It's Friday and I feel like venting at something that has frustrated me for a long time - living in this non-RSVP generation!
How hard is it to respond to an invitation and say yay or nay? All it takes is a quick phone call, email, SMS, word of mouth......yet no-one seems to do it.
Some people are just plain forgetful but it seems like others just don't want to commit to coming to anything in case they get a better invitation from someone else. It's so rude - and it's not just young people who do it either!
I've seen my friends trying to organise weddings, engagement parties and 21sts where they need to know numbers for catering purposes....and hardly anyone has responded by the RSVP date. They have enough to deal with and they've ended up having to ring people to ask them whether they're actually coming. I experienced the same thing when organising my own 21st a couple of years ago. I needed to know numbers yet a whole lot of people couldn't be bothered responding or responded late. I remember chasing up a certain person to ask if they were coming (a few days from the party) and the conversation went something like this:
ME: Are you coming to my 21st?
INVITEE (with an annoying grin on their face): Hmmm, I dunno. I'll think about it.
ME: Have you actually got anything else on then? I really need to know now.
INVITEE: No I don't think I've got anything else on...but I might decide to do something else. I'll let you know.
That person didn't let me know and ended up not coming. Maybe they got a better offer to do something else but the whole conversation made me so mad. The party was being catered for and I didn't want food to go to waste. I also couldn't afford to invite too many people and I was annoyed that I had wasted an invite on that person when I could have invited someone else who would have loved to come.
I once saw an invitation where someone I know was having people over and supplying all the food. He had set an RSVP date and had said that he really needed to know if people were coming by this date because he needed to go shopping for all the food. He also added that people who didn't RSVP were still welcome to come but there wouldn't necessarily be food for them - that he'd only buy enough food to feed those who were definitely coming. I think this a great idea - and I intend to put this on my invitations in the future.
I really feel for people who are trying to organise important occasions and have to chase up people who should show some common courtesy and RSVP!!!
2 comments:
I'll be there!
Probably.
i understand your frustration. we had the same problem with wedding RSVP's!
You would think people would have enough manners to rsvp to the wedding, but they didnt. we ended up having a few spare chairs at the reception because people didnt turn up, and we felt so bad that we couldnt have filled those spots with genuine people who give a damn about us.
i completely understand your frustration, and i always try rsvp whether yes or no. if a better offer comes along - tough luck!
our generation needs to learn to stick by their word and become people of integrity
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