes make?" The difference is that once a few minutes are gone, they can never be brought back. The few minutes does not only belong to us, but also belong to others.
If you are ten minutes late getting to school in the morning, you've lost several good things the teacher had to say to the class before the day began. The teacher may have to say those same things all over again just for your benefit, and that will mean a lost of time for everybody who had been there on time.
What about a man who is late for job Suppose he gets there just ten minutes late everyday for 24 working days in a month. That means he's been 240 minutes late, or 4 hours that he didn't work that he was supposed to. If the man was getting paid, let's say $2.50 an hour, then he has actually cheated his employer out of $10.00 a week. It's just as though he had stolen $10.00 from the cash register because the employer will be paying him for the time in which he did nothing.
Being late for social functions is not only bad taste, but it is also impolite. It's very important for any kind of appointment always to be there a few minutes early instead a few minutes late. This is especially true if you are going to be interviewed for a job and doubly true if you are going to see a doctor because there are others waiting when you are finished to take up his time.
The man who is late for little appointments in life will also be late for the big appointments in life. When it comes time to graduate, when it comes time to get married or when it come time to get that promotion on the job, he'll be late for those things and probably won't even realize what he has missed. Promptness pays off by telling people you are careful about time, both theirs and yours.
