Can you pay someone to apologize for you? You can in Japan where professional apologizers do a good business handling this awkward and troublesome task.
Its not easy to say “sorry,” to another person. It requires you to admit you were wrong, did something wrong, and owe that person a form of amends. This is one of the toughest steps in the 12-step program used by many addiction groups, but they can’t hire a person to do it for them. For people in Japan, the job of apologizing the right way can be trusted by these professionals.
Turn to the agencies for the right apology
Most people want to avoid the challenges of an apology altogether but know they need to offer one when they have done another person a wrong. It turns out that if you live in Japan, you can turn to an “apology agency” to hire a person to handle this challenging event for you. This means you’re investing money in the apology and don’t have to handle the discomfort of facing the other person. These agencies ensure the apology is done the right way, giving the best possible amends to the recipient.
How do agencies ensure the job is done right?
When you hire an expert to handle your apology, you’ve trusted a trained professional to do it right. Agencies train professional apologizers to handle the situation and do things right based on the gravity of the situation. This means these people can get you out of the sticky situation you find yourself in that requires an apology on your behalf.
Are these agencies actually making money?
It seems these apology agencies are doing pretty well for themselves. Some charge as much as $240 for a face-to-face apology and $96 for an email or phone apology. Another agency charges $33 per hour, which means some apologies could take a long time to complete. In some cases, the agencies don’t reveal pricing but base that pricing on the information gathered during phone consultations. In some cases, these agencies offer “apologies while crying” for very angry people, which could also put the apologizer in a dangerous situation.
What is the customer base of these apology agencies?
Nearly 40 percent of the customers that use these agencies are believed to be female and between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. As you would expect, some of the most popular reasons for hiring professional apologizers is problems with money or love. These would certainly be reasons you might want to avoid the challenges of giving an apology to a person, even if you owe it to them.
Pride can get in the way
Many of us are often too proud to offer an apology in a timely manner. If someone is ready to say sorry on your behalf, you could offer that apology in the time it should be given, and your pride won’t get in the way. If people weren’t filled with pride, these apology agencies wouldn’t be able to make money.
Are these apologies acceptable?
Japanese culture is much different from that found in America. This makes you wonder if an apology given by professional apologizers will be acceptable compared to one offered by the offending party. In Japan, these professionally paid-for apologies are acceptable and will do the trick of beginning the mending of torn ties.
Could this work in other countries?
Apology agencies might work in other cultures that are similar to Japan, in which various social etiquette is important and honored. That means it’s unlikely these agencies would do well in wester culture in which many variations of blended worldly cultures come together in one place. An apology given by a hired person might not go over well in the United States, but it could be acceptable in many Asian countries.
On the other hand, using professional apologizers to handle romantic breakups, completely severed ties, and the end of a partnership might be effective. This apology will be the last interaction between two people or entities, and the apology offered to the offended party could go a long way toward softening the blow.
Japan does it better
Apologizing to others can be extremely uncomfortable and some of us never quite get around to offering an acceptable apology to other people. This can leave families in distress with relative not speaking to each other for years. Professional apologizers in Japan get the job done right and handle one of the most uncomfortable situations for people. This can allow the healing to begin.
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