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Apology Over Email

An email apology may be appropriate when time is of the essence, everyone needs to receive the same message at the same time, there is a lot to say, the apology is formal, or little response is expected. A perfect apology provides details of the situation, acknowledges harm done, takes responsibility, recognizes the role in the situation, includes regret, asks for forgiveness, promises it won't happen again, and offers restitution if possible. The SPASS model structures apologies as Situation - Problem - Action - Say Sorry and is effective for email apologies.

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86 views

Apology Over Email

An email apology may be appropriate when time is of the essence, everyone needs to receive the same message at the same time, there is a lot to say, the apology is formal, or little response is expected. A perfect apology provides details of the situation, acknowledges harm done, takes responsibility, recognizes the role in the situation, includes regret, asks for forgiveness, promises it won't happen again, and offers restitution if possible. The SPASS model structures apologies as Situation - Problem - Action - Say Sorry and is effective for email apologies.

Uploaded by

askara25
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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When is an apology via email appropriate?

It’s not always possible or practical to meet someone in person. Apologizing on the phone can be difficult
if you don’t know the other person, or if you’re just not very good at apologizing over the phone.
But, when: …

Time is of the essence


You want everyone to get the same apology at the same time
You have a lot to say
Your apology is formal
You want or expect very little to nothing in return

…then an email might be appropriate.

The perfect apology


I found this via Google. If your apology contains the following…:

give a detailed account of the situation


acknowledge the hurt or damage done
take responsibility
recognize your/the company’s role in the situation
include a statement of regret
ask for forgiveness
promise that it won’t happen again
provide a form of restitution (if possible)

… it’s pretty much a perfect business apology. Here are a few phrases to get you started, related to some
of the above categories:

Apologize
1. Please accept my apologies.
2. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to..
3. (I’m) sorry. I didn’t realize the impact of…
4. Please accept our deepest apologies for…
5. Please accept my sincere apologies for…
6. Please accept this as my formal apology for…
7. Please allow me to apologize for…
8. I would like to express my deep regrets for…
9. I would like to apologize on behalf of our company.
10. Please accept my apology for…
11. I apologize for my failure to…
12. I’m particularly sorry for…

Acknowledge/recognize
1. We appreciate that this caused you inconvenience…
2. I understand that our actions meant…
3. I can imagine that you felt like…
4. We see that our actions impacted you unnecessarily…
5. As a result of our decision, our relationship was affected…

Explain
1. In our efforts to optimize our distribution process, we overlooked…
2. The defect/problem was caused by…
3. The error was due to…
4. Our internal communication failed. As a result…

Promise
1. We’re convinced that the changes we’ve implemented will prevent this from happening again.
2. In the future, our focus will be on…, so that this situation won’t repeat itself.
3. We’ll be increasing our efforts when it comes to…, so that in the future…
4. We’ve increased our efforts to ensure that…
5. I can promise you that the highest quality standards will be met going forward.

The SPASS model


When it comes to writing the email, structuring your email can be difficult. The SPASS model is perfect for
email apologies. It’s simple and easy to remember. SPASS = Situation – Problem – Action – Say
Sorry. That’s it. Finally, I apologize for keeping you from what you were doing, with another very long
post.
Be great!

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