COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE

CONTENTS CHAPTER I BUSINESS LETTERS PART I The format of letter Lesson 1 The letter layout page 3 PART II The content of letter Lesson 2 Structuring business letters page 10 PART II

THE UNIVERSITY OF DA NANG

COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

INTRODUCTION

Correspondence is a key aspect of the world of commerce and business Clear, effective correspondence is an important part of running an efficient business, and can promote good relations A course of ENGLISH COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE is intended for students of business and commerce who plan to make a career in the business world It aims to provide practical help in writing commercial correspondence

of all kinds, including letters, faxes, emails, reports, memos, application forms and CVs.…

The course book is designed to give the learners, who will live and work in the world of commerce, a basic awareness of commercial correspondence and working skills of commercial writing: What to write and How to write

This book is divided into 2 parts:

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I BUSINESS LETTERS

PART I The format of letter

Lesson 1 The letter layout page 3

PART II The content of letter

Lesson 2 Structuring business letters page 10

PART III Kinds of letters

Lesson 4 Letters of Replying to Enquires page 23

Lesson 6 Letters of Adjustment page 36 Lesson 7 Letters of Thanks page 44 Lesson 8 Letters of Apology page 47 Lesson 9 Invitations and Letters of Invitation page 50 Lesson 10 Letters of Job Application page 57

CHAPTER II BUSINESS DOCUMENTS

Lesson 15 Business Plans page 85

CHAPTER I BUSINESS LETTERS

PART I THE FORMAT OF LETTER

Lesson 1 THE LETTER LAYOUT

I PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

1 Sender’s address

In correspondence that does not have a LETTERHEAD, the sender’s address is placed in the top right-hand corner of the page It is also acceptable, but less common, to place it in the top left-hand corner Punctuation is rarely used in addresses these days

The BLOCKED STYLE is the most widely used i.e each line starts directly below the one above

2 Inside address ( reader’s name & address )

The inside address is written below the sender’s address and on the left hand side of the page Example

In some other countries the date is typed in the order month / day / year, often with a comma after the month

Ex: Dear Mr Leighton

If your letter is addressed generally to an organization and not to a specific person, the more formal salutation “Dear Sirs” should be used

Ex : Dear Sirs

If your letter is addressed to a head of department or the head of an organization whose name is not known, then it would be more appropriate to use a salutation as shown here

Ex : Dear Sir or Madam

6 Subject title ( Heading)

A subject title (heading) gives a brief indication of the content of the letter It is usually placed one clear line space after the salutation

Ex : Dear Mrs Marshal

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – 24 AUGUST 2003

7 Body : This is the actual message of your letter

TITLE STATUS COMPLIMENTARY

Dear Sir male – name not known

Dear Sirs Organisation / Company Yours faithfully Dear Madam female - name not known

Dear Sir or Madam unsure whether male or female

Dr / Professor / General medical / academic / military

Dear Mr … married or unmarried male

Dear Mrs … married female Yours sincerely Dear Miss … unmarried female

Dear Ms … unmarried or married female

9 Name of sender and designation

After the complimentary close 4 or 5 clear spaces should be left so that the letter can be signed The name of sender should then be inserted in whatever style is preferred The sender’s designation or department should be shown directly beneath his / her name In these examples note that the title “Mr” is never shown when the writer is male However, it is usual to add a courtesy title for a female, this is shown in brackets after her name

Ex : Yours faithfully Yours sincerely

Parick Ashe Lesley Bolan

PARICK ASHE LESLEY BOLAN (Mrs)

When a letter has to be signed on behalf of the sender, it is usual to write “for” or “pp” in front

of the sender’s printed name, “pp” is an abbreviation for per procurationem, which simple means “on behalf of”

Ex :

Yours sincerely

LINDA PATESON (Mrs) Marketing Manager

Enc

Bill of lading (3 copies) Insurance certificate (1copy) Certificate of origin (1copy) Bill of exchange (1copy)

11 Copies

When a copy of a letter is to be sent to a third party (usually someone in the sender’s organisation) this may be indicated by typing “cc” (copy circulated, courtesy copy, or carbon copy ) or “Copy” followed by the name and designation of the copy recipient If there are two or more copy recipients, it is usual to show these in alphabetical order

Ex: Copy Ashley Ow Yong, General Manager

Candice Reeves, Company Secretary

Ravi Gopal, Accountant

If the writer does not wish the recipient of the letter to know that a third person is receiving a copy of the letter, then “bcc” (blind courtesy copy or blind carbon copy) is used This should not

be shown on the top of the letter, only on the file copy and bcc copy/ies

Ex : bcc Mr Gordon Clark, Chief Executive

II SAMPLE OF THE LETTER LAYOUT

Financial Times Prentice Hall

Edinburgh Gate Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE UNITED KINGDOM Telephone: + 44(0) 1279 623623 Facsimile: + 44(0) 1279 431059

ST/PJ

Mr Alan Hill General Manager Long Printing Co Ltd

34 Wood Lane London WC1 8 TJ

Dear Alan FULLY BLOCKED LETTER LAYOUT

Reference Opening Salutation

Body of letter

Inside address

This layout has become firmly established as the most popular way of setting out letters, fax messages, memos, reports- in fact all business communications The main feature of fully blocked style is that all lines begin at the left-hand margin

