Peeve
I can tolerate a certain amount of overly flower language, but there’s one phrase that just needs to die.
After numerous Customer Service interactions with various companies, I can say that the phrase “I do apologize” is perhaps one of the most annoying, empty, and meaningless things someone can say.
It doesn’t mean anything. If you apologize, say “I apologize” or “I’m sorry”. But “I do apologize” is empty, meaningless, script-reading.
I get fed up. I have a personal policy of not yelling at phone reps — they’re rarely the problem I’m trying to solve, and in fact are usually the only ones who can help solve it. A company’s ridiculous policies are not their fault, and they shouldn’t bear the brunt of it.
But I just can’t hear another customer service rep start a sentence with “I do apologize”. Last time this happened, I somewhat lost my cool, and said,
Stop apologizing and just fix it. Saying “I do apologize” isn’t making this situation better, because you haven’t done anything you need to apologize for, and “I do apologize” isn’t even an apology.
Stop telling me you do apologize, and either actually apologize or shut up.
Hm, that’s an angry post, so let’s end with something that’s been making me laugh.
I am a frog
