Email templates / Support apology

How to write a customer support apology email

A good support apology has three parts: say what went wrong, say what you did about it, and say what happens next. Everything else is decoration.

Copy-ready templates

Replace the [brackets] with your details. Change the tone to fit your relationship with the reader.

Slow reply

Hi [Name], I am sorry it took us so long to get back to you. That is not the service we want to give. Here is the answer to your question: [answer]. If anything is still unclear, reply here and I will look at it today.

A mistake on our side

Hi [Name], you were right, and I am sorry. We made a mistake with [issue]. I have already [fix]. To make up for it, I have added [gesture]. Thank you for telling us.

Outage

Hi [Name], I am sorry for the trouble earlier. [Service] was down between [time] and [time] because of [short cause]. It is fully working again and we are [prevention step]. Please tell us if you still see any problem.

Tips

Own it in the first sentence. Do not start with "unfortunately".
Be specific about the fix. Specific builds more trust than "we are looking into it".
Keep the apology proportionate. A big apology for a small issue sounds odd.

Or rewrite your own draft in one keystroke

Typing a quick draft and fixing the tone is faster than starting from a template. This is a real rewrite from NudgeWrite, using the Friendly tone:

Rough draft

sorry ur issue took so long, its fixed now

After NudgeWrite (Friendly)

Sorry it took so long, but your issue is now fixed!

Select your draft in Gmail, Outlook, Zendesk or any text box, press Cmd+E (Ctrl+E on Windows), pick a tone and click Replace. 50 free rewrites, no card.

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More templates

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