One day, I was finishing getting ready for a date, around 4 in the afternoon, when I received a message. I saw the name and froze while I was drying my hair. It was my 18:00 date. “Noooooo!” I screamed, full of anger. Before opening the message, I already knew what it said: my date was dumping me. Did he really cancel a date like that?!
The message itself was divided into 2 sentences: “Oops, I’m sorry! My friends from Spain have come this afternoon and I didn’t remember. I’m sorry, I thought it was tomorrow morning.” My hair dried immediately in the heat of my rage. I showed the messages to my roommate and we spent an hour screaming. “WHO does he think he is? WHAT kind of guy doesn’t know when his friends arrive from another country?” When I was calmer, and 20 minutes after opening the message, I concocted a nonchalant response: “Don’t worry,we can postpone it for another day.”
Now, hold tight to the first thing you have to hand, because this man was surreal. The morning of the next planned date, I was at work when a message from him appeared on my screen. It was a selfie of him at his desk with his glasses on… followed by this: “On Friday I have to hand in an assignment at my university and it´s going awfully, I’m sorry !!!” WHAT THE FUUUUUCKKK!
And those are some of the many ways someone can cancel a date but, at CLiKD we’re only going to advise you about the good ones.
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Never cancel the same day…
Unless a relative or friend has died, or you suddenly have Covid-19, you should always go to this date!
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NEVER send a message…
CALL BY PHONE,it is pure courtesy. Call to cancel your date in personif you are going to give short notice. If you are going to give less than a day’s notice, you should call the person with whom you have a date directly. Sending an email, text message, or having an employee notify them for you can seem inconsiderate of you.
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Get in touch with the person you are dating as soon as you can
The longer you wait to cancel a date, the more you will annoy the person you were meeting with. Notifying well in advance will show that you respect their time and them.
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Offer a sincere apology
Even if you give enough advance notice, tell them that you are sorry for canceling the date. She or he may have put aside other plans to meet with you and you could mess up their plans by canceling.
- A few short and simple apologies are enough like, for example, “I’m so sorry I can’t go this time.”
- Do not use vague language or say that “maybe” you will not be able to keep the date. It is better to be direct and honest.
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Offering an alternative
If, for whatever reason, you cannot actually make your date, avoid making him or her think that you want to get rid of them by offering an alternative. Offer to go out another day. Unless you actually do want to get rid of them, maybe you’ve gotten the ick? In that case, it is always good to be honest!