Open punctuation is usually used with the fully blocked layout This means that no punctuation marks are necessary

in the reference, date, inside address, salutation and closing section Of course essential punctuation must still be used in the text of the message itself However, remember to use commas minimally today; they should be used only when their omission would make the sense of the message unclear

Consistency is important in layout and spacing of all documents It is usual to leave just one clear line space between each section

I enclose some other examples of fully blocked layout as used in fax messages and memoranda

Most people agree that this layout is very attractive and easy

to produce as well as businesslike

III EXERCISES

Exercise 1

Match the following headings with the correct numbers :

A Reader’s name, position and address

B Closing salutation (Complimentary Close)

C Body of the letter

D Enclosure

E Opening salutation

F Subject

G References

H Signature

I Date

J Letterhead

K Writer’s name

L Writer’s position

(1)………

(2)………

………

………

(3)………

(4)………

………

(5)………

(6)………

(7)………

………… ……… ………

………

………

………

………

………

………

(8)………

(9)………

(10)………

(11)………

(12)………

Exercise 2 Match the following functions with the name of the parts :

_ 1 This part identifies the writer, their address and telephone number Most business

organizations use company stationery with this part printed

_ _2 This part is placed below the inside address

_ _3 This part identifies the letter’s purpose It should be no more than six to ten words

_ _4 This is the writer’s greeting to the reader

_ _5 This part should match the form of address used in the opening salutation

Exercise 3

Read the following statements and decide which are true (T) or false (F)

a If a letter begins with the recipient’s name, e.g Dear Mr Ross, it will close with Yours

faithfully

b The abbreviation c.c stands for correct carbons

c If you were writing a letter to Mr Peter Smith, the salutation would be Dear Mr Peter Smith

d In the USA, it is correct to open a letter with the salutation Gentlemen

e In the UK, a date written 2.6.05 means 6 February 2005

f If a secretary signs a letter and the signature is followed by p.p Daniel

Harris it means that the secretary is signing on behalf of Daniel Harris

g The term plc after a UK company’s name, e.g Hathaway plc stands for Public Limited

Corporation

h The term Ltd after a UK company’s name means limited liability

i If you do not know whether a female correspondent is married or not, it is correct to use the courtesy title Ms instead of Miss or Mrs, e.g Ms Tessa Groves

j This address is an example of blocked style

Peter Voss Oberlweinfeldweg 33

5207 Therwil Switzerland

h It is impolite to close a letter Best wishes

Exercise 4 Match words from the jumbled letters and match them with the definitions

a LBCDEOK YSETL e EPITVAR NAD FIDNAILTCOEN

b TERSGUANI CLOKB f BOJ TELTI

c ERFCNEREE g SURYO ELECISNRY

d CSRULEENO h TTCMTHAEAN

1 Document enclosed with a letter

2 Figures and /or letters written at the top of a letter to identify it

3 Style of writing in which each line starts directly below the one above

4 Complimentary close used at the end of a letter when the addressee’s name is known

5 Phrase written on a letter intended only to be ready by the addressee

6 Name and job title typed below a signature

7 Separate document attached to an email message

8 The name of someone’s job, e.g Sales Manager, Chief Buyer.

PART II THE CONTENT OF LETTER

Lesson 2 STRUCTURING BUSINESS LETTERS

I HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS LETTER

I 1 GOLDEN RULES FOR WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS

1 Give your letter a heading if it will make easier for the reader to understand your purpose in

writing

2 Decide what you are going to say before you start to write because if you don’t do this the

sentences are likely to go on and on until you think of a good way to finish In other words, you should always to plan ahead

3 Use short sentences

4 Use short words that everyone can understand

5 Think about the reader Your reader…

……must be able to see exactly what you mean :

Your letter should be CLEAR

……must be given all the necessary information :

Your letter should be COMPLETE

…….is likely to be a busy person with no time to waste :

Your letter should be CONCISE

…….must be addressed in a sincere, polite tone :

Your letter should be COURTEOUS

…….may get a bad impression if there are mistakes in grammar, punctuation, spelling :

Your letter should be CORRECT

I.2 PLANNING YOUR BUSINESS LETTER

It is your responsibility as a letter to know your purpose in writing and to send this message clearly and courteously to the receiver By completing the following seven steps as you write a business letter, you are able to achieve this :

1 Decide on the purpose of the letter

2 Decide what you want to say

3 Write all the ideas in point form

4 Order these ideas into a sequence appropriate to the type of letter

5 Write the first draft using correct business writing style

6 Read the letter to ensure that you have achieved your purpose

7 Rewrite if necessary

Whether you draft your letter quickly or slowly and carefully, remember that the first and the last sentences are not the most significant For this reason, write them well, avoid clichés and wordiness, and your letter will be effective

I.3 ORGANISING A LETTER

THE 4-POINT PLAN

Many communications are short and routine You can write or dictate them without any special thinking or presentation However, documents that aren’t so routine need more thought and careful planning This four-point plan suggested here provides a useful but simple framework for structuring all written communications, and it is illustrated simply here

* acknowledge the previous correspondence

* refer to a meeting contact

* provide an introduction to the matter being discussed

Examples:

- Thank you for your letter of 12 July

1 INTRODUCTION (Background and Basics)

2 DETAILS (Facts and Figures)

4 CLOSE (A simple one-liner)

3 RESPONSE or ACTION

(Conclusion)

Why are you writing?

