The study of 2,000 adults found 75 per cent have a friend who is ‘always’ late – with 20 per cent having to wait an hour or more beyond their agreed meet time for a pal.
Although they’ll typically chase them up after 19 minutes to get an estimated time of arrival.
While 60 per cent say summer is their favourite time to socialise, and many (20 per cent) feel closest to friends during this season, it also means more time spent waiting.
But 39 per cent will kill time waiting for their mate to eventually arrive by looking at their phones – scrolling through social media (42 per cent), catching up on news (30 per cent), and checking emails (27 per cent).
As a result, 45 per cent admitted they’ve drained their phone battery while waiting for their pals to arrive.
To help, Vodafone, which commissioned the research, has unveiled gigantic ‘Wait for a Mate’ stations across the nation, so people have a comfy place to hole up and recharge their phones while they await their friends this summer.
Broadcaster Roman Kemp, testing the seat out in central London, said: “With my mates, I’m definitely the early bird.
“I find I can use the time to catch up on a bit of life admin – aka check the football scores.”
The most popular message sent by 35 per cent of those waiting is ‘where are you?’.
While 17 per cent go for the friendly approach of “Can’t wait to see you!”, 16 per cent are much more assertive and send a simple “hurry up”.
When waiting for their friend, 61 per cent hunt for a cozy place to sit and 10 per cent search for a place to charge their phone.
But tardy mates aren’t always to blame as 28 per cent said they deliberately turn up early – with 57 per cent doing so to make sure they can find the meeting spot on time and one in 10 (12 per cent) simply too excited to see friends.
One in 10 of those polled, via OnePoll, even use the opportunity of arriving early to get their life admin in order by paying bills or replying to emails.
