Apology statements: how to apologise to a customer (2024)

Mistakes happen. Errors occur. Maybe the customer receiveddamaged goods, suffered a billing error, or was a victim of a service outage.Whatever the reason, you now need to apologise to your customer.

All too often, though, saying ‘I’m sorry’ alone isn’t enoughto appease a slighted customer. It comes across as insincere and perfunctory.This problem is exacerbated when the interaction is happening via live chat,with no vocal or physical cues to convey your candour.

This is where effective apology statements become essential. So, here’s how to apologise to your customers via live chat.

1. Conveying understanding

When you need to apologise to a customer, it’s tempting to dive straight in and get the ‘I’m sorry’ out of the way. But how can you apologise for a problem you don’t even understand?

The first of the apology statements should involve generating an understanding of the issue and validating the customer’s feelings.

Apology statements:

2. Accepting responsibility

After proving that you understand the problem, comes the apology. It’s not enough to simply type ‘I’m sorry’ and be done with it. In fact, there are a lot of ways that this can go wrong.

The key to these apology statements is two-fold. First, don’t hide from the responsibility or shift the blame. Second, tailor each apology to each customer and each issue.

Apology statements:

3. Explain and solve

Saying sorry for theproblem in customer service is not enough of an apology, however. There’s morethat needs saying. Apologies are all well and good, but you still need to provethat you mean it.

The more you apologise to a customer, the less it means. It’s only effective if you solve the problem. So, explain why the problem occurred and how you are addressing it — for this customer personally, and to prevent a recurrence.

Apology statements:

4. Gratitude

Finally, you should always end your apology by showing gratitude to the customer. Thanking the customer is a great way to turn the experience from a frustrating issue, into water under the bridge. This is also a good opportunity to reiterate your apology.

The customer has taken the time to get in touch, sit throughthe chat with you, and allow you to make things right. By thanking them, youshow the customer that you appreciate this, and start to return the chat to astate of positive equilibrium.

Apology statements:

Anti-apology statements

That’s how to apologise to a customer. But there are few pitfalls to be wary of. As a bonus, here are a few statements you should avoid.

• I’m sorry but…

‘But’ makes this statement an excuse, not an apology.

• I’m sorry you feel that way

You aren’t accepting responsibility, or even recognising there’s a problem or issue that you need to fix.

• We apologise for the inconvenience

It’s not personal, it’s robotic and unfit for purpose.

How to apologise to a customer

Ideally, you don’t want to have caused problems for yourcustomers. They would never need to complain, and you would never need toapologise.

But mistakes happen, systems crash. Apologies are a fact oflife. So, when the time comes, use efficient apology statements to get thingsback on track.

You have the apology statements, now get the chat channel.

Useful links

• - Five phrases to use with angry customers
• - 10 things you should never say in a live chat conversation
• - Seven empathy statements for customer service
• - The most common live chat lies (and how to be more honest)
• - A live chat session: the perfect place to calm a storm in a teacup
• - Customer service conversation killers