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I work in a phone center, and when someone calls in expressing dismay or what have you, the immediate response is "I do apologize about that."
Two things:
1. Is "apologize about that" or "apologize for that" correct? I've consulted usage manuals and can find no explanation. I think the users of this phrasing are using about to mean that they're sorry that something has happened, but would use for if they did something wrong and were apologizing. Does this theory hold up?
2. Besides this instance, I can think of only one other way we use do as an intensifier, and that's when it's doubled-up ("I do do my own taxes"). Is it unusual to use do as an intensifier? Is this odd or the norm?
I'm from Maryland (the Delaware Valley, just in the corner of DE and PA), and only moved to Buffalo three years ago, and I never heard either of the above back home (or on television or in movies that I've noticed).
Oh yeah, I remember using the "do so" construction when I was little ("He doesn't like cherry pie"—"I do so like cherry pie"). But that's more using do so rather than just do. I guess the Cowardly Lion illustrates another way of using do as an intensifier.
What about apologize for vs. apologize about?
A quick comparison on Google (search "apologize for" vs. "apologize about") says that apologize for wins, hands down. Nearly 200:1. If that ain't vox populi, I don't know what is.
In a quick scan of the search results, I don't get the sense that people are using "about" and "for" differently.
What dilettante said.
And yes, I think of "I do apologize" as simply an intensifier, although it also strikes me as the stilted, affected language you often hear from call-center workers trying to sound official on behalf of the company.
I had a phone message the other day in which the receptionist said, "This message is for Martha. Martha, this happens to be Dr. So-and-so's office, reminding you . . . "
"Happens to be"? What, are you going to be somebody else tomorrow?
I don't know -- just struck me as weird and somewhat pretentious. Or am I overreacting?
And yes, I think of “I do apologize” as simply an intensifier, although it also strikes me as the stilted, affected language you often hear from call-center workers trying to sound official on behalf of the company.
Martha, I'm glad I'm not alone there. I think I'll try to be a little more customer-friendly and resist the trend.
And I'm with you guys on the "happens to be".
It reminds me of a doctor's office around here, that's only open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. If you need to cancel an appointment, instead of the 24-hour requirement of other offices, they require you to cancel the appointment 48 business hours in advance. I really think they mean two days, but when I needed to cancel I couldn't help but make sure I did it six business days ahead of time.
The “happens to be” does sound a bit alien. The closest argument I can think of for using it at all is if by it you mean this:
“X has a message for you; and, guess what, this happens to be X this very moment”.
Yes, it is wordy. I guess because of its extraterrestrial sound, it's supposed to seem formal or like something you wouldn't say to someone who is “sitting in your seat”; e.g., “Yo', don't f'get yo' doctor's 'pointment t'morro'!” Sometimes, corporate politeness (that is, according to company policy) seems to suggest an explicit difference between the casual and the formal. So that, if the secretary happens to sound like someone you know, you won't be like: “Huh? Why is Aunt Selma callin' me about my colonoscopy”? Whaddaya think?…
In my customer service role, I like to be more personal, friendly, and down-to-earth, and strive to not sound like a corporate drone. I certainly don't go to the level of "yo' 'pointment", but I think that being a person on the phone just makes the experience that much better for everyone involved.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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