Refer to a previous letter,

contact or document

Action the reader should take

Action you will take

Give a deadline if necessary

Sometimes all that is

needed is a simple

one-line closing sentence

Give information/instructions

Ask for information

Provide all relevant details

Separate into paragraphs

Ensure logical flow

- It was good to meet you again at last week’s conference

- We wish to hold our annual conference at a London hotel in September

2 CENTRAL SECTIONS (details)

This main part of the message gives all the information that the recipient needs to know Alternatively you may be requesting information, sometimes both Details should be stated simply and clearly, with separate paragraphs used for individual sections This section should flow logically to a natural conclusion

3 CONCLUSION (Action or Response)

This section draws the message to a logical conclusion It may:

* state the action expected from the recipient

* state the action you will take as a result of the details provided

Examples:

Please let me have full details of the costs involved together with some sample menus

If payment is not received within 7 days, this matter will be placed in the hands of our solicitor

4 CLOSE

A simple one-line closing sentence is usually all that is necessary to conclude a message This should be relevant to the content of the message

Examples:

I look forward to meeting you soon

I look forward to seeing you at next month’s conference

A prompt reply would be appreciated

Please let me know if you need any further information

* Clauses such as these are incomplete and should not be used:

Hope to hear from you soon

Looking forward to meeting you

I.4 SOME MORE USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

1 Starting

Following ( our phone conversation today…)

In reply to ( your fax received …)

We are writing ( to enquire about…)

I am pleased ( to confirm…)

This letter is ( to thank you….)

This fax is ( to give you details of …)

I am writing ( to find out if it would be possible to …)

We are interested in … and we would like to know…

With reference to …

Regarding ( our meeting today…)

Further to ( our letter of July 18, we wish to inform you that…)

I have read ( your advertisement in…and…)

If you are answering a business letter You can start :

Thank you for your letter of (date), concerning…

We have received your letter of (date), enquiring about…

Many thanks for your letter of enquiry dated December 12

2 Ending

Here are some ways to end a business letter :

I look forward to ( receiving your reply / order / products…)

Looking forward to (hearing from you)

We look forward to (doing business with you)

We look forward to (your accepting our offer)

I wish to (take this opportunity to thank you for your sincere cooperation)

If you gave some information in the letter, you can close :

I hope that this information will help you

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions

Please contact me if you need any further information

Please let me know if you need any further information

For additional information, please…

Don’t hesitate to contact me…

II SAMPLE OF A BUSINESS LETTER

Institute of Secretaries Wilson House, West Street, London SW1 2AR

Telephone 020 8987 2432

Fax 020 8987 2556

Miss Ong Lee Fong

15 Windsor Road Manchester M2 9GJ

12 May 2004 Dear Lee Fong

2004 SECRETARIES CONFERENCE, 8/9 OCTOBER 2004

As a valued member of the Institute of Secretaries, I have pleasure in inviting you

to attend our special conference to be held at the Clifton Hotel, London on Tuesday/Wednesday 8/9 October 2004

This intensive, practical conference for professional secretaries aims to:

• increase your managerial and office productivity

• improve your communication skills

• bring you up to date with the latest technology and techniques

• enable networking with other secretaries

The seminar is power-packed with a distinguished panel of professional speakers who will give expert advice on many useful topics A programme is enclosed giving full details of this seminar which I know you will not want to miss

If you would like to join us, please complete the enclosed registration form and return it to me before 30 June with your fee of $ 50 per person

I look forward to seeing you again at this exciting conference

Yours sincerely

Louise Dunscombe

LOUISE DUNSCOMBE Conference Secretary Encs

III EXERCISES

Exercise 1

Match the following actions with the standard phrases

a Starting a letter (referring to previous meetings or correspondence)

b Explaining the reason for writing

c Giving bad news

d Giving good news

1 Do not hesitate to contact us again if you need further assistance

2 Further to our meeting last Friday…

3 I would like to know about…

4 Further to your enquiry, we are pleased to enclose…

5 I regret to inform you that…

6 I am just writing to confirm …

7 If you have any further questions, please contact us

8 We are pleased to announce …

9 We are writing to give you further information about…

10 We are writing to inform you that…

11 We deeply regret any inconvenience caused by…

12 We look forward to hearing from you

13 With reference to your enquiry of 13 May, I am enclosing details of…

14 Thank you for your letter of June 14

15 Please accept our apologies for

16 I would be grateful if you could inform us…

17 I am happy to tell you that…

18 I am sorry to announce that…

19 I would like to apologise for…

20 We are sorry for…

21 We assure you that this will not happen again

22 Could you please send me some further details of…

23 I would like to thank you for…

24 Regarding your enquiry dated…

25 We shall do everything in our power to settle the problem

Exercise 2

Here are the main messages from four letters Choose the correct beginning and ending from sentences a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h, then add “Yours faithfully / sincerely” or “Best wishes”

a Thank you for your telephone call today, enquiring about our prices

b Looking forward to seeing you

c Thank you for your letter of 16 February, concerning Arabian Electronics

d I look forward to receiving your order

e Thank you for your telephone call today

f Thank you for your fax of 18 July, concerning your forthcoming visit to Hong Kong

g I hope that this information will help you

h Please feel free to contact me if you need any information about other branches

