31 ready-to-use messages
Thank You for Your Patience: Wording for Emails
How to say thank you for your patience, your time, or your understanding in a work email or message, and what to write in the sentence after it.
Edited by Michael KahnUpdated
Heartfelt
Bodhi, thank you for your patience these first three weeks while I learned the scheduling software. You answered my question about shift swaps at least four times and made me feel like it was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask again. I have it down now, and the next new hire gets the same treatment from me. Cedric
Dear Eamon, Thank you for taking the time to answer my email. I know you hear from a lot of students, and you did not owe me a reply, let alone three paragraphs on how you landed your first job in book publishing. I have already signed up for the editing course you mentioned. With thanks, Adele
Greer, thank you for your patience with me this spring. I canceled on you three times while Mom was in the hospital and went days without answering your texts, and you kept checking in anyway. I am coming up for air now, and the first coffee is on me.
Dad, thank you for being so patient while I figured out what came next after I left the nursing program. You let me live at home for a year, asked good questions, and kept your opinions to yourself more often than I deserved. I start at the community college in January, and I wanted you to hear it from me first.
Flynn, thank you for your patience these last six months while I studied for the bar exam. You cooked most of our dinners, took Biscuit out every morning, and stopped asking when I would be done after about week three. I am done. Let me take you to dinner and talk about anything but law.
Warm
Hi Abby, Thank you for your patience with order #48213. The walnut cutting board you picked sold out faster than our woodworker could make more, and the new batch came off his bench yesterday. Yours ships tomorrow by UPS Ground, and I have refunded the $9 shipping charge for the wait. Tracking will follow in a separate email. Warmly, Dalia at Fernwood Goods
Hi Ellis, I am sorry we missed the delivery window we promised for your sofa. You took Tuesday afternoon off work to be home, and our truck never arrived. That is on us. A new delivery is booked for Saturday between 8 and 10 a.m., our driver will call 30 minutes ahead, and the $79 delivery fee has been refunded to your card. Thank you for giving us the chance to fix it. Bianca, Delivery Coordinator
Thank you for your patience and understanding while Dr. Alma Ortiz is on leave through the end of June. Dr. Bram Lindgren is seeing her patients in the meantime and has read each chart before your visit. Prescription refills will go through as usual, and if you would rather wait for Dr. Ortiz, the front desk can book you for July. The Riverside Family Practice Team
Hi Ansel, Thank you for your time on the call today. I know a software demo is rarely anyone's favorite part of a Wednesday. As promised, here is the pricing sheet for the 25-seat plan and the setup timeline we talked about. If the board wants to see it live, I can run a shorter version for them any day next week. Emeka
Hi Brenna, Thank you for understanding about Saturday. Canceling a family photo session two days ahead is not something I do lightly, and you took the news more kindly than I had any right to expect. I am free the next two Saturdays and can bring the session to the park you liked, at no charge for the move. Esme
Asha, thank you for being so flexible about swapping shifts with me on the 22nd. You gave up a Saturday so I could make it to my nephew's graduation, and I will take any weekend you want in return. Gemma
Hector, thank you for calling back so fast last night. When the walk-in cooler stopped at 9 p.m., hearing from you ten minutes later is what saved about $2,000 worth of produce and the Saturday menu with it. The whole kitchen owes you one. Gus
Funny
Thank you for your patience while I learned to drive stick. The car survived, your nerves mostly survived, and I only stalled twice on the big hill by the end. I owe you a car wash and possibly a new clutch.
Thank you for your patience with my seventeen follow-up questions about the expense report. I counted. Lunch on Friday is my treat.
Casual
Hi Arlo, Thanks for your patience on this one. Your question about the Q3 vendor list sat in my inbox for nine days while I was out, which is longer than I like to leave anyone waiting. The updated list is attached, and the two vendors you flagged are highlighted in yellow. Beau
Hi Colm, thanks for your flexibility on moving our check-in to Thursday. The client call landed right on top of it and you made the switch painless. Same link, 3:30.
