Higher Standards
“I appreciate the sentiment,” Angela said softly, a ghost of a smile on her severe features. “However, this will have to be re-written.” She held out a piece of paper (standard white 8.5-by-11 xerographic paper, brightness 84, perfect for copiers, laser printers, inkjet printers, and other plain paper office equipment). Dwight recognized it as the one he had given her earlier in the day.
“What? Why?” He felt a surge of panic. “It’s a complete, detailed written apology, complete with my guarantee that no future pets will be put down for any reason without your consent. It’s exactly what you asked for!”
“Please keep your voice down.” Angela glanced around. Jim, Pam, and Andy were at lunch (clearly, Angela had chosen her moment carefully), but Dwight knew that Angela was an extremely private person about such matters. “The content is exactly what I asked for. However, it is clear that you created this document hastily. It has several grammatical errors and…” She sighed slightly, and her lovely brow furrowed. “It has a typo.”
Dwight grabbed the paper and scanned it quickly to find the mistakes. They were easy to spot, as Angela had marked them neatly in red pen.
“Angela, I apologize.” Dwight was completely sincere- he knew that this sort of carelessness could seriously jeopardize any reconciliation with his icy princess.
“I accept your apology. However, sloppy writing indicates either that you don’t know any better or that you don’t care. If you stand behind what you’ve written, you should want it to be as well done as it can be. It shows that you care about your reader and what she thinks of you.”
Dwight was desperate to make sure she understood. “Of course I care, Angela. I was just impatient to have these ideas on paper so you could read them.”
“I understand. But I think that we need to have higher standards.”
“I’ll re-write it after I finish pickling today’s harvest and re-submit it in the morning.”
“Thank you, Dwight.” Angela’s half-smile passed across her face again, and she walked back to her desk.
