Business Apology Letter Sample

Mistakes are a part and parcel of life and it is from these mistakes - as your elders probably told you several times - that you eventually improve. Although personal mistakes may be forgiven by the people around you, the same cannot be said of the business world. In the corporate arena, mistakes can be severely punished and losing a customer can be a pretty costly and messy affair. So if you have made an incorrect delivery to the customer, or the products sold were grossly off the quality benchmark, or there was otherwise the proverbial fly in the customer's soup, it makes good sense to dash off an apology letter to the customer before he starts bad-mouthing your company for the rubbish experience he presumably had.

What Goes Into an Apology Letter

As is the case of writing any formal letter, the business apology letter too must be peppered with words which try to flatter and please the reader. The letter must be written keeping in mind the basic corporate dictum about the customer being the king. So ensure that when you write the letter, you keep in mind, that this king is not just any old king, but one which is already made up his mind to put you under the guillotine in full public view. So nothing but true, remorseful words of let's-try-and make-things-right school of thought will work. So the business letter needs to be properly worded in a way that the customer finds it in his heart to forgive and forget the mistake you made.

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind.

• Try to put yourself in the position of the customer and empathize with what the poor customer went through. Try and understand his trauma and write the letter accordingly. This makes sure that the right sort of feelings come out.
• Do not use excuses. While most business apology letters will say that you need to clarify your position, I really don't think that the customer cares too much about what went wrong in your scheme of things.
• On the contrary, instead of making excuses, a positive approach would be much better. Try convincing the customer what steps you intend to take to correct the mistakes made.
• Let's be realistic here and not hide this fact under the cloak of euphemism. The customer will want something in the way of compensation for your mistake. So it makes sense to offer the customer something in cash or kind for what he has been through.
• Sign off respectfully with a hint that you would like to continue to work with the customer. This makes the customer feel as though the ball is in his court and massages his ego, big-time.

Here are some great writing tips.

A Sample Apology Letter

With these tips in mind, here's a template which you can use as a rough guideline.

Addresser Name, Addresser Address. Addressee Name, Addressee Address. Dear Mr. Addressee, It is with great regret and concern that we received your letter yesterday detailing the (particulars of the problem) that you had with our service. First of all, I would like to make an apology on behalf of the (staff/person who made the mistake). There has been a problem with (process) for a while now and let me assure to you that we are taking all the steps we can to change it. Our company has always valued its association with its customers and hence in case you have any other feedback about our services, feel free to contact me on my personal number (number). We look forward to continue our valued association with you. Thanking You, Addressee Name.

Keeping this format in mind will always help you ensure that your miffed customers are mollified and you do not lose them to a competitor hovering around. Customer loyalty is a prized asset for the business and should not be forsaken in any case.