Dear Madam

1………

We are happy to tell you that the above mentioned company has always paid our bills on time

We have never had any problems with them

We sell three kinds of water heaters

The prices are Dfl.450 (150 litres), Dfl680 (200 litres) and Dfl.740 (250 litres) I enclose some brochures

I am sorry that I was not in the office when you rang, but here is the information

that you wanted The address of our branch in Singapore is 54 Liu Fang Road, Jurong Town, Singapore 2262 The manager is Mr S Rushford

Exercise 3

Put the sentences in the right order to make a letter a Stephanie Strahh b Thank you once again for improving your quote, and c Dear Mr Laporta d and payment at thirty day from today e I look forward to receiving the goods in due course f The price agreed was $ 1000 (ex VAT), with transport cost of $ 90 g You promised delivery within thirty days h Yours sincerely i I am writing to confirm my order for on Literature table (180 cm), a two drawer filling cabinet in cherry and one Clio chair j Following our phone conversation today, Exercise 4 Match the phrases or sentences with those below so that they are more effective 1 We refer to your letter of 21st June

2 As spoken in our tele-con today

3 Please revert to me soonest possible

4 Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me

5 The cause of your complaint has been investigated

6 Arrangements have been made for a repeat order to be dispatched to you immediately

7 The seminar will be conducted by Adrian Chan

8 We can’t do anything about your problem

9 Your television guarantee’s is up, so you will have to be pay for it to be fixed

10 I am writing to complain because I was very unhappy with the way I was treated in your

store today

A I hope to hear from you soon

B Thank you for calling me this morning

C I have arranged for a repeat order to be sent to you today

D Please give me a call if you have any questions

E Adrian Chan will conduct the seminar

F Thank you for your letter of 21 st June

G Your television guarantee’s has ended, so unfortunately you must bear the cost of any

repairs

H I was most unhappy with the standard of service I received in your store today

I I have looked into this matter

J Unfortunately we are unable to help you on this occasion

PART III KINDS OF LETTERS

Lesson 3 ENQUIRY LETTERS

An inquiry letter is used to ask for more information concerning a product, service or other information about a product or service These letters are often written in response to an advertisement that we have seen in the paper, a magazine, a commercial on television when we are interested in purchasing a product, but would like more information before making a decision Inquiries are also written to ask for business contact information to develop new business

I HOW TO WRITE AN ENQUIRY LETTER

1 OPENING :

* Telling your supplier what sort of organisation you are

- We are an electronics company based in …

- Our company is a subsidiary of … and we specialize in…

- We are a producer of …in … and we are interested in…

* How did you heard about the company you contacting ?

- We are interested in…as advertised recently in…

- We were given your name by …

- You were recommended to us by …

- We were advised by … that you are supplying …

- We were impressed by …… displayed on your stand at…

- We have learned from…

- We have obtained your …from…

- It has come to our attention that…

- Our attention has been drawn to your…

- I was interested to see your advertisement for…

* Requesting information :

- Could you please send me some further details of …

- I would be grateful if you could …

- We would appreciate it if you could inform us…

- We would like to know ( about / if )…

- I would welcome information about…

* Requesting action

- Please could you … as soon as possible

- We would be grateful if you could… without delay

- We would appreciate it if you could… immediately

- I am particularly interested in….Would it be possible for you to supply us with…

- If you can supply suitable goods, we may place regular orders for large quantities

2 CLOSING

- We hope to hear from you in the near future

- We would be grateful for an early reply

- We hope that you can offer us…

- We would therefore need your assurance that…

II SAMPLES OF ENQUIRY LETTERS

Shek Kip Mei Industrial Estate

Dear Sir or Madam

Sales enquiry

We are a chain of retailers based in Kowloon and are looking for a manufacturer who can supply us a wide range of sweaters for the men’s leisurewear market We were impressed by the new designs displayed on your stand at the Kowloon Menswear Exhibition last month

As we usually place large orders, we would expect a quantity discount in addition to a 20% trade discount off net list prices

If these conditions interest you, you can meet order of over 500 garments at one time, please send me your current catalogue and price list

I look forward to hearing from you

Yours faithfully

K.K Chan

SAMPLE 2

III EXERCISES

Exercise I

Match the clauses on the right with the appropriate ones on the left

a Referring to our letter of 3rd April 1 When it would be convenient for you to call

b Thank you for your letter of 4th 2 Perhaps you would like to call at this branch for August a full discussion of your requirements

c I note your comments 3 We would be most glad to provide banking services

d I understand your reasons 4 That we could offer the services you require

e We would very much hope 5 Concerning your present situation

f When you are in this country 6 Regarding the possibility of opening a bank account

g Perhaps you would be good enough with us

to write and suggest a date and time 7 For changing your present bank account

Exercise 2

Put the following sentences in order so as to make a letter

A When I am in New York in October, I will call at your bank

B I got your name and address from a friend in New York

C Please mail me details about your banking services

D Dear Sir,

Golden Gate Engineering

Prince Square, Prince Street, Kowloon Dear Sir or Madam

Enquiry about Quality Control Course

I am writing to enquire whether your company could offer a course on Quality

Control for our managers

I saw your advert in the HK Daily on Friday, 28 August 2009, and the Quality

Control Training Course (Ref.: QC 101) mentioned in the advert might be suitable for us I would like to know if it is possible for you to offer a 3-month training course starting before or, at the latest, on Wednesday, 16 September 2009, for a group of

