STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's Friday - first time that's happened all year - and it's time for StoryCorps for the first time this year. Almost 40 million people boarded planes over the holidays, and many passengers faced delays or disruptions. For more than 20 years, it was Fred Taylor's job to say sorry. He was a kind of apologist-in-chief for Southwest Airlines. He talked about apologizing for a living with his wife, Julie, at StoryCorps.
(SOUNDBITE OF RED NICHOLS AND HIS FIVE PENNIES' "WHO'S SORRY NOW?")
FRED TAYLOR JR: Hello. My name is Fred Taylor Jr. My job was to send letters of apology to customers that have been involved with flight disruptions.
(Reading) I don't think I can provide you with a rational explanation for the myriad of frustrating delays that occurred with your December 1 flight from...
For me, saying I'm sorry became second nature. It's been a way of life.
(SOUNDBITE OF RED NICHOLS AND HIS FIVE PENNIES' "WHO'S SORRY NOW?")
F TAYLOR: You have to know your audience. You know, there are white-knuckle travelers out there, and they get upset pretty quick. If an engine shuts down because parts of the fan blade come apart and you can see plumes of fire, it's an emotional event. My job was to offer them assurance. Hey, this wasn't as big of a deal as what it may have seemed like.
(Reading) I know that no matter what I say in hindsight cannot make up for the poor service you were given that exhausting day.
I remember an unruly passenger. She was a nervous flyer who tried to self-medicate. And alcohol and prescription medication, the change in cabin pressure don't mix. And so this lady, she starts taking her clothes off and started chewing on the seat bottom cushion. And then I have to turn around and apologize to 137 people.
(Reading) Of course, measuring the total amount of each person's inconvenience is difficult to do, but I ask you to accept this gesture in order to give us another chance...
How am I at apologizing at home?
JULIE TAYLOR: Our daughter, Olivia, has been telling her friends that her dad is the sorry man. But one thing I think that's pretty incredible - when you were in college, you were in a remedial English class. And then you were able to make a career where you were writing for a living. Even when my dad died and you wrote a eulogy, I can remember hearing the people behind me crying. And then you started with the funny stories, and I could hear the people behind me laughing. It was just perfect. You put people at ease. So you're more than just the sorry man (laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF RED NICHOLS AND HIS FIVE PENNIES' "WHO'S SORRY NOW?")
INSKEEP: I'm not sorry I heard that. Fred Taylor with his wife, Julie, at StoryCorps in Fort Worth. Their conversation is archived with the Library of Congress. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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