Dear LPG,

I relearned an age-old lesson very recently that I feel should be passed on more often to all people in our world, and that is that saying sorry to someone, if you were to blame, is a really hard thing to do; or perhaps I should say ‘when’ we do something wrong (because we all get it wrong from time to time).

Let me tell you a story…

Do it yourself has never been my province of expertise but the other day I got up, went to the kitchen and turned on my good old-fashioned fluorescent strip light only to find that it was not working. I knew what was wrong of course, it had to be the bulb so, to make sure I got the right sized replacement, I took the faulty one with me and went to one of the DIY shops in Catford. I got home, and fitted the new one, only to find out that it was behaving in the same way as the original, and so I went straight back to the shop with the bill and the bulb to get another.

It took a while for me to find someone to talk to about my problem and he suggested that it might not be the bulb, but I was not very gracious as I left them that bulb and went home with the second new bulb of the day. I made a few comments about their faulty stock, mentioned all the time I had wasted on the second journey to the shop, and adopted one of those hoity righteous ways of walking as I left, but when I got back and tried that one it would not work either.

It was then that I bothered my friend who doubles as my expert Mr. Fixer who told me that I needed a new starter motor and not the new bulb that I had made so much fuss about, and so I had to go back to the shop to get one. This all happened too late for me to return to the shop on the same day and, with all that time to consider the days actions,  I firstly decided that, because I had made such a fuss, I should go to another branch to get the starter. It would take a lot longer but save me the embarrassment of admitting my mistake, but I did return and apologise in the end.

I found that really hard to do, but I think that I did feel better for having done so. I suppose that the staff will forget me by the time I need to get something else from there, but even if they don’t, I have to say that I do feel better for having said the word when it counted.

The whole episode has reminded me that getting older and more experienced does not make anyone immune from making mistakes and my experience also reminded me of how important it is to accept an apology in a way that causes the apologiser the least possible embarrassment. I think those words ‘I told you so…‘ are not always helpful.

It is well-known that we learn from mistakes and grow through accepting that we made them but even though, I have made many in my long lifetime, perhaps one of the hardest lessons to learn is how to admit to the people affected that you were wrong.

SA ,Lewisham.

LPG found some internet evidence about the best way to go about saying sorry…

(►►►)     (►►►)       (►►►)   (►►►)    

…and also reminds you of the apologetic song referenced above although there are many other reasons to say sorry…

(►►►)