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Customer delay message template

Say what you know, what you did, and when you will speak again. The third part is what stops the follow-up.

A delay message needs three parts: what you know, what you have already done in the past tense, and when you will next make contact whether or not there is news. The third is what actually reduces follow-up contacts, because it removes the customer's reason to chase. Long apologies read as evasive and make the message worse.

When to use it

Use these when you know about a delay before the customer does, which should be most of the time if the stuck-shipment and backorder checks are running.

Contacting first is the highest-value move available in the whole delay situation. The parcel is equally late either way; the customer's experience of it is not.

The template

Four situations, because they need genuinely different messages. Keep them short.

1. STUCK IN TRANSIT
   Your order [number] has not moved since [day] and it should have by now.
   We opened a query with [carrier] this morning.
   We will update you by [day] either way. If it has not moved by then we
   will send a replacement.

2. OUT OF STOCK AFTER ORDERING
   Your order [number] included [item], and we do not have it.
   Our supplier has it arriving [date].
   Three options, whichever suits: wait for [date], we ship the rest now
   and [item] follows, or we refund [item]. Reply and we will do it.

3. DISPATCH DELAY, OUR FAULT
   Your order [number] has not shipped yet and should have on [date].
   That is on us. It goes out [date] and we have upgraded the delivery
   at no charge.
   You will get tracking as soon as it leaves.

4. DELIVERY ATTEMPTED, ACTION NEEDED
   [Carrier] tried to deliver order [number] on [date] and could not.
   They need [the specific thing] to try again, here: [link or number].
   They will hold it until [date], after which it comes back to us.
   Tell us if you would rather we reship to a different address.

How to adapt it

  • Keep "either way" in message 1. It is what stops you going quiet when the carrier has not replied, which is exactly when stores do go quiet.
  • Keep the three options in message 2. Offering a choice converts a complaint into a decision the customer controls.
  • Do not apologise at length in message 3. One plain sentence of ownership plus a concrete remedy beats a paragraph.
  • Put the deadline in message 4. Return-to-sender clocks are short and customers do not know they exist.

Why it is this short

Long messages get skimmed, and the parts that get skipped are the date and the action, which are the only parts that matter.

They also take longer to write, which means they are sent later, and lateness is the thing you are trying to fix.

Common questions

What should a delay message say?

What you know, what you have already done in the past tense, and when you will next make contact whether or not there is news. The last part is what prevents follow-ups.

Should I apologise?

Once, plainly, if it was your fault. Long apologies read as evasive and delay the information the customer actually wants, which is what happens next and when.

Should I offer a choice?

For stock delays, yes. Wait, split, or refund converts a complaint into a decision the customer controls, and most people pick the option you would have suggested anyway.

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