How to Write a Great Customer Service Letter – With Examples

Want to improve your customer service letters? We take a look at how to put together a good customer service letter, giving examples to bring best practice to life.

7 Steps to Writing a Letter to a Customer Regarding Any Issue

1. Start With a Clear Subject Line

Example – “Important Update Regarding Your Order Number 12345”

Date – The date is not typically included in the subject line but should be at the top of the letter. Use a standard date format, such as “31 July 2025,” to ensure clarity.

2. Use a Professional Greeting

Example – “Dear Mr. Smith,” or “Dear Ms. Smith”

3. Express Empathy and Acknowledge the Issue

Example – “We understand how frustrating it can be to experience a delay with your order.”

4. Explain the Situation Clearly

Example – “Due to unexpectedly high demand, we are currently experiencing delays in our shipping process.”

5. Offer a Solution or Compensation

Example – “We are working hard to speed up your order and it should arrive within the next three days. As a token of our appreciation for your patience, we are including a 20% discount on your next purchase.”

6. Outline the Next Steps

Example – “You will receive an updated tracking number via email shortly. No further action is required from your end.”

7. Close with a Professional Sign-off and Contact Information

Example – “Thank you in advance for your patience. If you have any questions, please contact us at support@example.com or call us at 01234 567 890. Yours Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Position] [Your Company]”

Key Points When Writing a Customer Service Letter

Fran Fish

Here is a four-step approach to help improve customer service letters, as recommended by Fran Fish, Head of People & Culture at Sustainable Ventures:

A Customer Service Letter Should Be:

A. Clear

Use simple, plain English. No jargon. Use headings and bullet points, so that the content is easy to follow and read.

B. Credible

Make sure there are no typos and all the provided information is “correct”. But the letter should also look and read the part – it should “look and sound like your brand.”

C. Answered

Answer all the questions that have been asked (and any that may come after). Get to the point quickly, as that’s the best way to reduce frustration and repeat contacts.

D. Tone

Using the right tone, that fits the reader (or customer) and the reason you’re contacting them. We expect the tone used in an apology letter to be different from the tone used in a special-offer email.

Fran also recommends that you “keep it personal and human and consider if a letter or email is really the right medium. Sometimes a quick, good-old-fashioned call works best.”

Keep it personal and human and consider if a letter or email is really the right medium. Sometimes a quick, good-old-fashioned call works best.

Fran Fish

Remember, while in most cases it is good to stick to a customer’s channel preference, it is sometimes best to pick up the phone. For example, if the customer has sent three or more letters over an issue, it might be best to pick up the phone to nip any rising customer frustration in the bud.

Examples of How to Write a Customer Service Letter

As an example of how to write customer service letters can be made actionable, we have provided two examples of customer service letters that were written by a car insurance company in response to the same customer query.

The first response is how the company originally thought of replying to the customer, following their old procedures. The second example is a rewrite of the first.

The letters are responses to a customer query which asked: “Am I covered if my kids’ laptops get stolen out of the car while I’m holiday?” The customer’s query letter was signed off with both their first and last name.

The Original Customer Service Letter (The Bad Example)

The Rewritten Customer Service Letter (The Good Example)

How Has the Letter Been Adapted for the Better?

Fran Fish takes us through how the rewrite is an improvement in terms of the “clear, credible, answered and tone criteria”.

Clear

• Gets to the point quickly
• Meets and matches the customer’s needs
• ‘Easiest way is to apply online’ – influences customer’s choice of service channel
• Uses bullets to lay out information in easy-to-read format

Credible

• Includes insurance detail – demonstrates knowledge and expertise
• ‘Tip’ gives insurance options – builds trust

Answered

• Addresses the customer’s query first ‘we’d cover up to £300 of their value
• Less effort for the customer – no need to go digging around for the Policy Schedule

Tone

• Fits the nature of the query
• Empathetic and personal tone used

How Switching the Approach Benefitted the Car Insurance Company

Mazaru and independent researchers ICM shared both car insurance letter examples with 2,000 consumers. The consumers were asked to share preferences and ‘next actions’, when comparing the two letters.

The results suggested that the car insurance company could benefit in each of the following ways by permanently switching to the style of the rewrite:

• Less overall contact – 19% fewer consumers said they’d need to get more information
• Sales enquiries increased – 24% more consumers said they’d go on and ask for a quote
• Satisfaction scores increased – 27% more rated their customer satisfaction of the response ‘high’, i.e. 7–10 out of 10
• Channel shift increased – 9% more consumers said they’d go online to get a quote
• Advocacy / NPS increased – 22% more said they would go on and recommend the insurer to friends or family

Three Good Examples of Different Types of Customer Service Letters

Below are three great examples of different types of customer service letters.

Sample Letter – Response to a Complaint

Here is a good response to a customer complaint about their credit profile.

5 Good Things About This Example

• The company say thank you immediately
• They offer a phone call, in case the reader wants to speed up the process
• They use headings to highlight the different stages of the process
• They use “I” and not “we” (as in the company) to highlight that someone is taking ownership of the customer’s issue
• They use the customer’s words, such as “default” or “repossession”, to directly respond to the customer’s problem

Sample Letter – A Service Notice

In this example, a customer service letter is used to warn residents of repair and maintenance work.

5 Good Things About This Example

• The company put the most important information first, in a large font
• They use headings to clearly signpost when and where, so this impact on the reader becomes immediately obvious
• They offer reassurance to the reader that this will not be a long process
• They use an active tone of voice to highlight their urgency
• They highlight where the reader can go for further information

Sample Letter – A Thank You Letter

While this may not be a perfect letter, there are many things to like about this customer service letter, created by Barnyarns.

Thanks to the Barnyarns team for sharing this example with us!

5 Good Things About This Example

• Barnyarns start by saying “thank you”
• They continue to stress that “your business is very much appreciated”
• They value quality
• They don’t just ask for your feedback – they explain why it is important
• They open the dialogue for any problems to be quickly rectified

…And 2 things they could improve on?

But while it includes a number of nice “ingredients”, here are two ways in which it could have been improved:

• Signing off with “Charlie from The Barnyarns Team” would have given it a bit more of a personal touch – especially if this was handwritten!
• This is a very useful template for what a good customer service letter should look like, but personalising it with Mr Smith could have made it even better…

For more on putting together a good thank-you letter, read our article: How to Write a Thank-You Letter to a Customer

Thanks to Mazaru for sharing some of the example letters that we’ve used in this article. 

To find more of our advice on writing for customer service, read our articles:

• Making Your Customer Service Writing Simple, Friendly and Personal
• “Dear Valued Customer” – 12 Steps to Writing a Great Customer Letter
• Dear Valued Customer – How NOT to Write a Customer Service Letter

Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Jonty Pearce