In typical 37signals fashion, the wisdom in these pages is edgy yet

"We apologize ..." If you spilled coffee on someone while riding the
subway, would you say, "I apologize"? No, you'd say, "I'm so, so sorry!"
Well, if your service is critical to your customers, an interruption to that
service is like spilling hot coffee all over them. So use the appropriate tone
and language to show that you understand the severity of what happened.
Also, the person in charge should take personal responsibility. An "I"
apology is a lot stronger than a "we" apology.
"... any inconvenience ..." If customers depend on your service and can't
get to it, it's not merely an inconvenience. It's a crisis. An inconvenience is
a long line at the grocery store. This ain't that.
"... this may have caused" The "may" here implies there might not be
anything wrong at all. That's a classic non-apology apology move. It slights
the very real problem(s) that customers are experiencing. If this didn't affect
them, you don't really need to say anything. If it did affect them, then there's
no need for "may" here. Stop wavering.
So what's the perfect way to say you're sorry? There's no magic bullet.
Any stock answer will sound generic and hollow. You're going to have to
take it on a case-by-case basis.
The number-one principle to keep in mind when you apologize: How
would you feel about the apology if you were on the other end? If someone

---

said those words to you, would you believe them?
Keep in mind that you can't apologize your way out of being an ass. Even
the best apology won't rescue you if you haven't earned people's trust.
Everything you do before things go wrong matters far more than the actual
words you use to apologize. If you've built rapport with customers, they'll
cut you some slack and trust you when you say you're sorry.

---