20 Could you send us some information about the teaching staff and the possible schedule for this course

I am looking forward to receiving your reply

Yours faithfully,

E Thank you for your attention

F He also said you have the best services in New York

G I would like to open a bank account in New York

H He told me you are a very good bank

I Also I need a list of the companies in New York

Exercise 3

Complete the letter with the following phrases Two phrases are not used

A to be affected B a sample of C I should appreciate

D be suitable for E would you please F During a recent visit

G In what colors H what special preparation I is familiar with

J would it be possible K I think L I look forward

Dear Sir/ Madam

(1) _ to the Ideal Home Exhibition I saw (2) _ your

plastic tile flooring (3) this kind of flooring would

(4) _ the ground floor of my house, but I have not been able to

find anyone to who (5) such tiling

(6) _give me the following information:

1 (7) would be necessary for the under flooring?

2 (8) and designs can the tiles supplied?

3 Are the tiles likely (9) _ by rising damp?

4 Would it be necessary to employ a specialist to lay the floor? If so, can you recommend one in my area?

(10) your advice on these matters

Yours faithfully

Exercise 4

Write a letter requesting information based on each of the following entries :

A Mr XX, Hudco Trading,56 Outram Rd#14-03, Tan Boon Liat Bidg, Singapore 031006, Singapore, Fx : 2217185, email to hudco@ bigbiz.corn; solar products, garden lights, low voltage halogen lamps

B Mr XX, Young Classic Design, 34 Fletching Rd, Clapton, London, E59 PQ, United

Kingdom, email to younged @ bigbiz,corn; handbags, travels & luggage,costume

C Mr.XX, Stayoung Import Inc 12 Robinson Rd,Texarkana, Txas,75501, USA, emai to

stayoung@ bigbiz Corn, cosmestic, beauty supplies, tattoo machines, accessories, small leather goods

Lesson 4 LETTERS OF REPLYING TO ENQUIRIES

A reply letter is usually a response to the communication that you have received from a person or business When replying to a letter or inquiry from clients, associates, customers or colleagues, it is important that it is in a formal format and this makes a good impression crucial

It should then mention key points discussed in letter received This helps to remind the recipient you understood his or her message and understand his or her position Never use first names unless you are friends or colleagues and your first name was used in the original letter Then address the question, inquiry or complaint that was in the received letter If you are unable

to answer the question, then direct the person to someone who does have the answers Offer your assistance to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible

I HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OF REPLYING TO ENQUIRES

* OPENING : Thank the writer for his / her enquiry

- Thank you for your enquiry of … ( date )………… in which you ask about…

- I would like to thank you for your enquiry of …( date ) And I am pleased to tell you that we would be able to supply you with the…

- We were pleased to learn from your letter of (date) that you are impressed with

- Thank you for your letter, NJ 1691, which we received this morning

- Thank you for your enquiry dated …regarding…

- Thank you for your letter of …As requested we enclose…

* Confirming that you can help

- We have a wide selection of … that will appeal to the market you specified

- Our factory would have no problem in producing the…… you asked for in your enquiry

- We can supply from stock and will have no trouble in meeting your delivery date

- I am pleased to say that we will be able to supply the ……… you require

- We can offer door - to – door delivery services

* Selling your product

- When you have had the opportunity to see the samples for yourself, we feel sure you will agree that they are of the highest quality and to see a wide selection online, go to w.w.w

- Once you have seen the ….in operation we know you will be impressed by its trouble free performance

- We can assure you that the ….is one of the most outstanding machines on the market and our confidence in it is supported by our five –year guarantee

* Sending catalogues, price list, samples

- Please find enclosed our current catalogue and price list

- We enclose our booklet on the… and are sure you will agree that it is one of the finest machines of its kind

* Arranging demonstration and visits

- We have enclosed full details of the…., but a demonstration would be necessary to show you its full capabilities We therefore suggest that you visit our centre in …, where the equipment is set up, so that you can see the machine in action

- As the enclosed booklet cannot really show the effectiveness of this system, we would be happy to arrange for our representative to visit you and give a demonstration If you are interested in a visit, please fill in the enclosed pre-paid card and return it to us

- The enclosed catalogue will give you an idea of the type of … we produce, but may we suggest that you also visit our agent’s showrooms where you can see a wide range of units ? The address is …

* CLOSING : Always thank the customer for contacting you

- Once again we would like to thank you for writing We would welcome any further questions you might have

- Please contact us again if you have any questions, using the above telephone number or email address

- We hope to hear from you again soon, and can assure you that your order will be dealt with promptly

