Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
I am not interested in why the restaurant cannot keep my reservation. I don't want to hear they are overbooked or the manager is sick or the dessert delivery truck never arrived.
I just want to know that they feel bad about putting me out and not fulfilling their promise to me. I want to know they are taking responsibility for their mistake.
By making an excuse it sounds like they are shirking responsibility or that "we" are in the same boat.
That doesn't work for me.
Of course there are situations where I want to hear the "why", like if my doctor needs to amputate my arm or my lawyer didn't file my lawsuit in time, but when it is a matter of me having to simply wait an extra 10 minutes, I would prefer the honest apology over buck-passing excuses.
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This is a good example of the "mends no fences" kind of apology that I actively despise, MMM. You say honest, but how does one determine an honest apology? As a customer, I don't care if the person seating me is or is not personally sorry. What does it matter? What I need to know is "why did this happen" and "is it likely to happen again?" If don't like the answers to those questions, I will no longer go to that restaurant. If I understand the answer to the first, and recognise that the people involved are doing their best, and that is not likely to be a repeat occurrence, then I will probably chalk it up to "stuff happens." I might expect some sort of compensation (free appetizer, extra course, etc), but that's purely business.
Why should someone be made to apologise for something beyond their control? A late delivery truck or a manager that got sick is hardly the fault of the person who happens to be working the front desk.
"Sorry," is just as capable of being used as a "get out of jail free" card as a reason for a mistake. I positively hate the way that "excuse" has garnered a negative reputation and is now connected to subterfuge or blame deflection. Not every reason offered seeks to blame someone else.