Writing skills-Dr.Chithra G.K (Associate Professor ) VIT

COMMUNICATION
Skills
Letter Writing - Making
Inquiries

Enquiry or Inquiry?
• The traditional distinction between the verbs enquire and inquire is that
enquire is to be used for general senses of ‘ask’, while inquire is reserved for
uses meaning ‘make a formal investigation’.
• In practice, however, enquire, and the associated noun enquiry, are more
common in British English while inquire (and the noun inquiry) are more
common in American English, but otherwise there is little discernible
distinction in the way the words are used. Some style guides require that only
inquire or only enquire be used.
 Could I enquire about your mother's health?
 She inquired about the library's rare books collection.
 Every enquiry is very welcome.
 Adam helped the police with their inquiries.

INQUIRY LETTER
• The letters written for gathering information about job seekers, prices,
products, and services before awarding jobs, granting credit, making
contracts and giving promotions are called as letters of inquiry.
• These letters are written to a third party seeking information about
either a job or a company that wishes to make business relationship.

Business Inquiry letter
• A Business Inquiry letter is written by a company to another to enquire for
business or to find out more information about the business of the
recipient. The letter needs to be written professionally and pleasantly if
business opportunities are sought or courteous if a better understanding
of the business is sought.
• An inquiry letter must be acknowledged promptly as it means potential
business. If you receive it from an regular customer, reply to it with much
appreciation. If you receive it from a prospective customer, reply to it
saying that you are happy to receive it and state your hope of a lasting and
friendly business relationship.

Objectives of Inquiry Letter in Business Communication
Every letter has certain objectives or motives and for inquiry letter, they
vary with different occasions. Inquiry letter is written in order to carry out
one of the following objectives below:
• To get the price quotation of specific commodities
• To ask for catalogue
• To know payment terms
• To know the past records of job applicant
• To know the credit worthiness of a firm or a person
• To ask for folders

Objectives of Inquiry Letter in Business Communication
• To get recommendation from former employer
• To know the financial strength of a firm or a person
• To know the business reputation of a firm
• To know the transportation facility provided by the firm
• To obtain information about social status of a person or a firm
• To evaluate the performance of a person or a firm
• To learn about the quality of a product
• To know the availability of an item
• To make request for sample etc.

Types of inquiry letters in general
Based on their purpose, there are two most common types of inquiry
letters such as
(1) Personal status inquiry letter
(2) Business status inquiry letter

Personal status inquiry letter
• The letters written by prospective employers for obtaining information
about job applicants are called personal status inquiry letter.
• Employers write this letter to obtain information relating to the
applicant’s personal and family background, ability, skills, honesty,
character, integrity, quality of performance, fitness for job etc.
• Generally this letter is written to the referees mentioned by the
concerned applicant.
• In response to this letter, the referees write a reply letter to the
employer. This response letter may be favourable, unfavourable or
neutral to the applicant.

Business status inquiry letter
• When a business enterprise writes letter to another business
enterprise for collecting information about a prospective customer, it is
known as business status inquiry letter.
• This letter is usually written for collecting information about financial
capability, goodwill, nature of business dealings, honesty etc. of a
business enterprise to determine whether to establish business
transactions with it.
• Responses of this letter may be either favourable or unfavourable.

Types of Inquiry Letters in Business Communication
Inquiries may be of different types based on the objective, information
sought and the initiatives taken. There are generally four types of inquires
letters.
• Solicited Inquiry
• Unsolicited Inquiry
• Inquiry for some Favour
• Routine Inquiry

• Solicited Inquiry: An inquiry made in response to the sellers
advertisement and publicity is called a solicited inquiry. Actually it is a
response by the buyer to the advertisement or publicity of a seller.
• Unsolicited Inquiry: An inquiry made at the buyer’s own initiative is
called unsolicited inquiry. This type of inquiry is made when a buyer
wants to know anything from the seller.

