Example of a formal letter of apology. How to write an apology letter

Regardless of content, style business letter should be friendly, partnership in nature, which would combine natural ethical standards human relations and the interests of the cause, the importance of their own official position was not emphasized.
All correspondence can be divided into:
Formal letters - prepared on behalf of the enterprise, firm to another firm and which are of an official nature.
Informal letters - consist after an official acquaintance, after the establishment of partnerships by workers of the same level (for example, a sales manager of one company similar to a manager of another company) with a proposal for a personal meeting to discuss business issues, exchange information.
The letter should begin with an appeal. The problem of choosing treatment is rather delicate. The most common are the following calls:

Dear / a (name and patronymic)!
Dear / a Mr (Madam) ... !
Dear gentlemen (colleagues)!
Dear sir!
Glibokoshanovny (name and patronymic)!
Dear Sir...
In modern business correspondence it is customary to indicate the title of the addressee or indicate his profession.
High-ranking minister!
Dear (Honorable) Professor!
Dear teacher!
Honorable Mr. Rector!

We should not forget that in the Ukrainian language addresses are used in the form of the vocative case. The absence of an address can be interpreted as an insult to the addressee and a violation of the etiquette of business correspondence.

Appeal.
It is very important to carefully consider the initial phrase of the letter, on which a lot can depend, because it is he who must convince the addressee of the legitimacy of writing the letter. If this letter is a response to a request, an invitation, a letter of gratitude, then already in the very first sentence it would be appropriate to politely express gratitude.

We express our sincere gratitude for...
Thank you for your email with tips and tricks..
First of all let me thank you for...
This letter is a manifestation of our gratitude for...
Please accept our sincere (sincere) gratitude for...
We are sincerely grateful to you for...
Let me express my gratitude...
We are grateful for your invitation...
Thanks for the opportunity...

In the confirmation letter, you should use the following initial phrases:

We gratefully acknowledge receipt of the letter - answers...
We officially confirm our consent to...
In confirmation of our preliminary agreement (telephone conversation), we inform ...
Confirming receipt of your telegram...
We have received your letter of notification of... and we sincerely thank you.

Common introductory phrases in business letters include references to the previous letter, telephone conversation, event, meeting:

In response to your letter dated (date) ...
In response to your inquiry dated (date) ...
In accordance with the clause of the concluded agreement.
According to the contract (arrangement) ..,
Referring to the advertisement in the newspaper (magazine), we ask you...

Sponsors, clients, partners often have to make requests. There are many typical statements for their design:

Please inform us about...
We will be grateful if you confirm your participation in...
We are asking for a small donation to...
Please pay your bills urgently.
First of all, please inform...
We would be very grateful if you could communicate your decision as soon as possible.
Sorry for the extra worries, but would you be so kind as to give detailed written explanations about...
We ask you to carefully study our proposals and give a final answer.

In the business world, for various reasons (for example, you were late with a response for a few days, you were unable to complete an order on time, a complaint was received from customers, you were late for a meeting with a client), sometimes situations arise when you need to apologize, ask for forgiveness for the troubles that you were the addressee. In this case, the letter should begin like this:

We apologize for the unfortunate misunderstanding that happened...
We sincerely apologize for the delay in response.
We apologize for not being able to complete your order on time...
We would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to you.
Sorry, we're very inconvenienced that...
We sincerely apologize for being late to the meeting yesterday.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you through no fault of ours.
We apologize for the extra worries about...

In reminder letters, belonging to psychologically complex ones, it is necessary to politely, tactfully, delicately, unobtrusively indicate that the due date for paying the bill has expired.
Such letters should begin like this:

We consider it our duty to once again remind you of...
Sorry to bother you again, but we haven't received any response to the email dated (date).
Sorry, but we want to remind you to pay the bill for... We think that this is just a misunderstanding.
We are very sorry to have to remind you of...
We are forced to remind you that we have not yet received a paid invoice from you.
We would like to remind you...
Let me remind you that...

