The art of the apology.
Yesterday evening I was on my way to an event in the heart of London. It was a dramatic evening. The rain was torrential. Small flash floods were not uncommon throught the south of England.
I made the decision to park the car in Chiswick and take the tube in to the city to avoid possible traffic tie ups and congestion snares. £4.30 (return) to travel in the evening, post prime travel time, and only about two miles. I went to pay for my ticket, passed through the gates and then was shocked to discover that my side of the platform was closeed due to construction works.
"CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE".
Well. The inconvenience was that this sign SHOULD have been placed directly beside the ticket kiosk so I could have thought of an alternative plan. It was not. I understand that construction requires the closing down of a platform. What I don't understand is the logic of having the sign posted in a place that you see only once past the gates -- and I was not the only one who experienced this.
Ok, thought I. One stop in the other direction to Acton and then cross the tracks to the other side and take the Picadilly line directly into to Earl's Court. Change there and off to Olympia.
While on the platform there was an announcement made ---
"The District Line is approaching Earl's Court and will be 11 minutes late. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY HAVE IN YOUR JOURNEY."
11 minutes passed by. Still no train. No follow up announcement either. 35 minutes later a train arrives.
I finally arrive at my event - an hour late.
Later that evening I am on the way back to Chiswick on the return tube. Somewhere between Turnham Green and Chiswick we are stopped. Its not at a station so we cannot get out. We wait. We wait. We wait. Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen.
"We are experiencing a slow train service due to a train ahead taking slower than normal to leave the station. WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY CAUSE TO YOUR JOURNEY".
I understand delays. I understand construction. I understand slow trains stalling the path of other trains. What I do not understand is the art of the apology.
Why I don't understand it is because it has no value. No one is going to give the travellers who were with me that day our time back. Our missed moments we spent waiting when we could have made alternative travel arrangements if the information would have been properly delivered.
The 11 minute delay turning into a 35 minute wait is the one which really highlights my argument. With all the technology in CCTV and computer analysis and tracking systems we fund through the absolutely expensive public transport fares we pay in London one would think that there would be the OPTION announcements could provide so that travellers could change their travel plans. Had I known that I had a 35 minute wait in total - and that was just to go the OTHER direction first due to the construction at the departure station, so add on another fifteen minutes to travel back -- in 50 minutes I could have walked the 2 miles or gone back to the car and made the attempt to drive in and wait out the time in the congestion - if there even was any.
The art of the apology is in my mind an excuse for laziness. Its an empty excuse. In my business it would be like bringing only one camera to the job and when it breaks down saying to the client "we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused in the process of your job".
No doubt there are natural things that happen. The driver of the return train had no idea that we would run into another train stuck at the station. I understand that. What I cannot understand is why information is not communicated to the public in a manner that alternatives can be made, and instead the limp apology serves as etiquette. I don't know about you, but I rather have practicality over and above etiquette.
This is not an essay on a train journey which went a bit sour. Its about the art of the apology and what we accept it is allowed to excuse. I would love to know your points of view or your own experience.
I made the decision to park the car in Chiswick and take the tube in to the city to avoid possible traffic tie ups and congestion snares. £4.30 (return) to travel in the evening, post prime travel time, and only about two miles. I went to pay for my ticket, passed through the gates and then was shocked to discover that my side of the platform was closeed due to construction works.
"CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE".
Well. The inconvenience was that this sign SHOULD have been placed directly beside the ticket kiosk so I could have thought of an alternative plan. It was not. I understand that construction requires the closing down of a platform. What I don't understand is the logic of having the sign posted in a place that you see only once past the gates -- and I was not the only one who experienced this.
Ok, thought I. One stop in the other direction to Acton and then cross the tracks to the other side and take the Picadilly line directly into to Earl's Court. Change there and off to Olympia.
While on the platform there was an announcement made ---
"The District Line is approaching Earl's Court and will be 11 minutes late. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY HAVE IN YOUR JOURNEY."
11 minutes passed by. Still no train. No follow up announcement either. 35 minutes later a train arrives.
I finally arrive at my event - an hour late.
Later that evening I am on the way back to Chiswick on the return tube. Somewhere between Turnham Green and Chiswick we are stopped. Its not at a station so we cannot get out. We wait. We wait. We wait. Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen.
"We are experiencing a slow train service due to a train ahead taking slower than normal to leave the station. WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY CAUSE TO YOUR JOURNEY".
I understand delays. I understand construction. I understand slow trains stalling the path of other trains. What I do not understand is the art of the apology.
Why I don't understand it is because it has no value. No one is going to give the travellers who were with me that day our time back. Our missed moments we spent waiting when we could have made alternative travel arrangements if the information would have been properly delivered.
The 11 minute delay turning into a 35 minute wait is the one which really highlights my argument. With all the technology in CCTV and computer analysis and tracking systems we fund through the absolutely expensive public transport fares we pay in London one would think that there would be the OPTION announcements could provide so that travellers could change their travel plans. Had I known that I had a 35 minute wait in total - and that was just to go the OTHER direction first due to the construction at the departure station, so add on another fifteen minutes to travel back -- in 50 minutes I could have walked the 2 miles or gone back to the car and made the attempt to drive in and wait out the time in the congestion - if there even was any.
The art of the apology is in my mind an excuse for laziness. Its an empty excuse. In my business it would be like bringing only one camera to the job and when it breaks down saying to the client "we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused in the process of your job".
No doubt there are natural things that happen. The driver of the return train had no idea that we would run into another train stuck at the station. I understand that. What I cannot understand is why information is not communicated to the public in a manner that alternatives can be made, and instead the limp apology serves as etiquette. I don't know about you, but I rather have practicality over and above etiquette.
This is not an essay on a train journey which went a bit sour. Its about the art of the apology and what we accept it is allowed to excuse. I would love to know your points of view or your own experience.
posted by karl grupe at
17:30
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