By Mike Aquino for Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Admit it, it's happened before: you think you've got something going with your date—there's that undeniable chemistry going on between you—and you wonder if you might find some room for this guy in your life. But after saying goodbye for the night… he never calls back.

You didn't realize it, but you could have done something to fall into his don't-date-again list. Thankfully, the men's list of dating pet peeves is short, but the top four bear repeating.

Being habitually late. Did you keep your date waiting? Regardless of how bad the traffic was or how important it was for you to be at that meeting, being late to a date invites a hard look at how much value you put on your date's time. "Being late and not following through are sure signs of non-respect," says Henry Cloud, author of How to Get a Date Worth Keeping.

Rudeness to the staff. No matter how wonderfully you seem to be treating him, he'll never be so blind as to ignore any mistreatment of the wait staff. This kind of attitude to people who serve you doesn't tell him you're assertive or confident—it just says that, given more time, the next target could be him.

"It's the small things they do (or don't do) that help me decide if we're compatible," says Andrea Syrtash, author of Cheat on Your Husband (With Your Husband). "If someone is rude to a waiter, or judgmental about the things I value most, I realize we are not going to click."

Boring or bad conversation. Even if you're not conceitedly self-centered, it's easy to botch conversation. Watch out if you're constantly talking about yourself, or steering conversation back to your own interests. Ask a lot of questions, then be genuinely interested in what they have to say.

Take a page from real estate brokers (who make a living out of sounding interested in their clients' lives). For brokers, the FORD method is an old standby: ask about your date's family, occupation, recreation, and dreams.

Where's your family from?

What do you do now? What was your job before that?

What hobbies do you have?

Do you have any major goals—like climbing a mountain or starting a business?

"The concept is simple," writes James Foxall, software consultant and businessman. "The more you know about a person with respect to the items above, and the better your ability to use them in communication, the quicker and deeper you can take the relationship."

Texting at the table. Save your smartphone for bathroom visits or absolute emergencies, because your date does not want to feel he has to compete with a piece of plastic and glass for your attention. Anything else is asking for trouble.

"So updating your Facebook status… is more interesting than this living, breathing, sentient being sitting across from you?" sarcastically write Dave Horwitz and Marisa Pinson, authors of Dealbreaker: the Definitive List of Dating Offenses. "I hope you and that two inch by four inch glowing screen are having a good time because this just became a table for one."

Beauty Talk asks: Okay, girls: These some of the dating pet peeves of guys, what are your own deal-breakers when it comes to dating?