Sometimes delicacy does not give desired results, then you should be categorical and decisive.
This can be done like this:

Despite repeated reminders and measures taken, your debt has not been repaid, instead it continues to grow.
We consider it necessary to warn you of our intention to terminate the contract.
Due to the fact that you, despite our urgent request to pay off the debt, have not yet sent a paid check, we are forced to suspend the execution of all your orders.
All our attempts to force you to pay the debt were in vain, so we are filing a lawsuit in court.

The category of complex letters includes rejection letters. If you cannot give a positive answer, then say "no" should be reasoned, correct, friendly. Subject to these tips, the addressee will understand that you had no other choice.
Formulate a denial like this:

We have studied in detail the project proposed by you, we regret to inform you that we do not have the slightest opportunity ...
Unfortunately, we cannot accept your offer.
We're sorry, but we can't accommodate your request for some reason.
It is a pity, but given the complication of the situation, we cannot support your project.
We sincerely regret, however, the current situation does not allow us to...
I'm sorry, but we can't agree to...

Letter Completion
The choice of closing sentences is also very important and depends primarily on the content of the letter. You can repeat the gratitude expressed at the beginning of the letter, or simply thank you for your help, since the word "thank you" is the most common word of every decent businessman, entrepreneur, banker, every business person.

Let me thank you again...
We would like to once again express our sincere gratitude.
Thanks for the help.
Thank you again and we hope that...
Thanks for...

An appropriate and useful end of the letter is the assurance of the addressee as a psychological reinforcement of everything expressed in the letter:
We assure you that you can fully count on our support.
We will be glad to cooperate with you.
We would be glad to cooperate with you and look forward to your reply.
We will call you to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet.

A fairly common form of extremity in business letters is an expression of hope, expectation:

We hope that our offer will interest you.
We hope that the agreement will be mutually beneficial.
We believe that in the future we can become useful to you.
We look forward to close and mutually beneficial cooperation.
We look forward to establishing close contacts between our institutions.
We hope to receive your reply soon.

The final letter may be a request:

Please read carefully...
Please contact us urgently (call).

Of course, it will be polite if at the end of the letter you repeat your apologies for the inconvenience, delay in payment or being late:

Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience caused.
Once again, we apologize for this unfortunate mistake.
We sincerely apologize for...

We should not forget the farewell phrase. The following forms are most often used in letters:

Sincerely...
With gratitude and respect...
Sincerely and Best wishes...
We wish you success!

If you want to be successful, make sure your letter is perfect in both content and form. Letters should be printed on well-executed letterhead that is " calling card"of your organization, firm. Design and printing qualities are the details that will contribute to the creation good impression about you and your activities. Therefore, only high-quality paper should be used for letterheads. The envelope must also be blank in design; in size, it must be selected so that there is no need to compose a letter more than twice.

Business letters should not be too long. State your views should be clear, in fact, concisely.
An important condition for the success of the letter is the consistency and consistency of presentation. The logical sequence of presentation is achieved through a clear division of the text into paragraphs. When expressing an opinion, one should select language means that correspond to the norms of the literary language and are understandable to the addressee. You need to make sure that everything in the letter is appropriate. Therefore, to the level of serious business communication you can't go out without learning the etiquette of this realm.
Remember Golden Rule conducting business correspondence: courtesy, correctness, tact, reasoning.

Maybe you made a mistake and want to fix it... Keep it up! Even if this mistake was not intentional, then an apology letter is good way start fixing it, or help someone feel better. If you want to make sure your apology is effective and you don't cause more pain, then follow some of the tips below. To write a great apology, start with the first paragraph.

Steps

Part 1

State what you are writing about in the letter. This is good idea start by saying that this is an apology letter. This will help the reader to set themselves up emotionally in order to read the entire letter to the end. You do not need to keep him guessing about why you are writing at all and what you want to say.

• Write something like: "I wanted to write to you to apologize."

1. Point out your mistake. Now that you've indicated that you're apologizing, say what exactly you're apologizing for and why it was a mistake. Be very specific and to the point. By stating this openly, you will be able to convince that you understand what you have done.

