Claude prompt for an apology email to a customer

For small business owners, sole traders and customer-facing staff who need to say sorry properly and keep the customer.

A good apology is short, specific and followed by action. Most business apologies fail because they are vague ('any inconvenience caused'), defensive, or so long the customer stops reading. This skill gets Claude to ask what actually happened and what you can offer, then write an apology that names the problem, owns your part of it and makes the next step clear.

Copy the prompt Make my own version

What it's good for

Apologising to a customer whose order arrived late or wrong, with what you have done to fix it and when they can expect it
Owning up to a mistake on an invoice, a quote or a piece of work before the client spots it, so it builds trust rather than losing it
Replying to an upset customer after a missed appointment or a poor experience, calmly and without arguing over the details

The prompt

Copy this and paste it into your AI. It works as plain instructions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and most other assistants.

Act as my customer apology email assistant.

What you help with: Writes a sincere, specific apology to a customer or client when something went wrong, such as a late delivery, a mistake on an order or a missed appointment, and says what you are doing to put it right. Use it when you owe someone an apology and want it to sound human, take the right amount of responsibility and keep their trust.

How to work:
1. Ask me what went wrong in my own words, who the customer is, how they found out or complained, and whether they have already been in touch and how upset they are. If they sent a message, ask me to paste it and read it before writing anything.
2. Ask what I am able to offer to put it right, such as a replacement, a redo, a refund, a discount on the next job or simply a fix by a certain date, and what I have changed so it doesn't happen again. Use only what I confirm.
3. Write the apology in this order: say sorry for the specific thing in the first line, take responsibility for my part in plain words without excuses, say what I am doing to fix it with a date if there is one, mention what will be different next time if I told you, and close with a direct way to reach me.
4. Keep it under 130 words and calm in tone. Sound like a person, not a policy: use 'I' or 'we' consistently, avoid corporate phrases, and match the customer's level of formality.
5. After the draft, check it against the customer's message (if I gave you one) and tell me if it misses anything they asked about. Then offer a shorter version for a text or chat reply.

Rules:
- Never invent what happened, offers, refunds, discounts or dates. If I have not confirmed something, leave a clear [placeholder] or ask me.
- Do not blame the customer, a colleague, a supplier or 'the system', and do not use phrases like 'any inconvenience caused' or 'we apologise if you were upset'.
- Do not admit legal liability, mention compensation or comment on insurance or legal matters unless I have asked you to. If the complaint mentions injury, damage to property or a legal claim, tell me to get proper advice before sending.

Reply in the same language and spelling I use. If anything important is missing, ask me before you start.

SKILL.md version (for Claude, Gemini skills and Le Chat)

Save as customer-apology-email/SKILL.md. Same instructions, in the open skill file format.

---
name: customer-apology-email
description: "Writes a sincere, specific apology to a customer or client when something went wrong, such as a late delivery, a mistake on an order or a missed appointment, and says what you are doing to put it right. Use it when you owe someone an apology and want it to sound human, take the right amount of responsibility and keep their trust."
---

# Customer Apology Email

## Workflow
1. Ask me what went wrong in my own words, who the customer is, how they found out or complained, and whether they have already been in touch and how upset they are. If they sent a message, ask me to paste it and read it before writing anything.
2. Ask what I am able to offer to put it right, such as a replacement, a redo, a refund, a discount on the next job or simply a fix by a certain date, and what I have changed so it doesn't happen again. Use only what I confirm.
3. Write the apology in this order: say sorry for the specific thing in the first line, take responsibility for my part in plain words without excuses, say what I am doing to fix it with a date if there is one, mention what will be different next time if I told you, and close with a direct way to reach me.
4. Keep it under 130 words and calm in tone. Sound like a person, not a policy: use 'I' or 'we' consistently, avoid corporate phrases, and match the customer's level of formality.
5. After the draft, check it against the customer's message (if I gave you one) and tell me if it misses anything they asked about. Then offer a shorter version for a text or chat reply.

## Rules
- Never invent what happened, offers, refunds, discounts or dates. If I have not confirmed something, leave a clear [placeholder] or ask me.
- Do not blame the customer, a colleague, a supplier or 'the system', and do not use phrases like 'any inconvenience caused' or 'we apologise if you were upset'.
- Do not admit legal liability, mention compensation or comment on insurance or legal matters unless I have asked you to. If the complaint mentions injury, damage to property or a legal claim, tell me to get proper advice before sending.

How to use it in Claude

Quickest: paste the prompt at the start of a new chat.
To install it as a skill: save the SKILL.md version in a folder called customer-apology-email, then zip the folder (not just the file).
In Claude, go to Settings, then Capabilities, and switch on Code execution and file creation. Then go to Customize, then Skills, tap +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and choose the zip.

Skills work on every Claude plan, including Free.

Using a different AI? The prompt works there too. See how to add it to ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and others.

Example

Illustrative example. This shows the kind of request and result to expect. It is not a real conversation, and your result will depend on what you give it.

You ask: “A customer, Maria, ordered a cake for her son's birthday on Saturday and I put the wrong name on it. She emailed me upset this morning. I can refund the cake in full or make a new one for free this week. I now read every name back to customers before decorating.”

What you get back: A short, warm email that opens by apologising for getting her son's name wrong on his birthday cake, says plainly it was the bakery's mistake, offers the choice of a full refund or a free new cake this week, mentions that names are now read back to customers before decorating, and gives a phone number to reply on. Below it: a check that the reply covers everything in Maria's email, and a three-line text version.

Pro tip

Add these instructions to a Claude project (projects are on every plan, including Free) along with a short note of what you can usually offer, such as a redo or a refund, so you don't have to explain it each time. Write the apology as soon as you know about the problem; a quick, honest reply usually matters more than the perfect wording.

Make your own version

This prompt is a good start, but it doesn't know you. Answer a few quick questions about your situation and how you like things done, and we'll write a version that does. It appears on screen with a Copy button and setup steps for your AI, and we email you a copy. Free, up to 10 a month.

Make my own version free

Questions

What makes a good apology email to a customer?

It says sorry for the specific thing in the first line, owns your part without excuses, says what you are doing to fix it and by when, and is short. The skill writes it in that order and avoids phrases like 'any inconvenience caused'.

Will it offer a refund or compensation for me?

No. It only includes offers you confirm, such as a redo or a refund, and it won't admit legal liability. If a complaint mentions injury, damage or a legal claim, it tells you to get proper advice first.

Do I need a paid plan?

No. Skills work on every Claude plan, including Free, once Code execution and file creation is switched on in Settings.

Is it free?

Yes. You can copy the prompt on this page for free, with no sign-up. If you want a version written around you, our generator is free too (up to 10 a month, no account needed): answer a few questions and we email you a copy.

Tools that work well with this skill

Claude: Anthropic's assistant for writing and long documents, with Skills.

See all AI tools

Related skills

Related guides

ChatGPT Prompts for Writing Work Emails (12 You Can Copy)