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How to say no to a customer politely: example emails that keep the customer

Seven ways to turn down a request without losing the person who made it: a feature, a custom build, a platform, a deadline, an integration. Say no in the first two lines, then say what you can do.

The examples

Each one copies with its subject line. The parts in brackets are the parts to change; everything else can go out as written.

A feature request you will not build

Subject: Re: [their subject line]

Hi [Name], Thanks for writing this up so clearly. I have thought about it, and I am not going to add [feature] to [Product]. The honest reason: [one sentence, for example: it would pull the app towards being a project manager, and staying small and quick is the reason most people use it]. What might get you most of the way there: [a workaround, a setting, or another tool that does this one thing well]. If I ever change my mind, you will hear it from me first. [Your name]
A custom build or a one-off version

Subject: Re: [their subject line]

Hi [Name], Thank you for thinking of me for this. I do not take on custom work, so I cannot build [the custom version or change] for you. [Product] is one app for everyone, and I am the only person maintaining it. A version for one customer would be a second product I could not look after properly, and you would be the one left with it when something broke. What you can do: [the export, API or scripting support that lets a developer build this on top of the app]. If you do hire someone, I am happy to answer their questions. [Your name]
A platform you do not support

Subject: Re: [Product] for [Windows / Android]

Hi [Name], There is no [Windows / Android] version of [Product], and I do not have plans to make one. [Product] is built on [Apple's own frameworks], so another platform would mean writing it again from scratch. I would rather make one app really good than two apps half as good. If you also have a [Mac / iPhone], it will work there. If not, [an app you respect that runs on their platform] does something similar. [If they already paid: I have refunded your purchase in full. It should reach your account within a few days.] [Your name]
A deadline you cannot meet

Subject: Re: [their subject line]

Hi [Name], I would rather tell you now so you can plan: I cannot get [the fix / the feature] to you by [their date]. My realistic estimate is [date or number weeks], because [one honest sentence, for example: it touches the sync code, and I will not ship a change there without testing it properly]. In the meantime, [a workaround, or the part that is available now]. If [their date] is a hard deadline, tell me what it is for. There may be a smaller piece I can get to you in time. [Your name]
An integration you will not support

Subject: Re: [Product] and [tool]

Hi [Name], Thanks for asking. [Product] does not connect to [tool], and it is not something I plan to add. Every integration is something I have to keep working each time the other app changes, and I would rather support a few properly than many badly. [Or the specific reason, for example: their API does not allow what you would need.] What does work: [the export format, share sheet, shortcut or file-based route that gets the data across]. If you tell me what you are trying to do with it, I will point you at the simplest way. [Your name]
Not now, rather than never

Subject: Re: [their subject line]

Hi [Name], Not yet. [Feature] is something I would like to add, but it is not in the next [release / few months], and I do not want to give you a date I cannot keep. [What is ahead of it, in one sentence, for example: the next two releases are about sync reliability, which affects everyone.] I have noted that you asked. If it ships, I will reply to this email so you hear about it without having to check. [Your name]
The short version, for a passing suggestion

Subject: Re: [their subject line]

Hi [Name], Honest answer: no, [Product] is not going to [do this]. [The one-sentence reason.] Thanks for asking rather than wondering. [Your name]

Turning down a request for a lower price is common enough to have its own page: replies to a customer asking for a discount, including a polite no that holds the price.

Subject lines

Almost every no is an answer to something the customer asked, so reply in their thread and keep their subject. A fresh subject that announces the no (“Regarding your request”) reads like a form letter before it is opened.

  • Re: [their subject line] (reply in the thread)
  • Re: [Product] for [Windows / Android]
  • Re: [Product] and [tool]
  • About [feature]: a straight answer
  • [Feature] in [Product]: where it stands

The shape of a good no

  • The no, in the first two lines. Plainly enough that someone reading only the preview knows the answer. Anything before it is a delay they can feel.
  • The honest reason, in one sentence. About the product, not your feelings: “it would make the app slower for everyone”, not “I am really sorry, I wish I could”.
  • What you can do instead. A workaround, a setting, another tool, a smaller piece, a later date. A no with an alternative is a redirection; a no without one is a door closing.
  • Keep the door open. One line that makes it easy to write back: “if you tell me what it is for, there may be another way”.

Phrases that make a no worse

  • “Unfortunately”, three times. Once is a word. Three times is a mood, and it makes the email longer without making it kinder.
  • “We will consider it”, when you will not. They wait, then ask again, and the second no costs you more than the first would have.
  • “It is on the roadmap”, when it is not. It turns a no into a promise, and you will be held to it.
  • “Due to company policy”. From a one-person business, the policy is you. Give the reason behind it instead.
  • “We are unable to”. Usually you are able and have decided not to. “I am not going to” is more honest, and customers can tell the difference.

Why the no so often sits unsent

Most requests you will turn down, you know the answer to on the day you read them. The email still waits, because writing a no feels worse than writing nothing, and a thread with nothing left to fix looks finished in an inbox. A week later, the silence has already said no, less kindly than you would have.

In how Moorline models support, that is a conversation where the work is handled but the customer has not been told: the decision is made, the reply is still owed. It is the state a mail client cannot show, and Moorline keeps the customer on your list until both are true. The same goes for a “not now”: the promise to write back when it ships is only as good as your way of remembering it. How to never forget to reply to a customer covers the model in full, with or without software.

Questions people ask

How do you politely say no to a customer?

Say no in the first two lines, in plain words, then give the honest reason in one sentence, then say what you can do instead. End by leaving the door open. Politeness is in the tone and the speed, not in the length: a short, warm, clear no sent the same week is kinder than a long, careful one sent a month later.

How do I say no to a feature request without losing the customer?

Thank them for the detail, say clearly that you are not going to build it, and explain why in terms of the product rather than your workload. Then give them the closest thing that already works. Customers can accept a no. What wears them down is a maybe that turns out to have been a no all along.

Should I explain why I am saying no?

Yes, in one honest sentence. A reason makes the no feel considered rather than dismissive, and it often answers their next question. More than a sentence starts to sound like an argument, and an argument invites them to argue back.

Is it better to say "not now" than no?

Only when it is true. If you genuinely want to build it later, "not now" is the honest answer, and it is fair to say so without a date. If you know you will never build it, "not now" is a no that takes longer and costs more, because they will ask again, and the second answer is harder than the first.

What if the customer threatens to cancel after I say no?

Take it seriously, but do not change the answer because of the threat. Ask what they needed the request for; sometimes there is a way to get them there that you had not thought of. If there is not, let them go gracefully, and refund them if your policy covers it. A customer who leaves on good terms sometimes comes back.