- We look forward to receiving a trial order from you

- Any orders you place with us will have our prompt attention

- We shall be pleased to send you any further information you may need

- Please let me know if you need any further details

- I hope this suggestion/information will be useful to you

- I hope this information will prove useful to you

- I hope that this information will help you to make decisions on your order

- I look forward to receiving your confirmation of …

- I look forward to doing business with your company in the future…

- Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further queries on …

- Please do not hesitate to contact me on 27615432 if I can be of further assistance

Perhaps you would consider placing a trial order to provide you with

an opportunity to test its efficiency At the same time this would enable you to see for yourself the high quality of material and finish put into this model

If you have any questions please contact me on 6453786

Yours sincerely

SAMPLE 2

PART A

a They are “ Kolby” products,

b We have sent samples of

c I can confirm that

d Thank you of your enquiry of 12 May

e Because of their low price and the small profit margin

f The reason their prices are so competitive is that

g Thank you

h But we sell a wide range of electronic and computer products and have enclosed a price list

i We would urge you to place an order as soon as possible

PART B

1 they are of high quality, and suitable for domestic recording

2 we will not be offering any trade discounts on this consignment

3 giving details of trade, quantity and cash discounts

4 they are part of a consignment on bankrupt stock that was offered to us

5 a brand name you will certainly recognize

6 as there has been a huge response to our advertisement

7 the advertised CDs and other brand we stock,

8 in which you asked about the CDs we advertised in this month’s edition of “Lectron”

9 for your interest

Could you possible send me the origin brochure in English as soon as it is completing so that we can prepare the official budget and schedule ? I would grateful if you could provide us any company literature you have in French as an example for our translators

If you have any queries, please not hesitate to me

Your sincerely,

Jean Jacques Tissot

Exercise 4

Complete the two letters with the phrases below :

A particular interest to you G any further information

B draw your attention H We are offering

C detail information I 31 January

D on safety and fuel economy J Please contact us

E current price list K With regard to

F your enquiry L we have achieved

(6) _if we can be of any further help

(11) _trade discounts, we can offer 25% off list prices to genuine retailers and wholesalers, with quantity discounts for orders over $ 20,000,00

We would be pleased to supply (12) _you require

Yours sincerely

Exercise 5 :

Topic: An Australian Computer Hardware Distributor responds to a Dealership enquiry

You are the Sales Manager of Kingston Corporation Your firm is the exclusive distributor of the ZX99 computer, a powerful laptop computer manufactured in the United Kingdom This morning, your Managing Director passed onto you a dealership enquiry from Red Spot Computers, a computer dealer chain in Australia You were asked to handle the matter

Write a letter to Ms Kitty Finch, Chief Buyer of Red Spot Computers Provide her with details regarding dealership application including procedure and requirements Please also send them your wholesale price- list, fact sheets, reviews, brochures and catalogues

Exercise 6:

Topic: An Australian Travel Agency responds to enquiry about its package tours

You are the European Tours Supervisor of Europe Tours Ltd Your company specializes in organizing European package tours Your Manager has passed onto you a letter from a Mrs Jenny Childers who has written to enquire about the information on your tours for the coming Christmas season

Write a letter of reply to Mrs Childers Send her a brochure which provides details of the tours Also let her know that your tours are very popular To date, there is only a limited number of places left Before you finish off, do not forget to inform her that to secure a place, she will have

to pay a deposit of $500 to make a confirm booking

Lesson 5 LETTERS OF COMPLAINT

No matter how good intentions and efforts, there are bound to be occasions when it is necessary

to deal with a complaint, or even to make one Complaints may be necessary for several reasons, such as: wrong goods received, poor service, unsatisfactory quality of goods, late delivery, damaged and faulty goods, prices not as agreed, mistake in the paperwork, the negative attitude of an employee, something you have used at home

The purpose of a complaint letter in business is to get rectification and replacement and not finding fault with the seller A complaint letter requests some sort of compensation for defective or damaged merchandise or for inadequate or delayed services

I HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OF COMPLAINT

* OPENING

- I am writing to complain about…

- I am writing with references to …

- I am writing on account of …/ on the subject of…

- I am writing to draw your attention to…

- I am writing to you in connection with…

- I would like to express my strong dissatisfaction with…

- I feel I must complain about…

* BODY OF LETTER

1 Making a mild complaint

* Say that , unfortunately , something is wrong

- Unfortunately , We have not yet received …(the filling cabinets)

- I regret to inform you that you made an error on the statement

- There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding terms of discount Discount is

deducted from net prices, not CIF prices

- Unfortunately, you sent us a bill for the wrong bill

- I think the reason is that wrong sizes have been sent to me

- I am sorry you had the problem with your recent order

* Ask for a solution

- Could you deliver them as soon as possible

- Please give this matter your immediate attention

- We would be grateful if you could send us a correct bill soon

- I would very much appreciate receiving a more reasonable invoice

- I would appreciate your looking into this

- We would appreciate it if you could …

2 Making a strong complaint

* Say exactly what is wrong

32

Examples : - It is now over nine months since we placed this order and we are still waiting for

the cabinets I should like to point out that we have already paid for these cabinets

