For many of us, telling our friends and family we love them comes naturally. Every time someone leaves the house, we say, “Love you!” “Love you!” before bedtime. “Love you!” I said as I got off the phone with them.
That’s OK until that nicely embedded tendency spills over into your professional life. Especially when speaking with a significant customer, maintaining professional boundaries is critical. (Can you feel the cringe coming?)
A lady told a very human tale about accidentally telling a client she loved him, and his compassionate answer has many applauding.
“Accidentally said ‘Love you!’ at the end of a call with an important client yesterday,” an individual on Reddit complained. “I was terrified to hear him chuckle as I hung up. Today, I noticed he emailed me this:”
The email started, “Hello— I just wanted to apologize for laughing at you when you mistakenly signed out on our call with ‘love you.’ I simply thought it was humorous since I’ve done it before and I know it occurs.”
Okay, phew, he realized that laughing was embarrassing, and he wasn’t disturbed by the “love you.” But then he added the very finest thing he could have said about the situation:
“I am delighted you have enough love in your life to respond spontaneously. If anything, you should be proud of it.:)”
Then he kindly continued their professional talk. “Have a wonderful weekend! We’ll follow up on my conversation with Chris on Wednesday, as previously stated.”
He didn’t just ignore the elephant in the room, letting it linger over her like an unpleasant fog. He put her at ease by telling her that he had done it before and that it was no big deal. But then he went a step further, giving a deeper human element to the situation by admitting that the words flowing so naturally and freely for her indicated that she was surrounded by love.
The client’s emotional intelligence and considerate reaction melted everyone’s hearts.
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
“What a wonderful, courteous reaction. He is entirely correct; it is a great thing to have so much love in your life that it flows freely.”
“You work with good people.”
“Honestly, this brightened my day 😂. It’s so wholesome how they replied. It demonstrates that a small act of kindness (even if unintentional) always makes a positive impact!”
“What a classy reaction. Made you feel comfortable while being professional and bringing the conversation ahead.”
“Green flags from that client.”
People also recounted their own similar experiences with blurting out unintentional “love you”s, resulting in a true love fest:
“At the end of our weekly contact point conversation, I told my supervisor I loved her, and she giggled and said she loved me back. We had a nice chuckle. I am glad to witness empathy from a random person; it is highly needed.”
“When my new supervisor at Labcorp called to inform me I passed my drug test, I responded, ‘Love you.’ Same thing, I hung up without thinking, she told me my results and my start date for orientation, and I finished the call with “Bye, love you!”
“Back in the day, I just called one of my employers ‘Mom.’ It was so humiliating that I nearly died.
“A surprising number of individuals have tried it at least once. This happens when you are preoccupied and fatigued. My ex-husband (a prosecutor) mistakenly finished a phone call with ‘I love you’ while speaking with a remote county sheriff in the middle of the night.
“I had a coworker say ‘love you’ just as we were going to hang up. There was an uneasy silence; neither of us had hung up, and he continued, ‘Don’t tell my wife.’ We both laughed and then disconnected.”
“I did it with my ex-husband on Thursday, and we both busted out laughing haha. Happily, we get along well, and he and his fiancée will attend my wedding next week.”
“I was on the phone with my employer shortly after he phoned his wife. He closed the phone conversation with “love you.” I had a lot of fun telling him that, while I cared for him, I didn’t consider it love.”
Embarrassing events do not have to destroy your day; in fact, when handled correctly, they may transform into lovely moments of human connection, as this client demonstrated. This level of relatability, sensitivity, and emotional intelligence lets us all feel better about our common humanity, oopsies and all.