   • For example, write something like this: “What happened last weekend was horribly inappropriate, disrespectful, and selfish of me. After proposing to Jessica, I turned all the attention to myself. I tried to steal your important point and it was wrong."

2. Admit how much you offended them. Admit that you offended them and that you understand how humiliating it was. good moment also note that you never had any intention of offending them.

   • Write something along the lines of: “Jacob told me that what happened not only ruined your feelings about the wedding, but made your honeymoon less enjoyable than it could have been. I hope you understand that this was not intentional on my part. I would like to go back and remember only the good things, but I ruined everything with my selfish behavior. I just robbed you of those good memories. Although I don’t know how you really are, I understand that what I did was the worst thing I could have done.”

3. Express your gratitude. If you want, although it is not necessary, you can highlight all the good things that have been done to you in the past. This will show that you really appreciate them, and that you really feel bad about what you did.

   • Write something like: “This is especially terrible for me, after you warmly welcomed me into the family. You not only showed great love for my brother, but also gave me support and kindness that I could not even expect. By hurting you in this way, it just defiles everything you have done for me, and I hate myself for it.”

4. Take responsibility. This is the most important part of an apology, but also the most difficult. Even if a person has made some kind of mistake, then it is not worth recognizing it in a letter. You need to openly and unconditionally acknowledge your responsibility for what you have done. You may have had reasons for doing what you did, but that shouldn't stop you from admitting that you hurt someone.

   • Write something like this: “I would like to explain why I did this, but I have no excuse. My motives, though good ones, are not important here. I take full responsibility for my selfish behavior and for the pain I have caused you."
   • Instead of making excuses for your actions, you should carefully explain your arguments. You can explain why you made a particular choice if you think it is necessary or that it might improve the situation. This should only be done if you think that by doing so you can endear yourself to the person you offended.

5. Offer a solution that will lead to change. It's not enough to just say you're sorry. You need to find a way to solve the problem in the future, which can really be an impetus for an apology. It's even better than writing that it won't happen again. When you offer a plan for change and a description of how you will do it, you show the person that you really want to improve the situation.

   • Write something along the lines of: “Just apologizing is not enough. You deserve more. When you get home, Jessica and I would love to have a house party to celebrate your return. This will be the final party after all the celebrations and will be 100% dedicated to your love with my brother. If you do not want, then it's okay, I just want to find a way to create for you those very wonderful memories which I have taken from you."

6. Indicate in the letter that you have a desire to have more good relationship in future. Don't ask for forgiveness right off the bat. Thus, you make demands on the person you offended, whether you did it on purpose or not. It is worth expressing your present desire, which will help you to better interact with each other in the future.

   • Write something like: “I do not expect your forgiveness, although I sincerely hope so. What I want to say is that I really hope that everything will work out for us. I would like you to be comfortable, or even good, when we are together. I want to earn back the relationship that was between us. And I hope that in the future, we can forget about the past and create many happy moments together.”

   Part 2

   Proper apology

   1. Don't promise to change unless you are 100% sure that you can achieve it. It is very important. If you think you can repeat a similar mistake, or if this behavior is inherent in your personality or habits, then do not promise to change. Most likely, you will repeat what happened, and no one will believe in your future apologies.

      Be careful in your choice of words. Apologizing is an art. We, by nature, do not want to do this, and constantly struggle with it. Therefore, in order to apologize correctly, you need to choose the right words. Some words and phrases may sound like an apology, but in fact, they only make the situation worse, as they show that you are not sorry, in fact. You may be reluctant to use such words, so be careful when writing such a letter. Here are some examples:

      • “Mistakes were made…”
      • Sentences with "if": "I'm sorry if I offended you ...", "I'm sorry if you feel bad ..."
      • "I'm sorry you feel this way..."

   2. Be sincere and yourself. When you apologize, there must be sincerity and truth in the words. If you can't, then it's worth waiting until you actually repent and feel sorry for what you did. In an apology, you should avoid the official style and stereotypes. No need to just copy the email from the Internet. Your letter should reflect the specifics of the situation that happened, so that the person you are addressing understands that you are aware of your guilt and why it is bad.

