Support Ops

Learn to be a customer support pro.

  • Episodes
  • Manifesto
  • Best Of

Don’t Apologize

July 31, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

The support email mashup left me with one phrase that kept appearing over and over in all the emails I got.

“I apologize for the inconvenience.”

It’s such a horrible phrase that I’ve broken down how to fix it into to articles.  Let’s focus on the apologize phrase to begin.

Apologies don’t count

Honestly, can you think of a single time that someone said “I apologize” and you were okay with it?  The phrase itself has been swallowed up by the corporate world.  Anytime something goes wrong, I guarantee you’ll hear the phrase “I apologize for…”

I just don’t believe a person when they say it.  And your customers won’t either.  If it has the word apology in it, it doesn’t count.

The better option

Instead, go with the simple “I’m sorry.”  It’s short and direct.  Very rarely do we hear that phrase so we haven’t tuned it out yet.  It’s still believable.

A human says their sorry.  A robot goes with an apology.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Add your thoughts Cancel reply

A weekly podcast that helps you deliver a better support experience to your customers.

Read Our Guides
Support Kit
A Brief Guide to a Better Email

Find a Specific Episode

Copyright © 2023 Support Ops · Made with Basecamp and WordPress.