Apology email templates

Every business makes mistakes every once in a while. And in most cases, a simple yet professional apology email is capable of changing a customer’s perception of the situation for the better and helping you maintain your relationship with them. Regardless of what happened, and whoever was at fault, a well-crafted, timely, apology letter can go a long way in turning a negative customer experience into a positive one, while increasing customer retention and reducing churn. 

In fact, according to the RightNow report, 63% of consumers would be willing to go back to a company after a negative experience if they received a follow-up apology/correction from a supervisor/head office. At the same time, not apologizing at all or providing a poor apology can easily make things worse. Below are some tips on how to write an efficient apology email to customers along with 10 ready-made apology letter templates you can use whenever you need to respond to a similar situation and apologize on behalf of your business.

How to write an apology email to customers

• Make it clear that you are apologizing for what happened without shifting the blame.
• Own the mistake and take responsibility even if it wasn’t your fault.
• Acknowledge the customer’s negative emotions, feelings, and pains.
• Be transparent and tell customers what went wrong and what caused the problem.
• Give a clear recovery plan and explain what you’ll do or have done to make things right.
• Describe the steps you take to ensure that the mistake won’t happen again.
• Offer a refund or any other reasonable compensation, if it makes sense.
• Personalize your apology message, when possible.

10 customer apology email templates

Whether you’re dealing with damaged products, billing problems, service outages, negative customer support experiences, or anything else, having solid apology email templates at hand allows you to react quickly and comprehensively whenever something doesn’t go as planned. Here are 10 apology letter templates that can serve as a prompt for different situations in which you’d need to apologize to your customers.

An unsatisfactory product apology email

SaaS product issues apology email

Negative customer support experience apology email

Service downtime apology email

Billing error apology email

Website issues apology email 

Apology email template for delivery issues

Product recall apology email

Mass apology email

 Follow-up apology email

Now that you know how to apologize for mistakes you’ve made, how about learning how to politely decline customer requests?

Apology emails – Frequently asked questions

How do you apologize professionally in an email?

Apologizing professionally in an email should be done by sincerely acknowledging the issue and taking responsibility. Moreover, try to offer a possible solution. More importantly, do not copy and paste generic apologies.

What do you say when someone apologizes in an email?

Simply thank them for the email and express that you appreciate the apology/prompt response.

What are the steps to professionally apologize to your customer?

1. Take responsibility for the mistake.

2. Acknowledge that the mistake was a problem for your customer.

3. Apologize.

4. Offer solutions to remedy the mistake.

5. As a show of good faith, do something nice for your customer.