10 Templates to Write the Best Apology Emails to Customers

“We are sorry!” These three golden words can probably save a customer relationship. But in most cases, they are simply not enough. How do you ensure your apology travels from your email and reaches straight to the customer’s heart? 

Writing apology emails to customers is a popular practice when something goes wrong. But most businesses share messages that lack empathy and personalization – making customers even more disappointed. 

Mistakes are inevitable in the business world. Maybe the customer received defective products, suffered a billing error, or encountered an impolite service rep. Whatever the reason, a sincere and empathetic apology communicates that your business cares about them. 

So how do you compose the best customer apology email? 

Well, you don’t have to take the pain of writing your message from scratch. You can seek inspiration from our expert-designed apology email templates shared in this blog. Simply save them in your help desk software and delight customers with lightning-fast responses. You can also integrate these templates and tips into your AI content writer if you’re using any tools! 

Let’s learn to write apology letters that will turn complaints into compliments! 

The Importance of Writing Effective Apology Emails to Customers

While sorry might seem to be the hardest word sometimes, it can be extremely useful to delight customers. 

When you send apology emails to unhappy or complaining customers, you can make up for their bad experiences. Moreover, you give your business a great chance to reduce customer churn and increase the customer lifetime value (CLV). 

Moreover. If you fail to share a heartfelt apology in time, it can lead to serious consequences. 

According to a study by Esteban Kolsky, 13% of unhappy customers will share their complaints with 15 or more people.

Unsatisfied customers can share their experiences with friends and family members, tainting your brand’s reputation. On the other hand, if you apologize at the right time and mend things with them, you can avoid losing out on thousands of potential customers. 

The Key Elements of the Best Customer Apology Email

The best apology emails have certain elements in common. Let’s explore these key elements right away. 

1. Empathize With Your Customers 

Whether you initiate a call or write apology emails to customers, empathy should be the backbone of the conversation. Instead of reacting to their problems, put yourself in their shoes and understand what they might be experiencing. Here is a small example that you can try. 

Instead of saying: 

“We’re extremely sorry for the inconvenience.”

You can empathize with the customer and say: 

“I am sorry to hear what you are going through. I can see how frustrating and difficult this must be.”

Practicing empathy is a great way to show the underlying emotions behind your apology. This will make customers feel their concerns aren’t taken lightly.  

Read More: 30+ Empathy Statements for Customer Service

2. Give an Appropriate Explanation

Some customers demand an explanation along with a sincere apology. They want to know what went wrong in the first place. 

To keep things transparent, you must offer an appropriate explanation to your unhappy customers. For example, if they are unable to shop from your website, explain the technical reasons why your website or payment gateways aren’t responding. 

When you offer a clear picture to the customer, it makes it easier for them to forgive you and move ahead. 

3. Offer Compensation (If Necessary)

Sometimes, a client apology email isn’t enough. You need to go the extra mile and offer compensation in the form of discount coupons, full refunds, service credits, freebies, etc. 

No matter how small, any compensation can be a token of gratitude that helps you create goodwill with customers. However, if you realize some customers are abusing your policy, it’s best to identify them and be careful with the perks you offer. 

Read More: 20 Customer Service Email Templates for Super-Fast Responses

How to Write a Customer Apology Letter (10 Templates)

To write a customer apology letter, you do not have to start from scratch. Explore these 10 customer apology email templates to appease your customers in minutes. 

1. Apology Email to Customer Complaint 

If you have customers, you will naturally have complaints. However, how quickly you apologize for the inconvenience and resolve the issue can make all the difference. 

Whenever you receive a complaint, it is important to respond immediately to let customers know you value their time and that their problems are taken seriously. After writing apology emails to customers, you can use help desk software to create a complaint ticket. This will allow customers to track their complaint’s progress in real-time. 

2. When a Product is Delivered Late

No matter how much we hate to admit it, delays happen. Sometimes orders get misplaced, or the weather plays its own part. According to a study by Oracle, 13% of customers said they would never order from the retailer if the delivery is late.

Failing to deliver a product in time is almost like not living up to your promise. Moreover, it can hamper the customer experience and make them think twice before reordering from your brand. You can keep this customer service apology email template handy for such situations. 

