Saying sorry quickly is good. Acting different quickly is what they’re actually waiting for.

A fast apology closes the immediate discomfort and leaves the substance untouched. The person hearing it is usually asking a different question, which is whether the same thing will happen again next week, and words cannot answer that. Speed can even make the answer look worse, if nothing follows it.

Follow the sorry within a few days with one visible change, however small, in the same area. Do not point at it. Being seen to do it differently once is worth more than any number of careful sentences, and it settles the question they were actually asking.