Answer a furious client: an annotated email example
Calm him down and fix the problem fast.
The situation
Yesterday Gerald received 30 broken vases out of an order of 50, for an event on Saturday. You can resend the 30 vases by express within 48 hours, or give him a full refund.
Furious and in a hurry. He wrote in capitals. He wants the problem acknowledged and fixed, not excuses.
The winning structure
A good email for this situation includes these elements, in this order:
- A greeting with the recipient's first name.
- An apology
- The problem acknowledged (30 broken vases)
- Express replacement (48h)
- The refund option
- A clear ask at the end: a question or an action with a deadline.
- A short sign-off, then your name.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out an apology : « Not even an apology? Unbelievable. »
- Leaving out the problem acknowledged (30 broken vases) : « Do they even understand what I'm talking about? »
- Leaving out express replacement (48h) : « And what about my event on Saturday? »
- Leaving out the refund option : « And if I don't want your vases anymore? »
- Getting defensive before acknowledging the problem.
- Sharing bad news with no solution and no next step.
Write your own version: the recipient reacts and you get a score out of 100.
The annotated example
Try it yourself first: you'll remember more. Click to show the example.
Hi Gerald,
- Greeting by first name: the reader knows it's for them.
I'm truly sorry that 30 vases arrived broken, just days before your event.
- Includes: an apology.
- Includes: the problem acknowledged (30 broken vases).
I can offer two solutions:
- express replacement of the 30 vases, delivered within 48 hours;
- or a full refund.
- Includes: the problem acknowledged (30 broken vases).
- Includes: express replacement (48h).
- Includes: the refund option.
- Bullet list: readable at a glance.
Which would you prefer? I'll ship as soon as I hear from you.
- Clear ask: the reader knows what to do.
Best regards,
Alex
- Short sign-off, then the name.
Why it works : 52 words against a target of 95, 6 words per sentence on average, no filler phrases.