5

I'm quite used to using the phrase "at your earliest convenience" to express urgency but also polite sensitivity to others' schedules and deadlines. It means "Please do this as son as you can without dropping something else."

Lately I've heard more and more voice mail greetings and written notes that use the phrase "at my earliest convenience." To me, this is rather rude, since it means "I'll do it when I feel like it." More to the point, politeness requires minimizing the bother of a request on oneself while expressing appreciation for the bother of a request made on someone else.

Am I reading too much into this? Is it polite to use "at my earliest convenience?" It certainly sounds rude to me.

jetset
  • 493
  • 2
    You're completely correct. (1) it's rude. And moreover, it's (2) "poorly constructed". A more correct-sounding phrase is .. "Go to hell, I'll do it at my convenience". – Fattie Aug 17 '14 at 07:49
  • If you want someone to do something before their earliest convenience then you are being rude to them, as in "I don't care if it is convenient for you, do it now". – KnightHawk Oct 17 '14 at 21:49
  • 1
    I think "at my convenience" is simply a common mistake. No one would be so perverse as to use polite language to demand that someone else accommodate the speaker. I think it is just a natural mistake. – Mitch Dec 04 '14 at 01:26

6 Answers6

11

To me, "at my earliest convenience" is rude. Anyone using it should use "as soon as I can," "at my earliest opportunity," or similar phrase expressing urgency.

Of course, there is no way to inform people of any of this without being rude and picayune.

jetset
  • 493
  • what is the difference between 'convenience' and 'opportunity'? why one should be rude and other should not? –  Aug 17 '14 at 08:04
  • 1
    @bobie, The difference between convenience and opportunity is that opportunity only requires the ability to do it, while convenience also requires it be pleasing to you to do it. Consider the universe of points of time during which you could call someone back. Every one of those is an opportunity, but only a much smaller subset is a convenience. It's not convenient to call someone before you've had breakfast, or during lunch, or when you felt like a post-lunch stroll, or a chat with a coworker. – jetset Aug 18 '14 at 04:31
  • jetset, Webster: convenience: a time that is appropriate for doing something or that is suitable for someone, Now, why should you call me if it doesn't suit you?. You are not objective and informed –  Aug 18 '14 at 05:15
  • 2
    @bobie 'Opportunity' or 'as soon as I can' implies that you will do the task when you have the chance even though it might inconvenience you, eg you'd rather sit down and put your feet up but you'll do the task seeing as you've got a spare 30 minutes. 'At my earliest convenience' implies you're not going to put yourself out, you'll do the job when you feel like it and not before. That, at least, is how I would understand it if someone said that to me, and yes, I'd consider it rude. – Mynamite Oct 17 '14 at 21:46
7

I too am surprised to hear prerecorded messages to the effect that a call will be returned "at our earliest convenience." The originator of the message is confusing the two formal idioms "at your earliest convenience" and "as soon as possible." The first is a polite way to request action from another person. The second is an accommodating way to obligate yourself. Neither are to be taken literally.

cab jones
  • 86
  • Whoa, why should they not be taken literally?! I may weasle myself out of the literal commitment by stretching the meaning of "possible", but if I agreed to call "as soon as possible", I certainly did not mean "whenever I feel like it". The noncommital version would be "soon". Plus 1, though. :) – I'm with Monica Jun 20 '18 at 11:31
2

At your convenience: is a common expression often used in business context meaning:

at a suitable time, at your leisure, in your own time, whenever you like, in your spare time, in a spare moment

At my convenience actually stresses the fact that the you will do whatever you are asked to whenever you may like or have spare time to do it, but whether it is 'rude' may also depend on personal opinion.

Ngram actually shows little usage of the expression.

I think that a polite to neutral way to express the same concept is: as soon as possible, often written as (ASAP).

0

The phrase “at my earliest convenience” isn't inherently impolite. It is, however, somewhat ambiguous, and may be used politely, indifferently, or rudely. Here are two examples:
• Bill will ship your order as soon as possible, but must complete three other tasks before going to the stockroom; he writes: “I'll ship your order at my earliest convenience.” (Polite.)
• Jane, offended by your request, puts your order at the very bottom of a giant pile of orders, then writes sarcastically: “I'll complete your order at my earliest convenience.” (Impolite.)

A phrase that sometimes may be used instead is “When I'm good and ready”. It is less ambiguous, but like the other phrase may be used a variety of ways. Jane, quite self-satisfied, might impolitely tell you, “I'll complete your order when I'm good and ready.” Other persons might tell you, matter-of-factly and indifferently, “I'll do it when I'm good and ready”, merely to inform you that their time is arranged to suit their own needs rather than yours, and you'll get no special consideration.

James Waldby - jwpat7
  • 66,660
  • I don't think Jane is being sarcastic when she writes "at my earliest convenience" because she won't find it convenient to ship the order any time soon. If she'd written "Shipping your order is my highest priority," that would clearly be sarcastic. – jetset Aug 18 '14 at 04:25
-1

I've never seen this but the statement is left vague at the word "convenience" in my opinion. From a boss or a client, asking someone to do something as soon as it is convenient sounds as though they're expected to put it high on their priority list, above anything non essential or time insensitive. Coming from the person expected to do the favor, it is just as polite if they are putting "convenience" as high on their to-do list as we expect. For all we know, it could be just after "surf English.stackexchange for 3 hours" but before "take a 2 hour lunch".

Robert Gaither
  • 1
-1

Hold on folks! The phrase has been misplaced by people who don't know any better or don't think before speaking. The phrase is quite at home in the context it was developed for. When leaving a voice mail or sending an email you may want a reply so you say, "please reply at your earliest convenience" or "I would appreciate an answer at your earliest convenience". Telling a client or customer that you will reply when it's convenient to you is simply rude and not what the phrase was intended for... think people!

Douglas
  • 1
  • 2
    You have added nothing that the OP has not stated in his question. Answers" should attempt to answer the question, not engage in further discussion. This is different than forums. Please take the site tour and visit the help center for guidance on how to use this site. – anongoodnurse Dec 04 '14 at 01:34