Letters of aplogise

Why do we need an opening line in a business letter or email?

– to make reference to previous correspondence

– to say how you found the recipient’s name/address

– to say why you are writing to the recipient.

10 Good Opening Lines:

With reference to your letter of 8 June, I .

I am writing to enquire about .

After having seen your advertisement in . , I would like .

After having received your address from . , I .

I received your aaddress from . and would like .

We/I recently wrote to you about .

Thank you for your letter of 8 May.

Thank you for your letter regarding .

Thank you for your letter/e-mail about .

In reply to your letter of 8 May, .

Closing lines

Why do we need a closing line in a business letter or email?

– to make a reference to a future event

– to repeat an apology

– to offer help

10 Good Closing Lines:

If you require aany further information, feel free to contact me.

I look forward to your reply.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I look forward to seeing you.

Please advise as necessary.

We look forward to a successful working relationship in the ffuture.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.

We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom.

I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

When ‘Yours faithfully’ and when ‘Yours sincerely’ in a business letter?

When the recipient’s name is unknown to you:

Dear Sir . Yours faithfully

Dear Madam . Yours faithfully

Dear Sir or Madam . Yours faithfully

When you know the recipient’s name:

Dear Mr Hanson . Yours sincerely

Dear Mrs Hanson . Yours sincerely

Dear Miss Hanson . Yours sincerely

Dear Ms Hanson . Yours sincerely

When addressing a good friend or colleague:

Dear Jack . Best wishes/Best regards

Addressing whole ddepartments:

Dear Sirs . Yours faithfully

Dear Larry,

We are haunted by the fact that you are angry with us. We have always valued our relationship and would never intentionally do anything to jeopardize that. Please accept our sincere apology for anything we said or did to hurt or destroy the relationship we have had over the last 5 years.

We don’t know what we did specifically, but we want you to know how much we care that you have disassociated yyourself from us. We hope that you can forgive us for what we have done. We both feel a great loss with the absence of your friendship in our lives.

Please let us know how we can make this right.

Sincerely,

Why an apology letter is so important:

1. Writing an apology letter shortly after the offense can usually help save a relationship before a wound becomes a scar and the damage becomes irreparable.

2. You can usually find forgiveness and understanding if you freely acknowledge what you did wrong and express sincere regret in your apology letter.

3. Depending on the situation, if you offer the injured party the appropriate material restitution for whatever loss they incurred because of you, this will also help to repair your relationship.

4. You can help to rebuild your credulity in your apology letter if you promise not to repeat the offense and assure the injured party that they will see a definite change in your behavior.

5. You can use your apology letter to assure the injured party that you truly value their friendship and do not want to lose it.

6. Just writing an apology letter shows the injured party that you realize you were wrong and that you value the relationship.

7. You may find that iif you freely apologize and accept responsibility for what you did, the injured party may also accept some responsibility for the problem and apologize to you in return.

6 tips for writing a personal apology letter: