How to apologize for being late to work<br>Gauge how late you're going to be. Depending on your job, a few minutes may not be that big of a deal. However, if it is going to be longer, you probably need to call or apologize when you get there.
Many people think it is no big deal if a person is a few minutes late for work. 
Since I worded it as being 'no big deal', I think the agent found it difficult to determine if it was a big deal or not. 