"I was in an upscale restaurant and the 20-something server totally messed up. The appetizers never arrived, our order was incorrect, etc. The young woman gave a half-hearted apology that mostly blamed the kitchen. Then she just stood there, waiting for my response. Other than, Yes, you did a terrible job, what could I say? It seems that young people want to hear That's OK, but bad service is not OK. How should one respond?"
"The proper response lies between those two extremes. By saying, Thank you for your apology, you accept it without suggesting that the infraction was unimportant. But you also avoid the equally ineffective not to mention rude trap of criticizing the apology or repeating the complaint. Miss Manners acknowledges that the apology was shabby, but pointing this out will neither improve the young lady's work ethic nor increase her propensity to take responsibility in the future. Treating it as a proper apology leaves her with no doubt that you are aware things went badly wrong, and you generously see her as having accepted responsibility for it."
Say "Thank you for your apology" to accept an apology without implying that the underlying problem was unimportant. Avoid criticizing the apology or repeating the complaint, since doing so neither improves performance nor increases future responsibility. Accepting the apology signals awareness that things went wrong while acknowledging that the person has taken responsibility. Hosts who run longstanding potluck gatherings may face adult children who no longer bring dishes despite having means to contribute. Casual sign-ups and formal spreadsheets are both organizational options when reconsidering expectations for contributions.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]