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 £150.00. And 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 c.i.f. basis and the forwarding company your agents, we suggest you contact them with regard to compensation.
You will find a list of the damaged and missing articles attached, and the consignment will be put to one side until we receive your instructions.
Yours sincerely,
L. Crane
L. Crane
Chief Buyer
Questions:
1. How had the damage occurred?
2. Why can't the garments still be sold?
3. What does Mr Crane intend to do with the damaged consignment?
4. Why does Mr Crane suggest Mr Causio has to deal with the documentary details of the complaint?
5. What is enclosed with the letter?
6. Which words in the letter correspond to the following: during transportation; assess; clothes; make up for the loss?
Because Satex sells goods on a c.i.f. basis to their retailers, and in this case there was no special instruction to send the goods in a particular way, Satex will have to find out what happened and whether they can be compensated. Mr Causio could have asked Mr Crane to keep those items which were not damaged, and return the garments which could not be sold. However, he wants the shipping company to inspect the whole consignment in case they do not accept that the damage was caused by pilfering.
Satex S.p.A.
Via di Pietra Papa, 00146 Roma
Telefono: Roma 769910 Telefax: (06) 4815473 Telex: 285136
Mr L. Crane, Chief Buyer Vs. rif.: Order 14478
F. Lynch & Co. Ltd. Ns.rif.: D/1162
Nesson House
Newell Street 24 August 200-
Birmmgham B3 3EL
UNITED KINGDOM
Dear Mr Crane,
Thank you for informing us' about the damage to our consignment (Inv. No, 18871).
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.
Please would you return the whole consignment to us, postage and packing forward, and we will ask the shipping company to come and inspect the damage so that they can arrange compensation. It is unlikely that our insurance company needs to be troubled with this case.
If you want us to send you another shipment as per your order No. 14478, please let us know. We have the garments in stock and it would be no trouble to send them within the next fortnight.
Yours sincerely,
D. Causio
D. Causio
The final example in this section is an illustration of a strong complaint to a supplier. In this case the customer, Forham Vehicles PLC, makes lorries for export. They placed an order with Baden, to supply them with 60 dynamos for an export shipment of lorries that were to be sent to Greece. Baden have neither delivered the order, nor answered Forham's previous letter urging them to make delivery.
FORHAM VEHICLES PLC
Lever Estate, Scarborough, Yorkshire Y011 3BS
Directors: M. Blackburn, M.H. Thomson
Telephone 0723 16952 Reg. England: 8969135
Fax: 0723 81953 VAT. 1462 321 17
Telex: 437865
Mr R. Zeitman Date: 20th June 200-
E.F. Baden AG
Ztilpicher Str. 10-20
D-4000 Dusseldorf 11
Dear Mr Zeitman
Order No. VC 58391
We are writing to you with reference to the above order and our letter of 22 May in which we asked you when we could expect delivery of the 60 dynamos (Artex model 55) you were to have supplied on 3 June for an export order.
We have tried to contact you by phone, but could not get anyone in your factory who knew anything about this matter.
It is essential that we deliver this consignment to our Greek customers on time as this was an initial order from them and would give us an opening in the Greek market.
Our deadline is 28 June, and the lorries have been completed except for the dynamos that need to be fitted.
Unless we receive the components within the next five days, the order will be cancelled and placed elsewhere. We should warn you that we are holding you to your delivery contract and if any loss results because of this late delivery we will be taking legal action.
Yours sincerely,
M. Blackburn
M. Blackburn
Note how this letter is both apologetic but firm. Though Baden accept responsibility for the problems Forham face in delivering their consignment to their Greek customers, Herr Zeitman rejects the threat of legal action by drawing Mr Blackburn's attention to a clause in their contract staling that the company will not be responsible for 'unforeseen circumstances that arise'. However, Herr Zeitman is flexible enough to realize he must not antagonize his customer, so he allows Mr Blackburn the opportunity to cancel the order if he can make other arrangements.
Therefore, the two main points this letter makes are - first, do not commit yourself to contracts unless you are absolutely certain they can be fulfilled. Second, always try and be as flexible as possible with customers or associates even if you are in a strong position; it will improve your business reputation.