      Drop all expectations and assumptions from your letter. You don't want it to sound demanding, rude, and even more insulting. You also don't want to look like an accuser in your apology. Don't make assumptions about how they feel or why they are upset. After all, this way you can show that you do not understand what exactly happened. When using certain words, it is better to keep a modest tone and the impression that it is not you who is in control, but the reader. These are the types of words that will help you achieve forgiveness.

      Wait a day or two before sending it. If possible, wait a day or two before sending the email. You will be able to re-read it in a less emotional state than you were before.

7118 Letter of apology

This is a business letter, which expresses a request to forgive for the late execution of the order, being late for a meeting, accounting errors, violations of the terms of the contract, etc.

So, realizing your guilt, you must certainly apologize and take all necessary measures so that such unfortunate incidents do not happen again. For example:

Ladies and gentlemen! in a corporate concern.

We do not at all justify our inattention and goiters "we contact you to compensate you for the damage. We hope that you will continue to use our services, and we will make every effort to avoid such unacceptable misunderstandings. Once again, we apologize to Soyu.

TYPICAL turnover

Apologies for the delay in the delivery of goods

1 Sorry for the delay in delivery of goods This happened due to our fault sorry for the trouble caused

2 Your order from (date) due to the fault of the office manager did not reach our transport department on time. We apologize for the delay in the goods and assure that in the future special attention will be paid to your orders.

3 the employee who was responsible for fulfilling your order made the mistake of apologizing for the delay in the delivery of goods

4 Our Production Department incorrectly planned the schedule of shipment of the ordered goods and caused a delay Please excuse us for the delay in fulfilling your order

5 Due to production difficulties, we could not ship the goods you ordered on time and sincerely apologize to you for the delay

6 We have to ask you for forgiveness for the late execution of your order from (date)

7 We carefully reviewed all your orders and made sure that we made a mistake, for which we hope you will forgive us

8 Once again, we apologize for the extra trouble. We hope that this misunderstanding will have a negative impact on our future relations and you will continue to use the services of our company

9 We assure you that in the future we will make every effort to avoid such unpleasant omissions

Apologies for the delay in paying bills

1 Due to the negligence of the accounting department, your invoices were not paid on time Payment will be made. immediately Sorry for the delay

2 Your invoice dated (date) was incorrectly recorded by our accounting department and therefore left unpaid apologies for this unfortunate mistake, which we will correct immediately

3 Unfortunately, the bank did not fulfill our order to transfer money to you in a timely manner. We sincerely apologize for the late payment

4 We are very sorry that your last invoice remained unpaid for a long time We sincerely apologize for this inattention

5 through personnel changes payment has been made in our accounting department. very late Please forgive us

6 The move of our accounting department to a new office caused a delay in payment of bills We sincerely apologize to us

7 apologies for the confusion in our accounting and we promise to be more careful in the future

8 We sincerely apologize for the unfortunate mistake that occurred due to the negligence of our employee

9 Thank you for the reminder about the unpaid invoice dated (date) that was incorrectly registered. Please excuse that the vagueness in the work of our employees made you worry once again (for all the extra trouble for you).

10 After the phone call, we carefully reviewed the lists of unpaid bills and made sure that we made a mistake, for which we hope you will forgive us.

11 Once again we apologize (apologies) for the delay in payment And we assure you that in the future we will do everything possible to avoid such unfortunate omissions

Apologies for being late for the meeting, late response

1 We sincerely apologize for being late for the meeting yesterday

2 I am very sorry (sincerely sorry) that such a long-awaited and important meeting for me did not take place

3 I sincerely apologize (sorry) for making you waste your precious time

4 I was convinced that our meeting should have taken place on (date) Once again I apologize for the inconvenience caused and ask, if possible, to schedule a second meeting at a convenient time for you

5 I would be sincerely grateful if you agree to a second meeting I apologize for causing you trouble

6 I am very embarrassed for being late for a meeting.

7 I apologize (sorry) for the delay in responding to your invitation to participate in International Conference dedicated to the problem

8 I am very sorry that I could not respond to your invitation and thank you in time, but the fact is that

9 We sincerely apologize for the delay in responding due to

Attention this textbook has low recognition quality

letter of apology

An apology letter is one type of business letter. It is drawn up if the author wishes to apologize for any inconvenience caused to the addressee through his fault.

