"We Take Our Bull---- Seriously"

From Center for Citizen Media's blog:

Try this: Plug “we take” and “very seriously” into a Google News or Yahoo News search. You’ll get hundreds of hits, albeit some repeats, where some big institution - corporate, educational, government, whatever - makes a giant blunder and then issues a “we take (insert the violated policy) very seriously” statement.

I've definitely heard a lot of that lately. It comes from the "Your Call Is Important To Us" family (as one of the commenters on CCM's Blog points out). It's just another line that companies say to make us peons feel better. It's sort of like a pat on the head. "There, there - you matter. You really do." Awwww...

As CCM points out:

Almost invariably, however, when I read or hear someone taking such things seriously, I think: They care mainly about getting caught, not screwing up. Otherwise, these things would happen far less often.

No doubt, this language is at least partly lawyer-driven. You can take something seriously - sort of, kind of acknowledging the mistake - while avoiding a hint of actual guilt.

I guess when enough people catch on to the whole "seriously" line, you can expect a new verbal pat on the head. Can't wait!

--YY