• Inquiry for some Favour: An inquiry made not about goods but some
other information like special price or favourable terms is called
inquiry for some favour.
• Routine Inquiry: An inquiry made by an old or regular buyer in the
usual course of action is called routine inquiry. Most of the business
inquires fall in this category.

Inquiries for information
Inquiries for information about services or goods are received and sent in
business all the time. When you write a routine letter of inquiry, you can
follow these guidelines:
• Write clearly and precisely what you want — a catalogue, price list,
quotation, sample, general information, etc.
• Do not mention the price limit at which you want to buy a particular
product. If you do so, the supplier may raise the quotation to the limit you
state.
• Suppliers usually state their terms of payment when they reply to your
inquiry. So you need not ask for them unless you hope a special rate.
• Try to keep your inquiry clear and concise as far as possible.

Format of a Letter of Inquiry
• In the first paragraph, identify yourself and, if appropriate, your position,
and your institution or firm.
• In the second paragraph, briefly explain why you are writing and how you
will use the requested information. Offer to keep the response confidential
if such an offer seems reasonable.
• List the specific information you need. You can phrase your requests as
questions or as a list of specific items of information. In either case, make
each item clear and discrete.
• Conclude your letter by offering your reader some incentive for
responding.

Elements of Business Letter
1. Sender’s Address and Date- give the following information: house
number, street, area code, place, country, telephone and the date.
2. Recipient’s Address- starts two lines below the sender's address.
3. Salutation in a Business Letter
• If you know the person’s name: Dear followed by the Name of the
person
• If you don’t know the person’s name: To Whom It May Concern
• C: Punctuation: Use colon When using To Whom It may Concern

4. Subject Line – In English, the subject line can also be placed between the
recipient's address and the salutation (with a blank line in between).
5. Body of the letter- Capitalize and indent (optional) the first word of the
text. The next text is left justified. And a space is put after each paragraph.
CONTENT:
• 1st paragraph - Introduction and reason for writing.
• Following paragraphs - Explain the reason in details and background
information, etc.
• Last paragraph – Summarize your reasons and make clear what you want
the recipient to do.

6. Greeting in Business letter: Use “sincerely”. Write the greeting two
lines below the last paragraph. Leave 4 blank lines after the greeting
(space for the signature) and write the sender's name below that
space.

Important Language to Remember
• The Start: Dear Sir or Madam
To Whom It May Concern - (very formal as you do not know the person to
whom you are writing)
• Giving Reference: With reference to your advertisement (ad) in...
Regarding your advertisement (ad) in ...
• Requesting a Catalogue, Brochure, Etc.: After the reference, add a
comma and continue - ... , would (Could) you please send me ...
• Requesting Further Information: I would also like to know ...
Could you tell me whether ...
• Signature: Yours faithfully - (very formal as you do not know the person to
whom you are writing)

A sample letter
Stuart Blond
560 Parker’s Avenue
Olympia, WA 98501
Malcolm Brothers
187 3rd Street
New York, NY 12009
September 12, 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
With reference to your advertisement in yesterday's New York Times, could you please send me a
copy of your latest catalogue. I would also like to know if it is possible to make purchases online.
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
Stuart Blond
Administrative Director
ABC Company

Six tips for writing an inquiry letter
• Begin your letter by stating who you are and giving your status or position.
• Clearly state what it is that you are inquiring about and what you would
like the recipient of your letter to do.
• Make your inquiry as specific as possible.
• You might want to briefly explain the purpose of your letter or what you
hope to accomplish.
• Include the date by which you need the information, services, etc. that you
are requesting, and indicate that you await the reader’s response.
• Thank the person for his/her time.

Finally..
• While writing the business letters most of the people think that being
formal is necessary for writing effective business letter but it’s not like
that. Business letters can be written in a conventional style this will
make reader more comfortable and happier. These letters should start
with a friendly opening and go on to state the important purpose of the
latter.