Formal
Dear Celeste, Thank you for your patience as we move the website launch from March 3 to March 17. The payment page failed its final security test last week, and we would rather take two more weeks than launch a checkout we cannot stand behind. You will have a staging link to review by Friday, March 7, and I will call you that afternoon to walk through it. Sincerely, Harlan
Thank you for your patience during this morning's outage. From 9:12 to 11:20 a.m. Eastern, customers could not log in or view invoices. The cause was an expired security certificate on one of our servers, and we have since set up an alert that warns our engineers 30 days before any certificate lapses. No account data was affected, and payments scheduled during those two hours went through as planned. The Ledgerline Support Team
Hi Deshawn, Thank you for your patience while we look into the double charge on your March statement. I have opened a case with our billing team (reference 77-1904), and they have placed a hold so the second $64.50 charge will not go through. I will email you by the end of the day Thursday with what we find, even if the answer is that we need a little more time. Hana, Customer Care
Dear families, Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move Saturday's spring recital from 2 p.m. to 10 a.m. The high school needs the auditorium that afternoon for a district event, and this was the only time it could offer us. Doors open at 9:30, dancers should arrive in costume by 9:15, and the tickets you already bought are good for the new time. Gloria, Studio Director
Hi Faisal, Thank you for your patience and understanding about the blender. It was bought 74 days ago and our return window is 60 days, so I am not able to take it back as a store return. It is still under the manufacturer's one-year warranty, though, and I have attached a prepaid label that sends it straight to their repair center. They usually turn repairs around in about two weeks. Amir
Hi Augustin, Thank you for your time this morning. The forty minutes you spent walking us through your warehouse answered most of the questions on our list, especially the one about loading dock hours. I will send a draft delivery schedule by Wednesday so your team can mark it up before we meet again on the 14th. Best, Bettina
Dear Hazel, Thank you for your time on Tuesday and for introducing me to the rest of the design team. Hearing Delphine describe how the team rebuilt the mobile app in six months made me even more interested in the role. I would be glad to send more work samples or references if they would help. Sincerely, Dorian
Dear customers, Thank you for your understanding as our lawn care prices change on April 1. A standard weekly mow will go from $45 to $50. Fuel and equipment costs have risen over the past two years, and we held our price through both of them. Your service day and crew stay the same, and if you have any questions, Cyrus answers the office phone himself. Cyrus and the Greenway Lawn Crew
Dear Aiden, Thank you for considering our proposal for the library renovation. We understand the board will vote on March 12, and we are glad to answer questions before then or to walk any board member through the children's room plans in person. Respectfully, Dario
Thank you for your cooperation during Wednesday's fire alarm inspection. The alarms will sound several times between 9 a.m. and noon, and you do not need to leave the building unless you hear the announcement over the speakers. Elevators will run normally. Felix, Building Manager
Dear Dmitri, Thank you for your prompt reply. Having the signed lease back within a day means we can hand over the keys on the 1st as planned, and the movers can keep their morning slot. Best regards, Alma
Short & sweet
Thanks for your patience while I pulled up your account. I have it now, and I can see the address change you asked about.
Thank you for your time. Your answers go straight to the committee planning next year's conference, and we read every comment.
Hi Anton, thanks for the quick reply. That clears it up. I will send the invoice to accounts payable instead of to you.
Your patience is appreciated. We expect to have the ticketing system back by 4 p.m. and will post an update here at 2.
“Thank you for your patience” thanks someone for waiting on you, so the sentence after it has to say what they were waiting for, what you did about it, and when it will be resolved. Use “thank you for your time” when someone gave you their attention, as in a meeting, an interview or a reply, and “thank you for your understanding” when they accepted a change, a cancellation or a no.
Thank you for your patience for delays, outages and investigations
Use it when someone has waited longer than they expected for something you owed them: a late shipment, a slow reply, a project that ran past its date, a system that went down, a problem you are still looking into. The phrase alone tells them nothing they do not already know.
A good patience message answers three questions:
- What happened? One plain sentence. “The payment page failed its final security test” is enough. Skip the internal backstory.
- What did you do about it? A refund, a new date, a fix, a case number, a person who now owns it.
- What happens next, and when? A specific day beats “soon.” If you do not know the answer yet, give the date you will next update them, and keep it.
For an outage that hit many customers at once, add the time window and whether their data or payments were affected.
If the delay involved an order, the order thank-you wording covers the note that goes in the box once it ships. A client project that slipped but finished well calls for the client thank-you wording, which includes a note for a launch that tested everyone’s patience.
When not to use it, and when to apologize instead
“Thank you for your patience” works when the wait was nobody’s fault, or when the person chose to wait. It goes wrong when you caused the wait and use the phrase in place of saying sorry. A customer whose delivery truck never showed up was not patient. They were stood up, and thanking them for their patience can sound like you are congratulating them for putting up with you.
If you made a mistake, apologize first, say what you are doing about it, and save the thanks for the end (or drop it). “Sorry for the wait” fits short, minor delays, like a few minutes on hold or a reply that took an extra day. “I am sorry we missed the delivery window” fits real inconvenience, where someone lost time or money. The delivery coordinator example above shows the order: apology, the specific failure, the fix, then thanks for the chance to make it right.
Two other places to skip the phrase: when the person has already complained about the wait (thanking them for patience they plainly ran out of reads as tone-deaf), and in a second or third delay notice. The second time, lead with the new date and what changed.
Thank you for your patience and understanding
Adding “understanding” signals that you are asking for more than waiting. The person is being asked to accept something: a schedule change, a policy they would rather you bent, a decision that did not go their way. Use the longer phrase when there is a genuine decision behind the message, not as a more polite version of the short one.
When the answer is no, say no clearly, give the reason (a 60-day return window, a venue that needs the room), and offer the best thing you can do instead. The blender example above turns a refused return into a warranty repair with a prepaid label.
