9 Best Samples of Apology Emails and How to Write Them

apology emails

Trying to grow a career without making mistakes is impossible. It is human nature to err. If you intend to grow your career without making mistakes, then you’re probably thinking of the path with the least growth. This is why apology emails are something you’re going to write several times in your career, business, and even your personal life.

Like all professional emails, there are right and wrong ways to do it. There are mistakes that shouldn’t be made and points that shouldn’t be forgotten. Apology emails are essential to get right because they’re often permanent records of you admitting a wrong and, more importantly, trying to fix it.  

Acknowledging faults and apologizing for them is not easy, especially in a professional setting. Here are some reasons why you should send apology emails whenever the need for it comes. 

Importance of Sending Apology Emails

The importance of sending apology emails cannot be overstated. Not apologizing tells negatively about your character. And in a work setting, you want to avoid this at all costs. 

Here are some importance of apologizing in the workplace: 

  1. Builds character: Apologizing and owning up to one’s faults is a great judge of character. It shows and tells that you’re more interested in being a better person, employee, etc. than you are being right. 
  2. Paves way for career development: In line with building character, apologizing when wrong paves the way for you to develop your career.
  3. Allows you to learn more: By owning up to a fault or mistake, you’re opening yourself up to learning. If you don’t do this, you’re telling the parties involved that you’re stuck up and not interested in learning more.

How to Write an Apology Email

As said above, there are ways to write an apology email that tells well about you. There are boxes that must be checked regardless of whether or not you’re writing an apology email for a personal mistake, on behalf of your company or boss.  

In this section of the article, we’ll list ways to write an apology email that serves the purpose. 

Admit your faults

This seems obvious advice, but it is one of the most important parts of apologizing. Your email’s first sentence should admit your fault and acknowledge your mistake. 

In this segment of your email, you will explain your mistake and acknowledge the consequences of your actions. This is an example of how an email acknowledging your faults starts. 

“James, I want to apologize for messing up the settings on the new device. I should have asked your help before trying to do it myself. I realize my mistake caused you to go through more stress and that wasn’t my intention.”

Admitting your fault from the email’s beginning helps you maintain sincerity and humility. 

When admitting your faults, you mustn’t try to shift the blame to anyone or anything. Also, do not try to justify the reason behind the mistake. Simply say you’re sorry and move on. If the recipient inquires further about the motive, you should tell them.

Ask How You Can Help Fix the Problem if You Don’t Know How

After acknowledging your faults, the next step is to offer solutions to improve the problem. If you have a clear idea of how to solve the problem, then list out a step-by-step process of how you intend to do this, and not just that, actually doing them.  

In doing this, you explain to the recipient that you understand the severity of your actions. 

In a situation where you’re unsure how you can help, ask them what you can do to fix the problem or how you can make it up to them. 

An example of doing what you can to fix the problem is:

“I am sorry for manhandling your equipment and dropping them. I have called the manufacturer to inquire about any available warranty. Also, I’ll foot all the repair cost or the cost of a replacement. I have given your contact information to the manufacturer and he assured me he’d reach out to you in a day.”

Ask for when rounding it off

Depending on the severity of the mistake or offense, seeking forgiveness is a great way to round off the email.  By asking for forgiveness, you tell the recipient that you understand your offense’s severity and intend to make full amends.

More Tips to look out for When Writing an Apology Email

The tips listed in this section of the email are applicable in all scenarios where you’re required to send apology emails. Without further ado:

  1. Write it in Sincerity: If your email is just for show and you’re not sincere, there’s a chance your recipient is going to see right through it.  The best way to do this is to try to put yourself in the shoes of the offended party and write an email they’d be interested in reading.
  2. Your email should be straight to the point: An apology email should be as concise as possible. An ideal apology email should not be more than two paragraphs long. 
  1. Own up to your faults: We’ve talked about this since the beginning of this article. Do not try to shift the blame to anyone else. 

 Subject Line for Apology Email

A simple rule associated with email subject lines is that the recipient of your email should be able to tell the content of the email from the subject line. There are a few exemptions to this rule, but when it concerns an apology email, this is not one of the scenarios. 

Simple subject lines like:

“Please accept my apologies”

“Sincere apologies for…”

“We are sincerely sorry”

“I am honestly sorry for…”

Subject lines like these are important as it tells the recipients of your email exactly what to expect. 

