Funny you should ask - I had a boss that I thankfully got away from, and she said that to me once. I had gotten my evaluation from her, and it was full of comments that had a negative ring to them. Not specifically negative, but could be read that way if you weren't really scrutinizing it, and so I took issue with many of the comments. I went over it all with a fine-tooth comb, and changed a lot of the wording. When we sat down and had it out, there were many instances where she couldn't understand why I was worried about the wording, but she changed some things. There was one issue, I can't really remember the specifics, but we did not agree on it, and she said " I'm sorry you see it that way" or something to that end. It was most definitely NOT an apology for hurting my feelings in any way.
In most cases, I would probably not think that this was an apologetic statement. How can I be apologizing for the way you feel, or the opinion you have? That makes no sense.
That's my $.02.
Lisa
Lisa