3. Delay In Response 

All customers have one thing in common – they hate delayed responses. According to a Statista report, 62% of respondents said they expect businesses to respond to their emails within 24 hours. 

It can be overwhelming to keep pace with your inbox in today’s fast-paced world. However, if you keep a customer complaint hanging for days, it can prove to be disastrous. You can refer to the below template to write an apology email to the customer for delay. Make sure you do not over-apologize as it can make things uncomfortable. Also, you must offer a sincere justification for your delayed response. 

Pro Tip: You can use a help desk ticketing system to ensure no customer message can slip through the cracks. For instance, you can prioritize urgent tickets to keep them in sight. 

4. Apologizing For an Unexpected Outage

When your business encounters an unexpected outage, it is obvious to receive hundreds of customer emails or calls. But you can save your agents’ day and avoid all the extra work by being just a little proactive. 

Whenever your business encounters any unexpected outage, such as server or website downtime, you can share a proactive email with customers and inform them in advance. You can refer to this sample email apology to keep your customers in the know-how. This will allow them to adjust their expectations instead of bombarding you with queries. 

5. Apology Email to Customer for Sending Wrong Invoice

Invoice mistakes can happen with any business. While most clients are understanding, others can get really frustrated. As long as something like this is rare, it should not be a matter of worry. 

Whether the incorrect invoice was created electronically or on paper, you must apologize to the customer. Communicate clearly about the changes and attach the correct invoice in your apology letter. 

6. Mass Apology Email Template

Some actions taken by your business can impact a majority of customers. For example, you may launch a product and later realize one of the features does not work. Similarly, you may share incorrect information with your audience via email. 

In such a scenario, writing an apology email to all the impacted customers makes sense. However, you don’t have to write specific apologies to each and every customer. You can simply use this mass apology email template, add it to your email management tool, and update thousands or millions of customers in seconds. 

7. Apologizing to a Dissatisfied Customer

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” 

If you have dissatisfied customers, don’t worry. This quote by Bill Gates will offer some ray of hope. Unhappy customers can shed some light on your improvement areas and help you become a customer-centric brand. 

Whenever you share a CSAT survey with customers asking for their feedback, it is important to get back to those who shared poor ratings. You can use this customer apology email example to let them know you value their feedback and dig further into the reason behind their dissatisfaction. 

Read More: Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 100+ Questions & Examples

8. When an Agent Is Unfriendly or Impolite 

We all have encountered service reps who did not show the best of their behavior. However horrific that feeling might be, we need to understand that at the end of the day, they are human beings with emotions. 

This professional apology email template will help your business make amends and possibly retain the customer. Since we know that a single tweet about such behavior can grab millions of eyeballs, it’s best to please the offended customer. To make it up to them, you can even share relevant discount coupons or offer freebies. 

9. Apologizing When You Missed a Customer Appointment 

Businesses usually complain about appointment no-shows. But when the reverse happens, your business reputation is at stake. When an appointment is missed by an employee, it can make the customer feel unvalued and question your professionalism. 

So what can you do if you have committed such a blunder? The first thing is not to feel guilty as such things can happen. The next step is to apologize to the customer at the earliest and make them understand the reason. This will help the customer get the complete picture and allow you to win their trust back. 

10. Shipping a Defective Product to the Customer

When customers receive an ordered product, their excitement is at its peak. This excitement can soon be shattered when they discover the defective product. 

Whether the product got damaged in transit or was defective even before packaging, you must apologize to the customer for the negative experience. With this apology email for bad customer experience, you can give your users the option to reorder the same product or order any similar product. This will ensure the customer feels valued and your revenue isn’t impacted either.  

Customer Apology Email Templates to Win Their Trust Back

Any business that fails to apologize and take ownership of its mistakes comes across as insincere and uncaring. We are sure you would not want to be a part of that list. 

Writing apology emails to customers is not rocket science. All you need to do is keep some basic elements in mind. In addition to a professional apology, you must empathize with customers, give an appropriate explanation, and offer suitable compensation if needed. 
With our thoughtfully designed apology email templates, you can get started immediately. You can use ProProfs Help Desk to create endless response templates and send them to customers in a few clicks. Ready to make every apology count?