Saying  "I'm sorry" may be the two most important words you can say to customer. Just ask Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

In a recent issue of Advertising Age, writer Lenore Skenazy recounts the recent iPhone snafu, where Apple introduced the iPhone at a price of $599 each and then knocked it down by a whopping $200 two months later, thus making the initial buyers feel duped.  In response to the customer anger at this move, Jobs apologized and offered reasons for his actions and an incentive for the customers who purchased the gadget at full price.

Did his "I'm sorry" make a difference in the customers' minds? Yes, according to Skenazy. "We who'd been peeved initially were suddenly charmed by a vendor willing to apologize and treat us like valued customers. And considering that this was right after we'd been treated as totally unvalued customers just goes to show you how transformative an apology can be, and how really good customer service can change a whole relationship."

The power of an apology forces customers to look twice and reevaluate their initial frustration at a company's actions. "So why isn't every company doing this — making the customer feel important or cherished or even better, right?" Skenazy asks.

For more coverage on the reach of Jobs' apology, read articles in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, and Bloomberg.com.

--Cassandra P. Foster
cfoster@safnow.org

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