E. F. Baden AG
Zulpicher Str. 10-20, D-4000 Dusseldorf 11
Tel: (0211) 38.34.06/09 Fax: (0211) 3B.34.271 Telex: 032651
Mr M. Blackburn 29 June 200-
Forham Vehicles PLC
Lever Estate
Scarborough YO 11 3BS
Dear Mr Blackburn,
Thank you for your letter of 20 June concerning your order (No. VC 58391) which should have been supplied to you on 3 June.
First let me apologize for your order not being delivered on the due date and for the problems you have experienced in getting in touch with us about it. But as you may have read in your newspapers we have experienced an industrial dispute which has involved both administrative staff and employees on the shop floor, and as a consequence has held up all production over the past few weeks.
I can tell you that the dispute has been settled and we are back to normal production. There is a backlog of orders to catch up on, but we are using associates of ours to help us fulfil all outstanding commitments: your order has been given priority, so we should be able to deliver the dynamos before the end of this week.
May I point out, with respect, that your contract with us did have a standard clause staling that delivery dates would be met unless unforeseen circumstances arose, and we think you will agree that a dispute is an exceptional circumstance. However, we quite understand your problem and will allow you to cancel your contract if it will help you to meet your own commitments with your Greek customers. But we will not accept any responsibility for any action they may take against you.
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 when we accepted your delivery dates.
Please phone or fax me letting me know if you wish us to complete your order or whether you would prefer to make other arrangements.
I look forward to hearing from you within the next day or so. Yours sincerely,
R. Zeitman
R. Zeitman
Managing Director
1. Before writing a letter of complaint, make sure you have got your facts right.
2. Complaints are not accusations; they are requests to correct mistakes or faults, and should be written remembering that the supplier will want to put things right.
3. Therefore, write calmly, clearly presenting all the relevant information and making any suggestions that might help put the matter right.
4. Never make the complaint personal (your mistake, your fault, you are to blame). Use an impersonal tone (the mistake, it must have happened because, the error).
5. When answering a complaint, apologize for the mistake, thank the writer for pointing it out to you, explain how it occurred (but don't blame your staff) and how you intend to deal with it.
6. If you need more time to investigate the complaint, tell your customer so.
7. If the complaint is unjustified, politely explain why, but sympathize about the inconvenience it has caused.
8. Remember that, whether your customer's complaint is right or wrong, he/she /s your customer and his/her comments about you to other people in your trade or profession can either improve or damage your reputation.
2.1 Jonathan Webb, Marketing Director of Executive Golfing Ltd, placed an order for an advertisement with an agency. On 15 May he stated the following requirements to Rachel Levy at RL Media:
• Publication: Ambition magazine
• Last date for submission of text: 10 June
• Issue date: 27 June
• Position: as specified - no alternative position accepted
• Payment: on last day of month following publication
• Advertisement to be approved before publication
It is now 5 July. Jonathan Webb has just received a copy of the latest issue of Ambition magazine with the advertisement in it. He has noticed that the advertisement did not appear as requested.
Read the letter that he sends to Rachel Levy, pointing out the mistakes and refusing to pay the agreed price. Choose the appropriate expression for each space.
Rachel Levy
RL Media
West View Rd
London
W16PL 5 July
Dear Rachel,
I have 1(just received / just got) the latest issue of your magazine and checked our advertisement. I'm 2(unhappy / sorry) to tell you that a number of mistakes have been made by RL Media. I wrote to you on 15 May 3(confirming / saying) the details of the advertisement. 4(Unfortunately / And) the following mistakes have 5(come up / occurred):
• The advertisement appeared in the issue of 4 July instead of 27 June.
• It was on a left-hand page instead of a right-hand page.
• It was placed in the last part of the magazine. We 6(said / specified) that it should be in the front part.
We 7(said strongly / made it clear) that the correct position of the advertisement was 8(absolutely vital / the most important thing). As you can imagine, the incorrect placing of the advertisement has caused us great 9(trouble / inconvenience) and will no doubt 10(affect / hurt) sales of our new product range. Due to all these errors, we 11(don't want to/ feel unable to) pay the full cost of the advertisement. I am, however, prepared to pay 40% of the cost and trust that you 12(like the idea / consider this acceptable).
