Apologies for being late, or thank you for your patience?
Shifting conversations from apologetic to gratitude
Many recommend that, in a conversation with clients, you should avoid saying “sorry.” You can effectively rephrase a sentence from“ sorry for being late” to “thank you for your patience.” In an attempt to please customers, salespeople tend to embrace a submissive attitude, in which they apologize for everything concerned that their behavior might displease customers.
However, this approach tends to backfire as you will look insecure about yourself. You need to project confidence, and an overly apologetic approach does not help establish a conducive conversation.
Hence, others have recommended shifting from an apologetic approach to a gratitude approach. Instead of recognizing a fault and apologizing for it, you acknowledge the merit of the person you talk to and express gratitude for them. From “Sorry for the long answer” to “Thank you for listening,” You transform a message acknowledging your bad behavior into a message recognizing the client’s good behavior.
Does it work?
It does, if used properly. It is indeed true that shifting the conversation from apology to gratitude displays confidence. However, you must be careful, because it only works depending on the expectations the client formed based on what you say ahead.
Imagine this scenario. You anticipate a possible delay to the client, stating that, in order to reply to their inquiry about the possibility of postponing payment, you need first to consult with accounts receivable. When you reply, it is proper to say, “Thank you for your patience.”
However, if the client had no expectation of a delay and you just show up late for a meeting, it becomes inappropriate to thank them for their patience. Here, you have to explicitly acknowledge your fault. Otherwise, you disrespect the client. You cannot assume patience when, in fact, you gave no option to the client but to wait for you. You arrive late. The client is rightfully disappointed. And you ignore their disappointment, glossing over and just thanking them for something, their patience, they might not even have. So, in this case, it is better to state “apologies for being late.” Had you created an expectation, for example, “There is a chance I might arrive late to our meeting due to a possible schedule conflict”, then you could thank them for their patience.
So, in general, gratitude is preferred over apology, but only in cases in which you create clear expectations upfront.
