For some people, apologies are difficult. Some folks don't like to admit they're wrong. Some people are embarrassed they've done wrong. And then, some people are just plain stupid and don't realize what they've done.
Recently, at my day job, a young lady sent out an email in which she made a dig at my expense--stating that yoga would kill me. Well, I do have chronic back pain and multiple respiratory issues. Yeah, good chance attempting yoga would indeed be a bad idea. Unfortunately, she sent this email to everyone at work--instead of the one person she meant. I was reading the email, wondering why she thought we knew each other well enough for her to bust my chops, when it blinked out of existence. Turns out, you can recall emails... and it gives you a report of who was able to see the email before its erasure. Did not know that.
A little later on, the would-be comedienne came by my office to apologize. I told her it was no big deal, I wasn't offended and that she should never apologize for comedy. But, she couldn't leave it at that. She had to go on and on, explaining how she didn't mean for me to see the email and that she had already turned herself in to HR, and had gone around the office and told everyone what she had done, and was apologizing.
Uh, what?
If only three people saw the email, why tell everyone about it? Moreover, why save the person you think you offended for last on your tour de apology? And why is it such a big deal... it's almost like it wasn't meant as light-hearted ribbing (like men do to each other) but rather a vicious, bitchy comment.
Hmmmm....
There's a life lesson here. Dingbat should have stopped apologizing when I said, Okay. I wasn't angry, didn't yell, I just shrugged it off. Her continuation about how she didn't mean for everyone to see that lessens the sincerity of her apology.
When you apologize, keep it short and sweet, and to the point. Don't turn it into a dissertation that smacks more of Freudian slip than friendly discussion.
No comments:
Post a Comment