Email apologising for a delay and giving a new date
Who wrote it
Elie Nassif leads a small software team in Beirut building an appointment app for a chain of clinics. Two days before release, his team finds a bug.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- Who is it to?
- Amira Fahmy, product owner at the clinic chain
- What is late or went wrong?
- The release of the appointment app planned for Thursday 12 November
- Reason
- In final testing we found a bug in the SMS reminders: some patients would get their reminder at the wrong time
- New date or next step
- New release on Monday 16 November; the fix ready for her team to test on Friday; a short update every day until the release
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Apology or delay message: Delay
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
Subject: Appointment app: release moved to Monday 16 November1
Subject line
Note 1: The subject gives the news and the new date. The client can plan before even opening the email.
Dear Amira,
Greeting
I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to release the appointment app on Thursday as planned.2 During final testing we found a bug in the SMS reminders that would send some patients their reminder at the wrong time3, and I don’t want to release the app until it is fixed.
What happened, plainly
Note 2: The apology and the news share the first sentence. Nothing is softened or hidden.
Note 3: The reason is short, concrete and about her patients, which makes the delay easy to accept.
The new release date is Monday 16 November. The fix will be ready for your team to test on Friday4, and I’ll send you a short update every day until the release.
New date and how she will be kept informed
Note 4: A checkpoint before the new date lets the client see progress instead of just waiting.
This delay is our responsibility5, and we are taking it seriously.
Taking responsibility
Note 5: Ownership in one sentence. One apology is enough; a second one would sound nervous.
Best regards,
Elie Nassif
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the release will be delayed.
During final testing we found a bug in the SMS reminders that would send some patients their reminder at the wrong time.
We are very very sorry, please forgive us, this will never happen again.
This delay is our responsibility, and we are taking it seriously.
The release will be delayed a few days.
The new release date is Monday 16 November.
Questions people ask
How do I apologise for a delay without over-apologising?
Say sorry once, in the first sentence, then spend the rest of the email on the reason, the new date and how you will keep them informed. The plan is what restores trust.
Should I explain why something is late?
Yes, in one honest sentence. Clients accept a real reason far more easily than a vague one, especially when the reason protects them, as here.
When should I tell a client about a delay?
As soon as you know, not on the day it was due. An early warning with a plan is a sign of control; a late one is a sign of the opposite.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.