Rework jason fried

"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. 

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