at this time

i feel like in my work i have used this in a sort of passive cop out way of avoiding “it’s actually never but we can’t be that blunt”. like, i’ve had customer service training that basically told us never to say “no”, “unfortunately”, “cannot” and other negative absolutes.

“we’re well aware these new government internet connections will never reach the speeds we sell em at but hey, at this time we are unable to advise when upgrades are due”

i'm not the kind of person who would do this but i'm amused by the thought of sprinkling "at this time"s into daily casual conversations with the significant other.

"do you want some coffee"
"not at this time"