What are the do’s and don’ts when contemplating apologizing to an upset customer? Learn how to disarm dissatisfaction authentically.

Crafting apologies effectively is an art, particularly in the areas of customer service and customer experience. Nevertheless, managing customer dissatisfaction successfully is a winning strategy, since a study proved that consumers are more than twice as likely to forgive a company that says it’s sorry as they are one that instead offers them cash.

5 important concepts need to be part of your customer service apologies:

1. Show that you are really sorry: if your apologies aren’t authentic, you’ll be better off not apologizing.
2. Validate your dissatisfied customer’s feelings: you don’t have to agree with the emotions felt by your customer, but you do need to let the customer know they’ve been heard and you understand how they feel.
3. Explain what happened: you need to write a full explanation of the situation as you understand it, making sure to address all the points the customer has raised, to let them know you interpreted the situation correctly.
4. Admitting your mistakes: you need to admit your mistakes. If you plan to tell the customer they are partly responsible for the situation, then just don’t apologize.
5. Explain what you will do differently: to reassure the customer that this situation won’t happen again, clearly explain what you will do differently next time.

Source: https://www.helpscout.net/blog/how-to-apologize/