- I had booked a table for 8.30 but it was 9 o’clock before we were seated Such

delay seems to me inexcusable

* Demand immediate action

Remember to include what action you want the other person to take such as : to deal with the

matter urgently; to send the correct items; to replace the goods; to give a refund; to send new

paperwork; to return and do the job properly

Examples : - We must insist, therefore, that you deliver them immediately

- Unless we hear from you within 7 days we will take legal action

* CLOSING :

- I hope the matter will be resolved

- I hope we can sort this matter out amicably

- I hope that I will not be forced to take further action

II SAMPLES OF LETTERS OF COMPLAINT

SAMPLE 1

Fortune Goods

317 Orchard Road Singapore

Mr David Choi Everlong Batteries

171 Choi Hung Road Hung Hom

Hong Kong

25 August 2008 Dear Mr Choi

Re Order No 768197

I am writing to inform you that the goods we ordered from your company have not been supplied correctly

On 18 August 2008 we placed an order with your firm for 12,000 ultra super long-life batteries The consignment arrived yesterday but contained only 1,200 batteries

This error put our firm in a difficult position, as we had to make some emergency purchases

to fulfill our commitments to all our customers This caused us considerable inconvenience

I am writing to ask you to please make up the shortfall immediately and to ensure that such errors do not happen again Otherwise, we may have to look elsewhere for our supplies

I look forward to hearing from you by return

Yours sincerely

33

SAMPLE 2

Flat 303 Lucky Mansions

856 Cheung Sha Wan Road Cheung Sha Wan

Kowloon Satex 5 p.A

Via di Pietra Papa

00146 Roma

ITALY

22 August 2008 Dear Sir

I am writing to you to complain about the shipment of sweaters we received yesterday against the above order

The boxes in which the sweaters were packed were damaged, and looked as if they had been broken open in transit From your invoice No.18871 we

estimate that thirty garments have been stolen, to the value of $550.00 Because of the rummaging in the boxes, quite a few other garments were crushed or stained and cannot be sold as new articles in our shops

As the sale was on a CIF basis and the forwarding company were your agents,

we suggest you contact them with regard to compensation

You will find a list of the damaged and missing articles enclosed, and the consignment will be put to one side until we receive your instructions

Yours faithfully

Peter Crane

Chief Buyer

III EXERCISES

Exercise 1 : Find out the mistakes in the following letter and correct them

Exercise 2

Put the following sentences in the correct order to form the letter

_As our conference on stress management starts tomorrow

_Yours sincerely,

_Yesterday we took delivery of 350 champagne glasses from your company

_Please give this matter your immediate attention

_Dear Ms Geraldo,

_I would be grateful if you could send some replacement glasses today

_I look forward to hearing from you

_I tried to phone you all morning, but your line was constantly engaged

Dear Sir,

COMPLAINT ABOUT GOLDEN GROUP PACKAGE TOUR

My husband and I recently returned from one of your Golden Group holidays in Tunisia

We chose this holiday in preference many others as we were assured both

in the brochure and by your agency staff that this particularly package catered for retired couples like ourselves We understood that our special organised activities would be run by mature friendly hostesses However

in arrival at our destination we were met by a very youthful rep who very curtly told us that there were only two other people on the golden group package and that, as a result, we could join in the activities organise for other groups or fend for ourselves Since our tastes does not include hard rock or late-night pub crawls we asked to be moved to another hotel

We were told that if we did this it would have to be at our expensive As a result we decided to stay where we were and to organise our own entertainment

Now that we have returned home we feel oblige to draw your attention to our deep dissatisfaction by the service we received Not only were we deceived by the information in your brochure but we were not properly treated by your staff in the resort

We hope that this matter will rectified to our satisfaction in the near future and look forward to hear from you shortly

Yours faithfully,

Katherine Hopper

Exercise 3 :

Complete the letter with the following phrases or sentences

A I was also seriously concerned about the physical safety of attendees

B the exhibition was held at one of Hong Kong's most prestigious hotels

C so that more research can be done

D all the leaflets had been taken

E I look forward to hearing from you

F Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the event was spoiled

G I want to make concerns product information

H I found the facility totally unworkable

Dear Sir/Madam

I attended your exhibition Sound Systems 2008 at the Fortune Hotel from 14 - 15 August and found it informative and interesting (1)

by a number of organisational problems I explain each of the problems below

Firstly, I had difficulty in registering to attend the event You set up an on-line registration facility, but (2) Even after spending several wasted hours trying to register in this way, the computer would not accept my application I eventually succeeded in registering by faxing you

Secondly, (3) _, but frankly the venue was better suited to a medium-sized business conference than to a large exhibition open by registration to the public The lack of space led to serious overcrowding in the venue, particularly at peak visiting times (i.e lunch times and early evening) On one or two occasions (4)

The final point(5) It is very enjoyable

to see and test a range of excellent sound systems, but it is also important to be able to take away leaflets on interesting products, (6) _ before deciding which system to buy However, by the time I attended the exhibition(7)

Could I please ask you to look into these matters - not only on my behalf but also on behalf of other attendees, and in fact on behalf of your company, too

(8)

