12

I was writing an invitation email to a female principal who has a higher social status. She is a busy woman, so I would like to ask her to arrange a time and place for a meeting instead.
Given that situation, (if you were the female principal), would you find someone saying "at your convenience" annoying and impolite?
(1). Please arrange a time and place to meet at your convenience.

Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
20

No, saying "at your convenience" is generally understood to be a polite way of saying that you recognize that the other person is very busy, and so asking them to choose a time for a meeting instead of you selecting a time.

Like almost any statement, a polite statement can be made rude by the context, or if spoken, by the tone of voice. Like if you said, "Well, given that you've failed to show up for the last four appointments we schedule despite your promise that you will attend, and as you apparently have no regard for the time of other people, perhaps you could let me know when you would like to meet, at your convenience", well, that would be deliberately rude. But a simple, "I would like to get together with you to discuss this. Please select a time at your convenience and let me know when we can meet" or something to that effect would be considered very polite.

Improve this answer
1
  • 5
    To me, saying "Please choose a time at your convenience" means there is no rush on choosing the time. Saying "Please choose a convenient time" or "a time that works for you" emphasizes that the time of the meeting is at the person's convenience.
    – jetset
    Dec 2, 2015 at 7:25
1

I would be grateful if you could indicate a convenient place & time to meet my boss on Wednesday 24 Jan. My boss can change his schedule to meet you next trip if you’re not available this day

I look forward to hearing from you.

Improve this answer
0
0

If you don't know the person, you'll need to give some background information about yourself or your company.

I am… and I would be interested to meet you to discuss…

I would be grateful if you could indicate a convenient time to meet during this week.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    Welcome to ELL! The question was asking about the phrase "at your convenience". While it is helpful to offer alternative ways to write something, the answer should also explain whether "at your convenience" is polite or not and why.
    – ColleenV
    Oct 15, 2016 at 11:14
  • 1
    You seem to suggest that the phrase "at your convenience" itself is not impolite. If so, I would suggest editing your answer to indicate that.
    – laugh salutes Monica C
    Oct 15, 2016 at 13:43

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .