Is it really already 1:00 p.m.? Seriously? Wow…the morning is a blur to me.
Have been on the go since I got here and only just now surfaced. Mr. BIL had lots of things to get done before he headed out to a meeting with a client off-site that will likely take most of the afternoon.
My only gaffe of the day came when he asked me about a couple letters we had gotten back in the mail as undeliverable. I gave them to his paralegal who said she’d get the updated addresses. I had told her to let me know when she had the updated addresses and I’d resend the letters. That was two weeks ago and I dropped the ball and didn’t follow up with her on whether she’d gotten the addresses or not. She’s always swamped with work (she works for three attorneys) and I really had no business at the time asking her to contact me about it – I should have told her I’d follow up with her. So today when Mr. BIL was in a tizzy and asked me about them, not only did I deny putting them in the file (before then remembering that I HAD put them in the file), I also inadvertently phrased my response incorrectly and made it seem like the paralegal dropped the ball – which she absolutely DIDN’T. Unfortunately, I think she overheard me and no doubt got pissed that I implied she did something wrong. And I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had the opportunity until now to go apologize to her, and now she’s at lunch. *sigh*
So it has been that kind of morning.
I don’t feel as though you owe her an apology. I mean it will be nice of you, especially if she is upset by something. But, Tech. she did drop the ball. Yes, she may be swamped with a few things in your office by working for 3 Lawyers. However, it is her job to report to those 3 people and if you said “can you get back to me when you have those addressed” and she said “yes” or “will do” or “no problem, it may take me a few days” then she dropped the ball not you and you have every right to say “Oh, Mr. Boss Guy/Dude, I did give those to blah blah blah, she said she would get back to me. Let me follow up with her right now”. But Apologize? That is just my opinion and how I read your post. Again, its nice for her to get an apology when she actually did drop the ball. I bet she was more upset that you threw her under the bus than anything. LOL
… and if she is so swamped, maybe she should eat her lunch at her desk.
Just saying. 😉
*lol* at A’s response – He has very valid points and I tend to agree with him!
What’s funny is that when I got back from lunch she actually came over to my desk and apologized to ME. *lol* She asked me what Mr. BIL said to me about the letters, and I started to apologize and she cut me off and said, “No, I’m sorry he misunderstood me – I told him it was my fault and I don’t know why he came over to you to accuse you of not doing anything with the letters when you DID do something with them.”
I thought it was funny that we were both falling over each other trying to apologize more profusely.
Aw, that is great that you both felt you needed to apologize ~ humility in the workplace is a very good thing. 🙂
You should go back and tell her that since you took one for the team that she should treat you to lunch one day next week.
See what you can milk out it.