There will be unavoidable circumstances that cause a delay in shipping a customer’s order. If you learn it soon enough, apologize in advance for the shipping delay.

If the there is an error in the shipment a customer received you can do the same. Be honest and truthful of why it happened.

Here is a sample of a letter of apology for a shipping delay or error.

Example:

December 20, 2010

From:
Ray Greer
Shipping Supervisor
ACME Company
987 Business Center Circle
Juneau, Alaska 99876

To:
William Told
876 Glacier Drive
Humet, CA 92353

Dear Mr. Told,

We apologize for the delay in the delivery of your goods. We understand that the shipment should have been delivered two days ago but our ship only arrived today. During the voyage, the ship encountered strong winds and high tides. There were no reports of any storm or strong winds before the ship set on sail. The ship was given a go signal by the coast guard so it was really an unforeseeable event that had transpired.

The captain who managed the ship has been working with our company for the past ten years. The report showed that the ship captain and the ship engineer had no choice but to seek refuge in a nearby port in order to ensure the safety of the passengers as well as all the cargos. The crew had to wait for the sea to calm down before continuing the journey.

Your cargo was safely placed on one of our containers which is water proofed and it was placed below the deck so no water could sip in. The frames of our storage containers are made from 6’ to 8’ gauge steel, and our shipping containers are made of sturdy and very secure 14’ gauge steel. These portable storage containers also have approximately 1″-thick wood floors, which make them very durable. It can withstand water and heat pressure.

The cargo containers we provide are also refrigerated or insulated, which make them ideal as onsite storage units. You can be assured that our containers are of high quality and your cargos are in safe hands.

The crew immediately checked all the containers upon arrival at the port and the reports showed that all cargos are secured. It is our company policy to make sure that no delay would be incurred but in times like this, delay is inevitable.

On your next shipment, our company will be giving you a discount to compensate for the inconvenience that we may have caused. We assure you that we would try our best to avoid such delays. We trust that you will continue the same patronage with our shipping lines.

Ray Greer

Shipping Supervisor
ACME Company

If you purchased a product from a mom and pop or online store, expect that they will ship the items to your door. However, there are some incidents that the products are damaged, under the customer specifications or delivered to another address. In this scenario, you must complain about a faulty deliver or a shipping error through a Complain Letter.

The Complain Letter is used to correct the mistakes occurred in a delivery. The letter must state the errors and the correct customer location, correct product specification or to get another new product of the same type. You can also cancel the order if you wish to. Remember not to use harsh words even though you feel very mad about the shipping service.

Here is the following letter sample about a shipping error complaint:

Kenneth Jensen
Website Manager
GiftsGalore.com
31 Hoffman Avenue
New York, NY 10016

November 21, 2009

Dear Sir,

Last November 1, I have placed an order for a three-shelved cabinet to your online payment form. I have a printout of the confirmation email message sent to my inbox with the transaction number of 064052685. Three weeks have passed but I never received anything.

I do remember that I checked my address information before I submitted it. I put my recent address at 3530 Simpson Square, Oklahoma City, OK 73109. I am shocked to learn that you send the item to my old address at 1953 Wyatt Street, Jupiter, FL 33478.

Please send my order to the right address as fast as possible. I have been shopping on your website for a long time now, but it is the first time this incident happened to me. If I still haven’t got the item in two weeks’ time, I will withdraw my order and receive my order payment of $300 back in my bank account.

If you still have questions, you can contact me through phone or email. My phone number is 580-555-9949 and my email address is CassandraWeber@promo.com.

Sincerely,

Cassandra Weber

Dear

This is to confirm our recent telephone conversation
regarding the past due balance of your account.

As I mentioned in our conversation, the current balance
on the account is $ , of which $ is now
past due for payment. We will look forward to receiving
your check within the next week to clear the past due
charges on your account.

Once these charges have been cleared, we will be in a
position to review the current credit arrangements for
your account. Presently, however, all orders are currently
being referred to us and your check to clear the past due
balance must be received before future shipments on credit
can be made.

Your cooperation and prompt attention to this matter will be
greatly appreciated. If you have any questions regarding
your account, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Dear

Thank you for your Purchase Order Number (number), dated
(date) for the following described merchandise:

We expect to ship your order on (date of shipment) via
(method of shipment).

It should be reasonable to expect receipt of your order not
later than (date). Should we experience any delays in
processing or shipping your order, you will be promptly
notified.

Thank you for your order. As always, we look forward to
the next opportunity to be of assistance. Please don’t
hesitate to call upon us any time.

Dear

Thank you for your order. At this time we cannot fill your

order due to an unexpected shipment delay from our overseas

suppliers.

We will hold your order for arrival of the merchandise, and

ship shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, we cannot provide

you with a specific shipping date at this time.

Thank you for your anticipated patience in this matter.

Gentlemen:

This is to inform you that we are unable to make delivery

on the above referenced purchase order on the date

indicated.

We should have our merchandise ready to ship within 10 days

of the original delivery date and we hope that you can hold

off until that time.

We did want to inform you of this delay as soon we were

advised in order to give you as much time as possible to

make alternate arrangements, if necessary. We can assure

you, however, that if your order remains in force we will

expedite delivery to you as soon as we have received the

merchandise.

Please accept our apology for this delay and thank you for

your understanding.