Telling our friends and family that we love them comes naturally to many of us. “Love you!” should be said whenever someone leaves the house. “Love you!” before going to bed at night. “Love you!” as you end a call with them.
That is all well and good until your professional life is affected by that nicely embedded habit. Maintaining the boundaries of professional conduct is especially crucial when speaking with a significant customer. (Do you sense the cringe moment coming?)
People are having a hilarious time when a woman posted an incredibly touching story about absent-mindedly telling a client she loved him, and his considerate reaction. “Accidentally said ‘Love you!’ at the end of a call with an important client yesterday,” a member on Reddit remarked. “I was embarrassed when I heard him laugh as I hung up. I saw he sent me this email today. ”
Accidentally said “Love you!” at the end of a call with an important client yesterday. I heard him giggle as I hung up, and I was mortified. Today, I saw he emailed me this:
byu/ButterscotchButtons inMadeMeSmile
The email began, “Hey—Just wanted to say that I didn’t mean to laugh at you when you accidentally signed off on our call with a ‘love you.’ I just found it funny because I’ve definitely done that before, and I know it happens.”’
He realized that the laughter was embarrassing, and he was no longer concerned by the “love you.” “I’m glad you have enough love in your life that that response comes naturally,” he said, which was the finest thing he could have said about the circumstance. You should be proud of it, if nothing else. :)”
Then he mercifully resumed their professional conversation. “Have a great weekend! We’ll follow up about my call with Chris on Wednesday, as discussed.”
He didn’t just let the awkward elephant in the room linger over her like a cloud. He reassured her that he had done it before and that it was nothing to worry about. However, he went one step further and gave the event a more human touch by admitting that the words that came so naturally to her signified that she was surrounded by love.
A client on the phone accidentally said they love me before they hung up
Not gonna lie it felt good
— The Bacon-Nate-or (@bacon_gillepic) June 6, 2017
People were moved by the client’s kind response and emotional intelligence. “What a great and respectful response. He is completely right, it’s such a beautiful thing to have that much love in your life that it comes out naturally.” “You work with good people.”
“Honestly, this made my day. It’s so wholesome how they responded. Shows that a little kindness (even accidental) always leaves a good impression!”
“Such a classy response. Made you feel at ease while staying professional and moving the conversation forward.” “Green flags from that client.”
I told my client that her hair was super thick & she said “so are you.” lol 🥴🤦🏾♀️
— B 🦋 (@DontWorryBoutB) March 6, 2020
It was a true love-fest as people also related their own similar experiences of unintentionally pronouncing “love you”: “I told my supervisor I loved her at the end of our weekly touch point call – she chuckled and said she loved me too. We shared a good laugh. I am happy to see empathy from a random human, it is much needed.”
“I said ‘love you’ to my new boss at labcorp when she called me to tell me I passed my drug test. Same thing, hanging up, not thinking, she gave me my results and my start date to come in for orientation and I ended the call with ‘bye love you!'”
“Back in the day I straight up called one of my bosses mom. It was so embarrassing I almost died.”
“A surprising number of people have done this at least once. Happens when you’re distracted and tired. My ex husband (a prosecutor) accidentally ended a phone call with ‘I love you’ when talking to a rural county sheriff in the middle of the night.”
