How to Write a Business Apology Letter

The customer is always right even when they are actually wrong. But in business, customers drive company growth, so it is important to make sure that every encounter with the brand and its representatives leads to a positive experience. It’s impossible to please everyone all the time, so you can expect to hit some snags along the way. Anticipate these incidents, and be prepared to act quickly to de-escalate the situation and work towards making sure that an upset customer is appeased. Start with a letter of apology that restates the issue objectively. Acknowledge the company’s role in the situation, but for liability reasons, phrase your responsibility cautiously and positively. Let the customer know that reviewing your policies and procedures to avoid similar situations will be a priority. Offer the customer something tangible to make up for the inconvenience: a free gift, a discount coupon for the next purchase or a full refund of their costs.

When the customer complains about merchandise issues

  • We regret to hear of your issues with our (name of the product, including make, model), which was purchased from (name of the store, online website) on (date). The (product) is a result of years of planning and market testing, but we do understand that glitches happen. We sincerely apologize that our product did not meet your expectations and for your inconvenience. While we stand behind our products, we appreciate the feedback from customers like you who take the time to let us know of any areas of improvement that we should be looking at to keep on improving our services. We are sending you a gift card in the amount of $20 that you can use on your next purchase online or in any of our stores. We look forward to doing more business with you in the future.

When the customer complains about service issues

  • On behalf of (company name), we would like to apologize for falling short of our own standards of service. Our company was built on the premise that customers should always come first, so when our team failed to address your concerns to a productive conclusion on (date of incident), and you were made to wait several days for a response, it was an inexcusable breakdown of our communication system. Our team will meet to discuss this issue among others to determine where our process broke down and to make sure that we can prevent this incident from happening again. I will be sharing a copy of your notes and would really appreciate hearing more feedback from you should you have more insights to share. My direct line is (phone number), or I can be reached at (email address). I have also assigned my best (name of service) pros to handle your case. They will be in touch to make an appointment at your convenience so that we can work on correcting this situation to your satisfaction. The service will be free of charge.

 

Dealing with business customers

  • You have been a valued customer of (name of company) for XX years, and we truly value your business. Our companies have been through the up and down cycles of the economy, and we have continued to thrive. We are proud to be your partners in growth. However, we seem to have come to an impasse on the latest batch of orders for (name of products). It was not our intention to change the ordering and handling process midstream. As a long-time customer, you should have been given preference. We apologize for the oversight. We have initiated a STAR system to identify our most-valued customers, of which you are one so that our order takers will not make this mistake again. In the meantime, our team is currently expediting your order, and have been instructed to apply a 20 percent discount FOB on this order. We look forward to many more years of partnering with you.
  • 8 Sample Apology Letters to Customer
  • Formal Apology Letter Samples

Business apology letter featured

Business Apology Letter Samples

  • Dear Sir/Madam, I, on behalf of our company, would like to sincerely apologize for the unfortunate mishap that happened when it comes to our services a few days ago. We know that we have been unable to complete the assignment we have been given in the set time period, and for that, we completely apologize. Professionalism is a value we strive for, and the first step to achieve that in our case, would be to acknowledge our mistake, and offer you not only a refund, but to actually fulfill our assignment free of charge, so that we continue being on good terms with such a trustworthy client, in hopes that you will overlook such a small mistake, and continue using our services in the future. You can judge by the good reputation our company has, that mistakes like these do not happen very often, and that is why I am in the position to promise you that nothing similar will happen in the future if you give us a chance and continue using our services.

 

  • Dear Sir/Madam, I have been in the unfortunate position of learning about your recent unpleasant experience with one of our products. Since it is something that does not happen usually, I have decided to personally address the matter. First and foremost, we have stated plenty of times that quality is what we strive for, but you have to understand that mistakes can happen. It is only natural that there would be a defective product among the ones that are working perfectly fine, and have pleased many customers since their release. But we are not only working to make a few customers happy. It is our company’s motto that nobody leaves our premises unsatisfied. Thus, not only am I offering you a new Ready-To-Use product, to replace the defective one, but I am also offering you a 25% discount on your next purchase from our shop, to apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you.
  • Sample Apology Letters to Boss
  • Dir Sir/Madam, I know that your recent contact with our company has left you unsatisfied, due to some unprofessional behavior exerted in our company’s premises. I have to inform you that the person responsible for this behavior is no longer part of our company, and has been released from duty due to actions that do not comply with company standards. I would like to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you and would like to offer something that would hopefully make it up to you. We are offering a 25% discount for your next 3 purchases from our shop, of whatever item you choose. We hope that this would be enough for you to overlook such a behavior since we feel that it is unfitting of a company that supports professionalism to the very end. We keep making thorough checks on our staff to make sure that we have the best personnel available at your services, but sometimes mistakes are unavoidable by human nature. But we hope that you can continue picking us for your next purchases and overlook such an incident.