For example, you can say “I know I really messed up by missing your party after I said I’d be there. Can I take you out for a drink or make you dinner at my place to make up for it? I want you to know how important you are to me. "
For example, you can say something like “I’d really like to meet, so I have a chance to apologize in person. Please let me know what day and time might work for you. "
For example, you can say something like “To make up for the fact that we missed your last shipment, we’d like to reship it at no cost to you, plus give you a 30% discount on your next order. "
For example, you can say “I’ve taken several steps to avoid missing project deadlines in the future. I have set up an online calendar, with reminders one week, one day, and 8 hours before the deadlines. I have also created more detailed to-do lists so each step of each project gets finished in a timely manner. "
For example, you can say something like, “Again, I apologize for the oversight I committed on this issue. I can assure I have taken steps to ensure this type of mistake never happens again. " Don’t say something like “I’m really, really sorry and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. " That’s too personal for a business apology.
For example, you can say something like “I’m really, really sorry that I hurt your feelings with my joke. I just wasn’t thinking when I said it and I understand why it hurt you. I’m sorry. "
For example, instead of saying “I’m sorry that this portion of the project got overlooked, but I had the flu and then my daughter was sick and then we had scheduled vacation,” say something like “I’m sorry that this portion of the project got overlooked. I have taken steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. "
A business letter of apology should be mailed, but you can hand deliver a personal apology. If for some reason you absolutely can’t sign a business letter of apology, at least insert a digital signature. Some word processing software will let you actually sign in the document. You can also sign your signature on a piece of paper, scan it into your computer, and save it as an image to insert into such letters.