Thank you for your time
“Thank you for your time” thanks someone for attention rather than waiting. It belongs after a meeting, an interview, a sales call, a survey, or an email reply from someone who did not have to answer. The longer they gave you, or the busier they are, the more it helps to name what you got from it.
After a meeting, follow the thanks with the next step and its date. After an interview, mention one specific moment from the conversation and keep it to a short paragraph; the guide to the thank-you email after an interview goes further. After a sales call, send the thing you promised in the same email. For a busy person who answered a cold message, tell them what you did with their advice, so they know it landed.
Thank you for your understanding, consideration, cooperation and flexibility
These four sound alike but answer different situations:
- Understanding fits a cancellation, a price change, or a decision the person has to live with.
- Consideration fits something they are reviewing: a proposal, a bid, a job application, a request. It thanks them for weighing it, not for agreeing.
- Cooperation fits instructions you need people to follow, such as an inspection, a parking change, or a new check-in process. It can sound bossy, so make the instructions specific and brief.
- Flexibility fits someone who changed their own plans for you: a rescheduled meeting, a swapped shift, a moved deadline.
With a price increase, give the old price, the new price and the date, then the reason in one sentence.
Thank you for your quick response
Thank someone for a fast reply when the speed mattered, and say why. “Having the signed lease back within a day means we can hand over the keys on the 1st” tells the other person their effort changed something. For an ordinary quick answer, “thanks for the quick reply” plus whatever you are doing next is plenty. “Thank you for your prompt reply” is the more formal version and suits legal, financial, and first-contact emails.
Personal versions for friends, family and a partner
Patience in a friendship or a family usually means someone waited out a hard season when you were not much fun to be around: an illness in the family, a job search, months of studying. The thank-you works best when you name what they put up with (the canceled plans, the unanswered texts) and tell them where things stand now. You do not need to retell the whole ordeal, because they lived through it with you.
A text is fine for a friend. For a parent or partner who carried you through a long one, a handwritten card says more; the friendship thank-you wording has more for close friends.
Other ways to say thank you for your patience
| Phrase | Tone | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| I appreciate your patience | Formal, personal | A one-to-one email from you, not the company |
| We appreciate your patience | Formal | Customer-wide notices and support replies |
| Thanks for bearing with me | Casual | Coworkers, a delay you are working through |
| Thanks for hanging in there | Casual, warm | A long wait with someone you know well |
| Thank you for waiting | Neutral | Phone holds, in-person lines, a short delay |
| Thank you for sticking with us | Warm | Customers through a rough stretch for your business |
| I know this has taken longer than either of us wanted | Warm, candid | A delay where you also owe a small apology |
| Your patience is appreciated | Formal, impersonal | Status pages and signs; too cold for a personal email |
Punctuation and capitalization
Write “thank you” as two words when you are saying it (“thank you for your patience”) and hyphenate it only when it describes a noun (“a thank-you note”). There is no comma inside the phrase. Add one before a name (“Thank you for your patience, Gemma”) or after an opening word (“Again, thank you for your patience”).
Capitalize only the first word in a sentence or a sign-off. “Thank You For Your Patience” in title case belongs on a printed sign, not in an email. In a formal email, “thank you for your patience” is the safer choice than “thanks for your patience,” though “thanks” is perfectly professional with people you already work with.
Subject lines, greetings and sign-offs for other work messages are in the guides to professional thank-you wording and how to write a thank-you email.
Common questions
Is it thank you for your patience or thank you for being patient?
Both are correct. Thank you for your patience is slightly more formal and is the standard choice in business email and customer service. Thank you for being patient sounds warmer and more conversational, so it fits a text to a coworker or a note to a friend.
Is thank you for your patience rude or passive-aggressive?
It can read that way when it stands alone or when the person had no choice but to wait. If they were kept waiting by your mistake, apologize first and then thank them. If the delay was outside anyone's control, the phrase is fine, as long as the next sentence says what happened and what comes next.
Do you put a comma in thank you for your patience?
No comma is needed inside the phrase. A comma goes before a name or after an opening word, as in Thank you for your patience, Gemma, or Again, thank you for your patience. In the body of an email it usually ends with a period.
Is thanks for your patience too casual for a work email?
Thanks for your patience is fine with coworkers and clients you already know. For a customer you have never written to, a senior person, or a formal apology, use thank you for your patience or we appreciate your patience.
Should you say thank you for your patience in advance?
Thank you in advance for your patience works for a planned disruption, such as scheduled maintenance or a known busy season. Avoid it when you are asking someone to wait for something they were promised, because it assumes they will accept the delay before you have explained it.
What can I say instead of thank you for your time?
I appreciate you making time for this, thank you for meeting with me, and thanks for fitting me in all work well. After an interview or a long meeting, naming one thing you learned does more than the phrase itself.
How do you respond when someone thanks you for your patience?
A short reply is enough, such as no problem at all, thanks for the update, or happy to wait. If the delay did cause trouble, it is fair to say so politely and ask for the new date in writing.