In order for the letter to be favorably received by the addressee, it must be sincere and not contain false information. It is not recommended to give all kinds of reservations or evasions, as well as to shift the blame on a third party. Only a frank admission of one's guilt is able to maintain further goodwill towards its compiler and, possibly, business contacts with him.

The best version of a letter of apology looks like this:

When composing a letter, phrases such as “We apologize for ...”, “Accept our sincere apologies ...”, “Let me apologize to you ...”, or “Sincerely sorry that ...” are used as standard when composing a letter.

The design of the letter on the letterhead of the compiling enterprise is welcome. An apology is signed by the head of the company or other responsible person, for example, deputy, acting or head of department.

Sample and example of an apology letter download (Size: 27.5 KiB | Downloads: 6 365)

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How to write an apology letter

There are many times in our life when people make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes can affect other people and it is not surprising that in this case, the blame will lie entirely with the offender. But after all, we all live, work, that is, we coexist together, so you will not have a place to hide. However, you always have a chance to apologize. Of course, you can follow the person and look for excuses, but it's better to apologize in writing- send a letter.

No matter how serious your mistake was, the fact remains that you are responsible for what happened and you know it. Some may simply not have the courage to stand in front of the offended and ask for forgiveness straight in the eyes, while others simply stand silent. If you fall into any of those categories, it's probably best if you let pen and paper do their thing. Forget about the computer and printing out the letter: everyone knows that a sincere apology letter should be written by hand.

Here are some tips to help you write an apology letter for any occasion:

Be respectful

If you want to gain a person's respect, then you must take the first step. Start with a friendly greeting and make sure you spell her/his name correctly. Any, even the most insignificant mistake can spoil the whole letter and, perhaps, you will never have the opportunity to apologize again.

Be sincere

If you are still hatching plans for how and where to hide in order not to apologize for what you have done, then this means that you do not regret at all! But if you do write this letter, then try to briefly and gently explain why everything turned out the way it did and not otherwise. Note that you shouldn't go overboard with excuses, because if the recipient feels that you are overprotective and making excuses a lot, then it will look like you are not sorry at all.

Look to the future

Accept that what's done is done, so try to be clear about the prospect of building a relationship. You can start by promising that the unpleasant incident will never happen again and asking them to forget about it. Understand that it can take time to apologize, especially if the offense is very strong. Still, a well-written, sincere apology letter can reduce resentment and provide new opportunities for reconciliation.

Reread the letter

Never send a letter as soon as you have finished it. Try to read it to yourself and listen to all the phrases - imagine that you are that offended person. Analyze whether you can immediately understand the meaning of your words and draw any conclusions if necessary. Try to understand how the recipient will feel when reading your message. Try to tune your message in such a way that it can play on the right notes, hit the right strings. Be sure to check your text for grammar and spelling errors.

There is nothing wrong with writing an apology letter, especially if you are investing deep meaning in every word that was written in the message. If this does not fix things, then he (a) is too hurt (a) or, even worse, he simply does not want to forgive you. Don't get upset and just give this person some time. The only important thing is that you really made an effort and took a step towards reconciliation.

As soon as the person accepts your apology, you can pat yourself on the back - the goal is achieved, but at the same time make a promise to yourself that you will not repeat the same mistake in the future. Letters of apology do not work so well when they are abused and trying to get maximum benefit from writing them.

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Category: office work

Have you had to write letters in situations where you need to show attention, show participation, express gratitude, etc. Such letters include letters of gratitude, letters of congratulations, letters of apology, letters of condolence, letters of invitation. What do you know about the features of their design and content?

