Sorry is the hardest thing to say
“NEVER SAY SORRY.” I’ll hide the identity of the person who said that to me, but he did so with utter conviction. To apologise was an admission not only of weakness but, worse, liability. He runs a business with a multi-millionpound turnover, where projects often run late. To say sorry, to admit culpability for an error that led to a delay, could result in clients claiming compensation.
And that, I’m sure, is why big companies find “sorry” so hard to say. By all rights, Apple should be apologising to customers who bought a MacBook only to discover one morning that their keyboard no longer worked. You know, little problems such as letters repeating or not appearing at all. A ssslightt issssueee on a keyyyyyboard.
Now Apple did ’fess up to the problems with the Core i9 on its new MacBook Pro, which we review on p48. But note the crucial difference: it apologised and simultaneously issued a fix, leaving a legal loophole so small that even José Mourinho’s sense of humour couldn’t fit inside.
Not so the keyboard problem. Instead it updated its service and support pages with a message about owners of certain laptops – pretty much every laptop it’s made in the past three years, note – being just-possibly-maybe entitled to a free repair for any keyboard flaws. No mea culpa here. This after some owners have paid hundreds of pounds to fix keyboards on their out-of-warranty laptops; let’s hope Apple is actively offering such people a refund.
Don’t think for a second that Apple is alone in this. If anything, the company deserves praise: it’s far better at saying sorry than other tech firms. It apologised in late 2017 for slowing older iPhones down on purpose, for instance. For other big companies, I have to go back further in time. And I have to go niche. For instance, Dell last issued a public apology back in 2016 for releasing a security certificate that was itself insecure. I’m pretty sure it’s made some dumb design decisions since then, but because it’s not Apple it doesn’t get hit with the same level of scrutiny.
What about Facebook, you say? Didn’t Mark Zuckerberg issue an apology over its handling of data and pre-election advertising? He did, but I’m certain he first consulted with about 15 lawyers and looked at the potential damage in lost users if he didn’t apologise. Nevertheless, I welcome this apology: it’s a welcome break from tradition.
The problem with big tech’s usual defensive approach is that it breeds mistrust. What stops democracy descending into dictatorship is transparency. That transparency doesn’t appear because politicians want it to: it’s there because the public, historically via the press but now via social media too, applies pressure. Even then, we sometimes have to wait years for the truth to emerge.
The system isn’t perfect, but it’s far better than the current approach we see from the tech giants, where every sorry is wrenched from them like sweets from a toddler. What can we do? First, bring the same level of scrutiny to their decisions as we do politicians. Then we need to create an environment where being open about mistakes is seen as a positive rather than a negative.
This won’t happen overnight, but we all have a role to play – first by asking the questions, but then by applauding companies rather than condemning them when they do admit mistakes. So, Apple: I salute you for taking prompt action, not hiding away. Let’s hope others follow suit.