Yours faithfully

Michel

Late yesterday afternoon, a consignment of 12 filing cabinets against the above order reached your office However, the executive chairs are still missing You called Office Furniture Wholesalers this morning and talked to Mrs Tina Milfred, their Assistant Manager However, all she told you was that the chairs are still unavailable as their shipment of chairs and other furniture is still in route from Denmark to Nanyang She could not even specify the date as to when the chairs will be in stock

You are quite unhappy with the situation, as you always have your own schedule to keep Write

a letter to Mrs P Garvey, Manager of Office Furniture Wholesalers, to complain about the situation Extend your delivery deadline to 24 August Make it clear to them that if it is not met, you will have to cancel the order and demand compensation

Exercise 5

Write a letter to a hotel manager complaining about the service provided by the hotel during your recent stay You are angry because :

- the service was slow

- the room was not properly cleaned either before or during your stay

- the receptionist seemed unwilling to answer your enquires

- no porters were available to help with your luggage

- You say that although you have stayed at the hotel several times in the past, you are

unwilling to come again unless there is some guarantee of improvement

Lesson 6 LETTERS OF ADJUSTMENT

An adjustment letter is a type of business letter submitted in response to a customer’s complaint letter or claim, written by a manager of an organization or business representative It

is also referred as a complaint response letter, claim adjustment letter, customer complaint reply, letter of response to a complaint, letter of complaint response and other similar terms Adjustment letters deal with all kinds of complaints and claims: unsatisfactory service, defective product, goods not delivered, salary not received, shipment arriving late, etc

I HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OF ADJUSTMENT

Basic organization of the letter

Acknowledging receipt of a complaining letter

Accepting a Complaint Rejecting a Complaint

Apology for the error or

fault

Regret at dissatisfaction

Accept the complaint Reject responsibility for

the problem leading to the

An offer to take goods back, make

a replacement, give a discount, etc

If a third party (another person

or organisation) is to blame, direct the complainer to the party

A concluding paragraph aiming at retaining the goodwill of the customer

* Opening : Thanks for letters

- Thank you for your letter of 20 December informing us / relating to / concerning / …

- We would like to thank you for informing us of our accounting error in your letter of

- We are replying to your letter of 10 March in which you told that…

- We would like to thank you for your sympathetic and understanding actions

* Apologizing

- We are sorry for the delay on shipping your order

- We would like to apologise for the broken glasses

- I am extremely sorry you had a problem with your recent order

- We would like to apologize for the mistake on invoice No which was due to an oversight

- We must apologize for… / We sincerely apologise for

- Please accept our sincerest apologies for the recent mix-up with the shipment of…

* Explaining the mistake

- We normally pride ourselves on keeping to our delivery dates, but in this case our suppliers

shipped to us late and the components did not arrive here till last Wednesday

- Because of unfortunate situation, we have discovered a number of errors with our shipping department

- From our previous transactions you will realize that this sort of problem is quite unusual Nevertheless, we are sorry about the inconvenience it has caused you

- As a result of our investigation, we found that the cause of / reason for the mistake was

* Promising a solution

- Please would you return the whole consignment to us and we will ask the shipping company to

inspect the damage so that they can arrange compensation

- We shall do everything in our power to settle our accounts as promptly as possible in future

- While we cannot give you an explanation at present, we are looking into the problem and will contact you again shortly

- Would you please return samples of the items you are dissatisfied with, and I will send them to our factory for tests

- I shall get in touch with the packaging sector at once

- I am sending you some replacement glasses immediately

- I can assure that action has been taken to remedy the problem

- We assure you that this will not happen again

- As a sign of our concern, we would like to offer…

- To show our goodwill, we will

* Repeating apology and expressing goodwill

- Once again let me say how much I regret the inconvenience this delay has caused and emphasize that it was due to factors we could not have known about we accepted your delivery dates

- Again, we are very sorry, but it was beyond our control We greatly regret any inconvenience that may have been caused

- I am sorry about the inconvenience you have experienced I hope you will have a successful conference

- With apologies once again I hope the situation has been resolved to your satisfaction If there

is anything else we can do for you, please call us at……

- Please accept our apologies once again We hope that this has not caused you any inconvenience

- We understand how disappointing it can be when your expectations are not met

* Rejecting responsibility for the problem leading to the complaint

- I regret to inform you that …

- I am afraid that …

- Unfortunately, I must point out that …

* Reasons for the rejection

- This is because the guarantee period has expired

- This is due to the fact that the guarantee period has expired

If a third party (another person or organisation) is to blame, direct the complainer to that party

- We therefore suggest that you contact

* A concluding paragraph aiming at retaining the goodwill of the customer

- We look forward to receiving your further orders, and assure you that they will be filled correctly / promptly

II SAMPLES OF LETTERS OF ADJUSTMENT

Thank you for your letter of 18th September I was sorry to hear that you were disappointed by the service

you received on your holiday

I have investigated your complaint that the villa was not cleaned by the maid on the last two days of your

holiday I have spoken to our representative in Corfu and it seems that the problems were due to the fact that the maid was ill Unfortunately, we were not able to find a replacement at such short notice

Please accept my sincere apologies I can assure you that we will take steps to ensure that this does not

occur again As a sign of goodwill, I enclose a brochure for next year and a voucher which entitles you to

10% off the advertised price of any holiday booked before 31st January

Yours sincerely,