Etiquette - a word of French origin, originally meant "label", "label". Etiquette is the rules of behavior of a cultured person, the most important tool for achieving communication goals and at the same time a manifestation of the general culture of a person. The rules of etiquette are used taking into account the characteristics of a particular communication situation.

Writing Business Etiquette(speech etiquette) - a set of stable language phrases that help the author of the letter to remain polite and friendly in any situation. The etiquette phrases in correspondence include the introductory address (“Dear.”), the final phrase (“Respectfully.”), phrases in the text of the letter with an expression of hope for further cooperation, etc. Any business letter contains elements of an etiquette nature in its structure. But besides the etiquette phrases that can be in any letter, there is a special kind of letters that can be called etiquette.

“Etiquette letters” is a collective concept, it includes several types of letters drawn up not in production situations, but in situations where you need to pay attention, show participation, express gratitude, etc.

Etiquette letters include letters of gratitude, letters of congratulations, letters of apology, letters of condolence, letters of invitation.

In general, etiquette letters are drawn up in the same way as business (service) ones. As a rule, etiquette letters are drawn up on a letterhead, signed by the head of the organization or other official, if this right is granted to him. In some cases, special forms can be used to write etiquette letters, for example, to draw up thank you letters(especially if these letters are a form of encouragement), to compose letters of congratulations or invitations.

If the etiquette letter is drawn up on a letterhead, the same details are used as in any other business letter: addressee, date of the letter, registration number, signature, mark about the performer.

Etiquette letters always contain an introductory appeal to the addressee:

If the letter is addressed to the team of the organization or a specific group of people, the appeal may be as follows:

When addressing VIPs (V.I.R. - very important person), the appeal “Dear. ". A particularly important person is considered not only high executive(member of the government, governor, mayor), but also an honored worker of science, art, a well-known public figure, deputy, head of an organization.

Letters of apology

When should you apologize in writing?

In the event that you offended a person or insulted him in some way, even involuntarily.

What should an apology letter look like?

Sincere and outspoken. It must contain only the truth. Any reservations, evasions, explanations of the reasons and circumstances are not appropriate here.

A sincere admission of your guilt is the best way to contribute to your complete forgiveness and the preservation of good relations between you in the future.

What if you were slandered, and you are not to blame for anything?

If you are accused unfairly, try to explain the situation without embellishment, which very often helps to clarify misunderstandings and restore the truth. Justify yourself, be very careful if the honor and dignity of another person suffers. If you are sure of his real guilt, it may be better to first sort things out with him, giving him a chance to apologize himself, thereby restoring the truth and somehow saving his reputation.

When should you apologize for an insult?

The letter should be taken only when finally calmed down, having put the nerves and mind in order. Otherwise, you will not be able to choose the right tone and the right words, your letter of apology will not achieve the desired goal.

The same applies to the unfair accusation against you. Take up a letter with explanations only when the resentment subsides.

An apology letter is one type of business letter. It is drawn up if the author wishes to apologize for any inconvenience caused to the addressee through his fault.

In order for the letter to be favorably received by the addressee, it must be sincere and not contain false information. It is not recommended to give all kinds of reservations or evasions, as well as to shift the blame on a third party. Only a frank admission of one's guilt is able to maintain further goodwill towards its compiler and, possibly, business contacts with him.

Writing rules

The best version of a letter of apology looks like this:

• expression of regret and deep concern in connection with the current situation;
• sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused;
• an explanation of the compiler's further actions aimed at eliminating the problem that has arisen and avoiding its recurrence in the future;
• a reminder of the great importance for the compiler of the fact of further joint cooperation with the addressee.

When composing a letter, phrases such as “We apologize for ...”, “Accept our sincere apologies ...”, “Let me apologize to you ...”, or “Sincerely sorry that ...” are used as standard when composing a letter.

The design of the letter on the letterhead of the compiling enterprise is welcome. An apology is signed by the head of the company or another responsible person, for example, a deputy, acting or head of a department.