As an employee or customer service personnel, there are times when you might have made a customer angry by making a mistake or offering unsatisfied services.
It is a wrong move to make customers angry as it can affect a business.
Angry customers may decide to stop buying from you and instead look for another competitor to buy from.
In such a condition, you will be losing sales and revenue why your competitors will be making more profits.
Customers satisfaction is the bedrock of the success of any business and it is advisable to always satisfy your customers at all cost.
There is a popular statement that customers are always right.
This means no matter who is at fault, it is your duty as an employee or customer service person to make sure that your customer is happy at the end of the day.
This is to enable you to retain the customer.
In a situation whereby a customer is angry, the right thing to do is to offer an apology to the customer.
For an apology to be effective, it needs to be formal and professionally written.
Below are the ideal ways to write an apology email to a customer.
First, say “I’m Sorry”
The first thing you should write in an apology email is to say “I’m sorry”.
This shows that you are not on the defensive no matter who is wrong or right. It shows that your sole aim is to tender an apology.
“I’m sorry” is a word that has the ability to penetrate an angry person and make him/her feel better.
Saying you are sorry to a customer does not mean that you are weak or don’t know what you are doing, it simply means you want the customer to be happy and you also want to retain the customer.
Admit you were Wrong
Dealing with customers require professionalism and tactfulness.
You may think that you are not at fault but when dealing with customers it is wise to admit that you are at fault to raise the customer ego.
If the mistake came from a co-worker, admit that your co-worker was wrong.
Take responsibility for the damages and admit the faults. Be sincere in your written and make the customer feel how sorry you are.
Explain What Happened
Admitting that you were wrong is not enough, you need to explain to the customer what happened, why and how it happened.
Let the customer know what went wrong and admit that such a situation will not happen again.
If the fault wasn’t directly from you, explain clearly to the customer who the fault was from and how the situation has been resolved.
Your explanations should be very clear and easily understood by the customer.
Let the Customer know the next Course of Action
After you have explained what happened, the next thing is to offer a solution to the problem and state the next course of action.
What are the things that you or your company will need to do to salvage the situation and to prevent future occurrence?
All this information should be stated clearly.
Ask for Forgiveness
Though you have said you are sorry at the beginning of your email, you still need to ask for forgiveness.
The idea is to make the customer feel good and be happy. It is to show the customer that you appreciate his/her patronage and you don’t want to lose him/her.
Ask for forgiveness and assure the customer that such a situation will not happen again. You can further make the customer happy by offering an incentive or a discount for him/her next purchase.
Make it Brief
Your apology letter should not be too long. Make it as short as possible.
Your customer may be busy and does not have all the time to read a very long email.
You don’t need to explain every detail of everything that happened. Only explain the key points in a few words so the customer can understand.
Do not take it Personally
You are human and so you may feel you are not wrong so why should you be apologizing.
You should also remember that you are a professional and as such, you should always conduct yourself professionally.
Do not take apologizing to a customer personally. Have it at the back of your mind that you are only doing your job.
Put the necessary effort and time into written the apology email and make sure the customer is happy at the end of the day.
Customer Apology Email Templates
Personal Apology Email
In a situation where you are directly responsible for what happened, you need to tender a personal apology to the customer.
Here is an example of a personal apology email;
Dear [Customer Name],
I’m sorry that I gave you an invalid answer to your product breakdown.
I assume full responsibilities for my actions and profoundly lament the inconvenience that it has caused you.
I misconstrued the issue you were having when we were talking on the telephone, and that is the reason I wound up giving you an answer that was erroneous.
That is no reason, and I am sorry for my unguided activities. Later on, I will make sure to make a few inquiries of my clients to completely comprehend the circumstance before offering an answer.
I trust you can pardon me and that we can keep on cooperating in the event that you have any more help needs.
Fill me in as to whether you have any inquiries, remarks, or concerns.
Best regards,
[your name]Mass Apology Email
This is an apology email sent to a mass number of customers. It happens when a situation affects many customers.
Here is an example of a mass apology email;
To our significant [Company Name] clients,
We’re grieved. At [Time] today, we encountered [Description of issue], which influenced [Number] clients.
This is what occurred: [Detailed clarification of wellspring of issue and status of resolution].
We recognize what it feels like to hang tight for goals to an issue, and we’re sorry we placed you in that circumstance.
We are fortunate to have you as [Company] clients and on toward the beginning of today, we didn’t satisfy our finish of the relationship.
To help improve it, we are completing a full examination on this issue, the main driver, the effect, and how to keep this from happening once more.
Thank you for your understanding with us as we dive in and return to helping you develop with [Product].
Sincerely,
[Executive name]