End of Session – 1
Thank you…

COMMUNICATION
Session – 2
COMPLAINT LETTER

Complaint Letter
• It is very easy to complain about something or somebody but equally
difficult to praise something or someone. And for anyone’s complaint
to have the kind of impact it is expected to, one should be very choosy
about complaining.
• A Complaint Letter is the one that is written when a customer or
individual is not satisfied with a product or service of another company
or person. It should be used as a very discretionary tool and should be
well thought of before registering.

Complaint Letter
• A Complaint Letter is not where the writer can take off on blame game
with the company whose product or service was dissatisfactory, but
s/he should understand that this might be a one of situation of
dissatisfaction.
• A Complaint Letter should be precise and to the point. It should clearly
highlight what had been purchased or used and what is the reason for
the dissatisfaction due to which a complaint has been registered. The
language used in the Complaint Letter should be simple for everyone to
be able to easily understand.

A complaint letter is important
A complaint letter is important because it:
• puts your complaint on record with the company;
• helps preserve any legal rights you may have in the situation;
• ensures that the company knows your side of the story;
• helps to get government agencies involved in your case, if it becomes
necessary, and can alert the agencies to any questionable business
practices that the company may have;
• can lay the foundation for any future legal case and help you in drafting
later letters, if you need to write more than one; and
• lets the company know you are serious about pursuing your complaint
(some businesses may ignore your complaint unless they see something in
writing).

What to say in a complaint letter
• Include your name, address and phone numbers at home and work.
• If it is not possible to type your letter, be sure your handwriting is easy
to read.
• Make your letter brief and to the point. The letter should contain all the
important facts about your purchase. First describe your purchase
including any information you can give about the product or service
such as serial or model numbers or specific type of service. Be sure to
include the date you made your purchase and location of the store, if
appropriate.

What to say in a complaint letter
• State what you feel should be done about the problem and how long you
are willing to wait to get the problem resolved. Make sure that you are
reasonable in requesting a specific action.
• Include copies of any documents regarding your problem, such as receipts,
warranties, repair orders, contracts and so forth.
• Be reasonable, not angry or threatening, in your letter. Remember, the
person reading your letter may not be directly responsible for your
problem, and can possibly help resolve it.
• Finally, keep copies of your complaint letter and all related documents for
your own records

Register
• You must also get the register right in a letter.
• This basically means using an appropriate tone to match the purpose
of the letter and the person you are writing to. The register or tone will
depend on how formal or informal the letter is. It can be tricky and
take some skill to get this right.
• A letter of complaint will be a formal letter and so you would use
different language and phrases than if you were writing to a good
friend for example.

Common Scenarios
• Common scenarios of complaint are bad service at a hotel, shop,
restaurant or other place or faulty goods you have bought.
• It is common to have to do these two things:
 Explain the problem
 Ask how it will be resolved / Suggest how you want it to be resolved

Common Phrases for a Complaint Letter
• These are some common phrases you can use in complaint letter that
will help you to get the right tone:
• Reason for writing:
 I am writing in order to complain about
 I am writing to complain about
 I am writing regarding
 I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with

Introducing the complaint
• Topic sentence stating the positive point. + However, + problem….
• Example:
 We thoroughly enjoyed the first week of the holiday. However, after that we
experienced a number of problems.
• I am (extremely) dissatified / dissapointed with the service / goods
that I received / bought because

First complaint
• Firstly
• First of all
• The first problem is / was
• My first complaint is
• My first concern is
• The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is

Further complaints
• Secondly
• Also
• In addition
• In addition to this
• Added to this
• …… is / was also unsatisfactory / unacceptable
• Not only ……, but also
• To make matters worse,
• Furthermore

Mentioning negative consequences
• I'm afraid that…
• Unfortunately,
Expressing Dissatisfaction:
• It is not acceptable to / that
• I am not at all pleased that
• I am disappointed because

Demanding action
• I suggest that you replace the item
• I therefore suggest that I be given a full refund
• I would be grateful if my money was refunded
• I would be grateful if you could give me a full refund
• I would like to request that
• To resolve the problem, I would appreciate it if you could

Ending the letter
• I look forward to hearing from you
• I look forward to receiving a full refund
• I look forward to receiving a replacement
• I look forward to receiving your explanation
• I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem
You will need to practice these to make sure you know how to fit them in
correctly to your letter as they may all vary slightly depending on the
particular context.

