You promised to deliver a project to a client by Friday, but you missed the deadline due to a family emergency.
Question:
You are a small business owner. You promised to deliver a project to a client by Friday, but you missed the deadline due to a family emergency. Write an email to the client, Ms. Foster. In your email:
- Apologize sincerely for missing the deadline
- Explain briefly what happened
- Propose a new delivery date and offer compensation
Model Answer (198 words):
| To: | ms.foster@email.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Apology – missed deadline for Project Delta |
Dear Ms. Foster,
I am writing to offer my sincere apologies for failing to deliver the completed project by the agreed deadline of this past Friday. I completely understand that this has caused significant inconvenience to your team, and I take full responsibility.
To explain briefly, a close family member was suddenly hospitalized on Thursday evening, and I have been at the hospital since then. While this is not an excuse for missing our deadline, I hope it provides some context. I should have informed you sooner, and for that, I am deeply sorry.
I have now stabilized the situation and am back at work. I can guarantee that the project will be completed and delivered by this Wednesday at 5:00 PM at the latest. To make up for the delay, I would like to offer a 15% discount on your final invoice. Additionally, I will include two extra hours of revisions at no charge.
Please let me know if the new deadline works for you, or if you would prefer a full refund instead. Thank you for your understanding, and again, I sincerely apologize.
Sincerely,
James Chen