Apology letters are given a lot of importance in the business world. Many businesses believe in apologizing for creating any kind of inconvenient situation for their customers. These letters never let down the business rather; they strengthen the relationship between the customer and the business.

Sometimes, the business is unable to deliver the product to its customer for a specified amount of time. The customer may write a complaint letter to the business. The best way to rectify the mistake of delaying the shipment of the product is to write the apology letter.

An apology letter is written in businesses in a formal way. Writing this letter shows that you value the reader.  The one thing that you should always keep in mind when it comes to writing an apology letter is to write it on time.

Apologizing late or writing an apology letter with a lot of mistakes can put you in trouble instead of sorting things out between you and your customers.

How to write an apology letter?

1. Format the letter well:

The format of the letter should be formal and professional looking. If you don’t know about the right format to structure your letter in, search for one and then go ahead with it.

2. Add proper subject:

The subject of the letter should be written in clear words. This enables the reader to know the purpose of writing the letter. It is one of the best approaches to write any type of formal business letter.

3. Apology in the start:

Since it is a formal letter, it does not require any unnecessary detail to be added. You can start the body of the letter with the apology statement straight.

4. Admit your mistake:

Admitting your mistake is a very positive gesture that every customer likes. If you think you have wronged the customer by delaying the shipping of material due to any reason, you should admit that. Also, assure the reader that you are not going to do that again as you value your customers more than anything.

Sample Letters

#1

With extreme regret, we would like to confirm you that we have received your letter stating that the materials have not been delivered yet. Thank you for sending us all the details regarding the order.

We have just touched base with our warehouse and they can confirm that the order is still sitting in the warehouse and is yet to be dispatched. There has been a delay in the dispatch due to a technical glitch in our system. Please accept our sincere apologies. We are happy to pay for any penalty or fine required.

#2

This letter is regarding the order number E25. We are extremely sorry for the delay in delivery of the materials. We were flooded with unexpected orders during this month and due to short of resources, we were not able to complete them all. Our production runs have been slower than usual resulting in late or no deliveries at all.

We have hired extra staff to make up for this delay and running additional production runs. We have planned to make up for this dispatch in the next three days. we are sorry for the trouble caused.