Winning Back Trust: How to Write Customer Apology Emails?

“Have you shipped the wrong product to your customer and is he angry?” or maybe the quality of your service wasn’t nice, and you are concerned that you might lose him?” I also faced such issues. There’s no way that changes the fact that you did a mistake, but you can rectify that for sure. How? Send an apology email to the customer and restore your relationship with him.

That’s what I did! And the best part is most of the time, customers do understand and accept your apologies just by saying that “It’s ok!” or “Thanks for understanding! It’s fine.”

Here, in this blog, I will discuss what an apology email actually is, and how to write it with different scenario-based examples that you can use for reference. So, let’s dig in.

Why Write Apology Emails to Customers?

Even the best company makes mistakes. It’s all about accepting, rectifying, and learning from it. When something undesirable happens from your side resulting in customer dissatisfaction, the first thing you should do is admit your mistake. Then write a business apology email to that customer and it costs nothing. It will turn the table and the dissatisfied customer will appreciate your effort. Such an effort not only saves your company’s reputation but also increases the loyalty and affection of your customers towards your brand.

Here’s I have listed down some important points to keep in mind while writing an apology email to any customer. These tips are also helpful to get an idea on how to respond to negative reviews when you are responsible for the dissatisfaction.

Accept your faults first and never give excuses
Explain what went wrong from your side
Let them know that your team is working on it to fix those issues
Make them convinced that such mistakes will never happen from your side

How to Write Apology emailers: Tips & Tricks

Well, how will you apologize? It’s the same way we say sorry to our partners. Can you do it? Ok. Let me explain!

Here are some tricks to make them feel that you really mean it!

Express empathy
Repair your mistakes
Ask for Customer feedback
Occasional follow-ups are good

Don’ts:

Be vague while explaining
Blame others or even the customer
Send the apology mail late
Keep the customer waiting for a fix

Now, let’s delve deeper into the intricate practice of making apologies.

1. Admit Your Mistake

Keep your ego outside and just accept your mistake. Admit that it was you who screwed up in delivering the right product or failed to respond to his complaint. Write the apology email in such a way that clearly expresses who the victim (customer) is and who is the offender (you or the company).

Taking complete responsibility for your mistake is the key here. If you use phrases such as “I’m so sorry, but…” or “I’m sorry if you are feeling…”, you might as well bid farewell to your customers. These expressions can come across as dismissive and result in further negative repercussions.

2. Explain, Don’t Give Excuses

It’s your chance to make customers feel that you actually understand what went wrong, you really regret it, and are ready to solve the issues as soon as possible. Try to View the situation from the customer’s point of view and contemplate the choices and behaviors that resulted in the mistake.

So, explain everything in your email to show that the mistake was unintentional and very unlikely to occur. Although it can be concise, the objective is to re-establish trust, hence ensuring that it remains transparent.

3. Be Empathetic

Please understand that your customer got affected by your mistake. Your customer also wants to tell you the same. So, in your email, give him a sense of assurance that you really understand that he is upset and your mistake has got him in trouble.

Add a tone of empathy while you are writing to that customer. It motivates the customer to move on and can even reinforce the connection between both of you.

4. Repair What Went Wrong

Once you understand the cause of the mistake, it’s necessary to show the customer that you have learned from the incident and implemented measures to prevent it from recurring in the future. Make him feel that you will always walk the extra mile to restore the relationship.

At this stage, you can offer him compensation. It can be discounts, attractive deals, replacements, or even refunds as per the choice of that customer.

5. Ask for Feedback

When you send a business apology mail to the customer, it’s a great idea to add the feedback option there. It can be a win-win situation for you. How? Let me explain.

On one hand, your customer will feel that you care about what he thinks about the company and its services and want to pass on his feedback to the customer service department. On the other hand, he will communicate all his anger and dissatisfaction through your internal channels rather than going to social media and writing about your mistakes.

6. Follow-Up if Required

Based on the circumstances, it might be appropriate to send a follow-up email to ensure that the customer is content with your apology. You can also communicate what initiatives you have taken to make sure that such mistakes never happen in the future.

Following up after sending an apology email to customers is crucial because it shows that you are taking responsibility for the situation and that you are committed to resolving the issue. A sincere apology can go a long way in rebuilding trust with the customer, but a lack of follow-up can undermine that effort.

Some Apology Email Templates for You!

To simplify the process, here I have compiled some examples of apology emails to customers that your customer service team can use as inspiration.

Apology Email for Providing the Wrong Information

You can send such apology emails to customers when you give wrong information to them about anything related to your company, products or services, pricing, etc. This may happen for different reasons like, any kind of human error or wrong data. The email typically acknowledges the mistake and offers a sincere apology, along with a correction of the information provided.