I look forward to 13(receiving / hearing) your comments 14(as soon as possible / quickly). Yours sincerely
Jonathan Webb
Jonathan Webb
Marketing Director
2.2 Reorder the following, so that they show the usual structure of a letter of complaint:
· End with an appropriate comment.
· Mention the inconvenience caused.
· Begin by regretting the need to complain.
· Suggest how the matter can be put right or what your solution to the problem is.
Now look at Jonathan Webb's letter and check how he organises his ideas.
2.3 Study the expressions in the Useful language box, then choose one of the situations below and write a letter of complaint:
Opening the letter
I am writing to complain about...
I am sorry to tell you that...
I am writing with reference to...
Explaining why you are dissatisfied
There seems to have been an error.
There appears to be a mistake / a misunderstanding.
Requesting action
I would be glad if you would look into the matter.
Suggesting action
The best solution would be to...
I'd like to suggest that...
Write your own letter of complaint, for example, about a poor product or unsatisfactory service that you have experienced.
2.4 Letters of complaint. Unscramble the sentences and re-order them to make two different letters of complaint. Write the sentence numbers in the table.
| Complain about delivery |
| Reply to a reminder to pay |
1. As a matter of fact, the above invoice was settled on October 10, i.e., exactly five days after our order had been received.
2. As a result, I will have to consider changing my supplier unless you can guarantee that such errors will not happen again in the future.
3. As usual, we paid by bank transfer.
4. Every time, those errors have had an adverse effect on our production schedules.
5. Further to our telephone call this morning, I am writing to complain about a number of items which are either missing or faulty in the above order.
6. I am sorry to have to remind you that this is the third time we have had occasion to complain of such mistakes.
7. Please find enclosed a detailed list of both missing and faulty items.
8. We enclose a copy of a statement from our bank confirming that payment was indeed made.
9. I hope you will take the necessary action to resolve this matter speedily.
10. We would advise you to check your records carefully.
11. With reference to your reminder of December 1, it seems to us that an error has been made.
2.5 Complaints and suggestions. Complete this business e-mail with an appropriate form of the verbs below:
accept arrive cause complain guarantee happen look promise
To: iroda.vilag@clunanethu
Subject: Order No RS/050A
Dear Mrs Nagy
This is to 1_______________ about the late delivery of our order for 15 office chairs which 2___________________ today twelve days later than you 3____________________.
We cannot 4__________________ the possibility of such a delay 5__________________ again as it has 6__________________ us a lot of inconvenience. If you can't 7___________________ firm delivery dates, I'm afraid we'll have to 8____________________ for an alternative supplier.
Yours sincerely
E.Jankov
Pharmaco Int.
2.6 Reply to the e-mail above (ex. 2.5).
Showing understanding and sympathy
I am very sorry to hear that...
I am sorry that you were dissatisfied with...
Apologising
I would like to apologise for the inconvenience you suffered / the problems you experienced.
Please accept our sincere apologies.
We would like to offer our sincere apologies for ...
Indicating action
I have looked into the matter.
I have checked with the staff involved.
The delay / mistake / damage was due to circumstances beyond our control.
We cannot understand how such a delay / mistake could have occurred.
Offering compensation
To compensate you for the inconvenience, we would like to offer you...
Please accept our reassurances that...
We can guarantee that...
Let me personally assure you that...
Ending the letter
Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.
Once again, my apologies for the inconvenience caused.
We very much regret the embarrassment /annoyance you experienced.
I very much hope that you will continue to use our company in the future.
2.7 The text of a letter replying to a complaint is given. Complete it, choosing from the alternatives given to fill in the gaps.
| 1 a) the 25 of October | b) October the 25 | c) 25th October |
| 2 a) defect | b) problem | c) asset |
| 3 a) demand | b) order | c) request |
| 4 a) investigated | b) looked | c) traced |
| 5 a) bothered | b) killed | c) horrified |
| 6 a) suppliers | b) creators | c) models |
| 7 a) mislabelled | b) misspelt | c) mishandled |
| 8 a) certified | b) checked | c) tried |
| 9 a) apologise | b) sorry | c) regret |
| 10 a) suggest | b) demand | c) insist |
| 11 a) charge | b) subtract | c) reimburse |
| 12 a) debit | b) cost | c) credit |
Thank you for your letter of 1_______________ 1989, about the 2______________ you have had with your 3_________________ X/123/89.