Email Apology To Boss Template

Subject: Apology Email

Dear Mr. James,

Please accept my sincere apologies for (the reason for the apology email) I understand this caused a lot of inconvenience to you. In a bid to rectify the problem, I've contacted (solved or attempted to solve the problem)

I want to state again that I'm sorry and will do everything I can to ensure this does not repeat itself. 

Sincerely, 
Bond Sept.

Email Apology To Boss Sample

Subject: Apology Email

Dear Mr. James, 

Please accept my sincere apologies for sending the wrong proposal to the client. I understand that this has caused a lot of inconvenience to you.  To rectify the problem, I contacted the client, apologized for the error, and sent them the right proposal. 

I want to state again that I’m sorry and will do everything I can to ensure this does not repeat itself. 

Sincerely, 
Bond Frey

Email Apology to Boss Sample 2

Dear Samuel,

I am sincerely sorry for not showing up at the meeting on Friday. I know it was an important event for the company, and it was unprofessional of me to be absent. I am truly sorry. 

I let you and the company down, and I understand your disappointment in me. 
I take full responsibility for my actions, and I understand you expect more from me. It was wrong of me not to show up and, worse, not tell anyone before my absence. 

I have sent an apology email to everyone present in the meeting. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help. 

Sincerely,
James Bourne

Apology for Sending Wrong Email Sample 1

Dear Mr. Simon, 

I apologize for sending you an email that wasn't meant for you on the 7th of September. I’m checking my email log, and I discovered there was an unintended mix-up with the emails. 

I apologize for the inconvenience and the confusion I must have caused. 
The appropriate email has been sent to you. Please ignore all the information in the previous email. 

Thank you. 

Sincerely, 
James Bourne

Apology for Sending Wrong Email to a Client Sample 2

Dear Mrs. Jones

We’re sending this email to apologize for the email we sent yesterday. It wasn’t supposed to go out to all our customers, but due to a technical fault, it went out to everyone. 

We apologize for the inconvenience caused, and if the content seemed insensitive, please accept our apologies. 

We promise that this incident will not repeat itself. Thank you for staying with us. 

Sincerely, 
The team at BAXA.

Apology Email to a Client Sample 1

Dear Mr. James

Please accept my apology on behalf of our company Woculus. We are sorry to learn that the product delivered to you was damaged. Our collection team will reach out to you to arrange a pick-up date and time. We understand that this service is unsatisfactory, and we apologize.

We take full responsibility and can offer a new product or a full refund, whichever you decide. If you order a new product, as a gesture of gratitude, we'll return the shipping cost.

We assure you that this incident will not repeat itself. You're a valued customer, and your patronage is important to us. 

Yours Sincerely,
Team at Woculus

Apology Email to a Client Sample 2

Dear Sharon, 

I’m writing this email to apologize on behalf of our company and on behalf of the rude reception you received at one of our branches. This goes against everything we stand for as a company, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced. 

The attendant that was rude to you is undergoing disciplinary measures, and to take our apology a step further, we’ve included a $10 coupon in this email. 

You’re a valuable member of our company, and we value your continued patronage. 

Yours Sincerely, 
Jim from Baxa.

Apology for Technical Issues Sample 1

Dear Bosa, 

We’re sorry for the experienced you had logging in to your account this weekend.  Your account was authorized from an unregistered location, and the safety lock was automatically triggered. 

Also, we’re sorry that all efforts to reach customer support over the weekend failed. We cannot imagine the inconvenience we caused. Please be informed that the new IP has been registered, and everything is back to normal. 

Thank you for your continued patronage. 

Customer Support at Baxa

Apology for Technical Issues Sample 2

Dear Jane, 

We're sorry that your experience with our service this past weekend was below satisfaction. Our mission is to provide the best service to our customers, and we are sorry to have faltered in this regard. 

The problem has been fixed, and you can use our service without a hitch. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience you experienced. 

You're important to us, and we value your patronage. 

Yours sincerely, 
James Todd

Conclusion

Writing an apology email is something you can only avoid for a short time. We’ve listed all the information needed to write an apology email in this article and included some samples and templates for various scenarios to provide the head start you need to write the best apology emails.

When writing an apology email, the most important thing is to own up to your faults and offer solutions. 

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