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 woman shared a heartfelt story about accidentally telling a client that she loved him, and his kind response has received much praise.

An individual on Reddit lamented, “I unintentionally said ‘Love you!’ during a call with a significant client yesterday.” “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.”

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

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.”