Replace apologies with gratitude. Rather than saying “sorry”, say “thank you.”
It’s a simple customer support tactic that will change how negative information is perceived and receieved.
Rather than asking the other person for acceptance, you’re praising them for understanding. And let’s be honest, everyone loves praise.
An example would be, instead of saying, “Sorry there was an error when you tried saving your account details”, rephrase it as, “Thank you so much for bringing that bug to our attention, and thank you for being understanding as we work on a fix.”
The user’s mentality shifts from disappointment in the software failing to pride in discovering a new bug.
The same applies to non-support related situations. If you’re late for a meeting, don’t apologize. Instead, thank the attendees for being patient and waiting for you. You’re turning a negative into a positive by complimenting their patience.
Following this technique has helped me decrease churn for my startup and keep customers around that would otherwise likely unsubscribe.