Mistakes happen. No matter how organized or well-trained your team is, something may still happen to inconvenience a customer. In these cases, an apology email to the customer affected is a must to build or maintain a relationship of trust.

But here’s the tricky part: apologizing is hard! We’ve all felt it – the urge to defend ourselves, to convince others that what we did was just a momentary mistake and not a regular occurrence or an attribute of our character. And that’s why history is full of half-hearted apologies or non-apologies that have left people frustrated (especially when coming from companies that get exposed on social media).

So, to help you write a good apology letter to your customer (or email – they’re used interchangeably here), we carefully crafted a template you can use. You can also find tips on how to write an apology email to customers, so you can modify the template or write the email on your own.

How to write an apology letter to a customer

8 tips for writing apology emails:

1. Be proactive. Contrary to customer complaint response emails, an apology may be your own initiative. Imagine that the customer received a faulty product or your software crashed. And yet, the customer doesn’t send a formal complaint – they may have just decided not to purchase from you again or not to renew their contract next year. Then, it’s up to you to send them an apology that will resonate.
2. Acknowledge your mistake. If you’ve decided you need to apologize, there’s no reason to defend your company or start making excuses. Simply own that your team has erred and explain what happened without appearing as though you’re trying to underestimate the cost of the mistake. For example, don’t use our opening phrase “mistakes happen”; while it’s true, it also dismisses the customer’s rightful annoyance.
3. Say ‘I’m sorry’, period. Often, whatever comes after ‘I’m sorry’ has the potential to negate the apology. “I’m sorry you feel this way” may be interpreted as putting the blame on the other person. “I’m sorry if I made a mistake” may sound like you haven’t really acknowledged you made a mistake. It’s important you genuinely apologize, so put the period at the right spot.
4. Avoid being authoritative or pushy. Granted, it’s annoying when others reject your apology, but it’s their prerogative. Avoid phrases like “Please accept my apology” or “Be advised that our company doesn’t do this often.” Apologize properly and let customers decide what to think and how to respond.
5. Inject some self-deprecating humor, if the mistake isn’t sensitive. Sometimes, the mistake your team made (or an occurrence that inconvenienced customers) isn’t too serious (e.g. you sent a promotional email with the wrong links). In this case, it’s fine to write an apology email that’s more fun and light-hearted than serious.
6. Take actions to rebuild broken trust. This is an important aspect of your apology letter to your customer. It shows you’re not all talk. Action plans, financial reimbursement, discounts, exclusive access to something are all good ideas when possible.
7. Send the email from the right person. Who apologizes depends on the severity of the mistake. For a serious mistake, the email should be read and signed by an executive – or a team leader at least. Apologies for less serious mistakes could be sent by a team member or from the corporate email in the case of mass apology emails.
8. Be humble. Even if you follow the tips above, your attitude may spill over into the tone of your apology email. So, before you start writing (and after you’re done), take a step back and try to get into your customers' shoes to understand how they must be feeling or get a second pair of eyes to review what you’ve written. Empathy is critical for humility. 

How to use our apology email to customer template

We’ve created customer apology email templates for four different scenarios:

1. Apologizing for a serious mistake to an individual customer
2. Apologizing for a minor mistake to an individual customer
3. Apologizing for a serious mistake to multiple customers
4. Apologizing for a minor mistake to multiple customers

Keep in mind that the tone in the apology emails for minor mistakes is cheeky and fun, but may not be right for your brand. Be sure to modify the tone to match your company’s voice.

Any words included in brackets are placeholder text you can replace with whatever makes most sense for your business (or remove altogether if it doesn’t apply to you). Whenever you see these symbols {}, you can place a link over the enclosed words.

Feel free to modify this template as you see fit.

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1. Apology email template to customer (for a serious mistake)

2. Apology email template to customer (for a minor mistake)

3. Apology email template for serious mistake to multiple customers

4. Apology email template for minor mistake to multiple customers

7 examples of an apology letter to customer for mistakes

Using our templates above, we created examples for common business scenarios.

1. Apology email for a software malfunction

Hi Mr. Briggs,

I want to apologize for our extended downtime yesterday. As stated in our SLAs, our team guarantees 99% uptime every day, and it was one of the few cases we failed to uphold our standard. I realize we caused operational problems to you and I’m very sorry.

This was likely caused by a malfunction in our own servers, so we’re actively trying to minimize the possibility of this happening again.

In any case, we’ll do our best to make sure this doesn’t happen again. As an additional apology, you can use our add-on features for a month for free. Let me know if you’d like any help or more information.

Thank you for your patience. We’ll make sure we grow and learn from this.

Eva Jones

Director of Operations

2. Mass apology for email issue

Hi Suzie,

We blew it!

You may have noticed that the links in our latest newsletter don’t work – this was an annoying slip-up on our part. Sorry!

If you want to see our newsletter (properly this time), click {here}.

We promise to be more careful and eat all our vegetables from now on.

Zoe from Marketing

3. Apology email for inadequate service

Hi Ms. Short,

I want to apologize for not being able to solve your issue yesterday. Our team tries to offer high-quality customer service, but we failed this time. I realize it’s frustrating to wait for your order a whole month and then not get any help in tracking it. I’m very sorry.

This was likely caused by changes in the software we use to track orders. My team will work to better integrate and learn the new system. On that point, I was able to track your order after our call and you’ll have it in two days time.

We’ll do our best to ensure this doesn’t happen again. As an additional apology, we’re sending you a 20% discount for your next order. You can use this code: DFGRVHR49678

Thank you for your patience. Let me know if I can help in any way. 

Kyle

4. Apology email for call no-show

Hi Duncan,

I want to apologize for the mixup with our call this morning. I realize this caused issues in your schedule and I’m very sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.

If you would still like to talk, would you be available tomorrow morning at 9am? 

Thank you for your patience and hope to speak to you soon.

Nala

5. Apology email for defective product (B2C)

Hi Diana,

On behalf of our company, I want to apologize for sending you a defective item. Our team tries to implement effective quality control for our products, but we failed this time. I realize it was frustrating for you and I’m very sorry.

As a way to make amends, we’ll be reimbursing you for the full amount you paid, including delivery costs. If you’d still like to purchase the item from our site, let me know so I can place an order for you with a 20% discount.

Thank you for your patience and I apologize again. 

Jade

6. Apology email for a rude customer service agent

Hi Blake,

I want to apologize for my colleague’s behavior in your call yesterday. Our team tries to offer high-quality customer service, but we failed this time. You were right to be angry and I’m very sorry.

After talking with him, I realize his dismissive attitude was likely caused by his inexperience with handling complex issues. I take my share of responsibility for not preparing him properly on this front. Here at Acme, we believe in growth and second chances, so I’ll work with my team on providing better training and coaching.

Regarding your issue, my other colleague told me he was able to resolve it for you. Should you need anything else, I’d be happy to help you.

As an additional apology, here’s a {$15 Amazon coupon}. 

Thank you for your patience.

Lily

7. Apology email for offensive behavior of customer service agent

Hi Troy,

I want to apologize for my colleague’s behavior in your call yesterday. Here at Acme, we don’t tolerate this kind of behavior, but we failed to protect you this time. You had every right to be angry and I’m very sorry you had to go through this experience.

I’d like to mention my colleague has been let go. It was the only thing that made sense after we listened to your recorded call. I know this doesn’t make up for your rightful frustration, but we promise to do anything possible to keep these situations from happening in the future.

Regarding your issue, I’d be happy to resolve it for you. Please let me know if we should hop on a call at your convenience. 

Thank you for your patience and I sincerely apologize again.

Bob