A model complaint letter
• You have bought a new mobile phone but when you got it home you
found it had some problems. You returned the mobile phone and spoke
to the company representative a week ago but the mobile phone has
still not been repaired.
• Write a letter to the company. In your letter
 introduce yourself
 explain the situation
 say what action you would like the company to take

Sean Giles
560 Mirriam Avenue
Olympia, WA 98501
September 12, 2016
Ref: Delay in fixing the fault in newly bought mobile phone from your end.
Dear Sir / Madam,
My name is Mark Roberts and I am writing to you regarding a Nokia mobile
phone that I bought at your department store on Eliot’s Road, New York, on
the 5th September.
The mobile phone seemed to work fine in the shop. However, upon returning
home, it became clear that the camera was not functioning properly. In
addition to this, there was a small scratch on the lens.
I therefore returned to the shop the following day, on the 6th September, and
spoke to a company representative about the issue.

I left the mobile phone with the assistant and they assured me that they would
look into the problem with a view to repairing the mobile phone and get back
to me a few days later.
However, it has now been one week and when I contacted the shop again they
said that the mobile phone has still not been fixed and they do not know how
long it will be.
As I am sure you will understand, it is not acceptable to be waiting for such a
long time for it to be repaired. I would therefore like to request that I be given
a full refund should I not receive the repaired mobile phone by the end of this
week.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Sean Giles

Practise
• Write a complaint letter to register about the delay in delivery of the
product you ordered online from ABC Company through online. (You
are free to add details regarding the type of product, date of order et
al.)

COMMUNICATION
Session – 3
Asking and Giving
Information Letters

Writing a Letter for Asking Information
A number of other situations may warrant the use of a letter of request.
Here are some examples:
• Asking for a letter of recommendation
• Asking for a raise
• Asking for an employment reference letter
• Asking for donations

General Tips for Writing a Letter Requesting Information
You can increase the chances of the recipient of your letter agreeing to what
you ask them to do by following a few simple steps. The following suggestions
will help you write an effective letter of request:
• Keep it simple. In the first paragraph, tell the recipient why you are writing.
• If appropriate, give the person you are writing to pertinent information to
help them remember who you are. For example, if you are writing to a
former professor, explain what class you were in and the year. In the case
of writing to a former supervisor, remind the person when you worked
with them. These details help readers place where they know you from.

General Tips for Writing a Letter Requesting Information
• Briefly explain what it is you want the reader to do. If there is a deadline
involved, share that information as well.
• Give the reader all the information they need to comply with your request.
• Include any supporting documentation the recipient may need.
• List your contact information, including full name, mailing address, phone
number and e-mail address in the body of the letter. Ask the reader to
contact you if they have any questions or concerns about your request.
• Thank the person for their assistance.

While Writing a Letter of Request
• When you write your letter of request, put yourself in the shoes of the
person who will read it.
• Read your draft letter over a few times to make sure it makes sense.
• Double check that the reader won't need any further information in
order to decide whether they can say yes to your request.
• Make any changes necessary before you send it out.

A letter asking for information
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you in order to ask for some details about your World Support Programme. A friend
and I are really interested in taking part in the programme but we are in need of more information.
Firstly, I would like to know the average age of the volunteers. We are twenty-year-old teenagers
and consequently, we wish to be with people from our same age.
Secondly, I wonder if you could tell me where the programme is run and which communities we
would help. Moreover, I would be grateful if you told me which skills are needed. For instance, is it
useful to have a good English level?
In your advertisements, it is said that the programme is free of charge even though it seems
improbable to me. It would be worth if you specified whether it has no costs involved at all.
Finally, could you give me more information about the accommodation and the food? I would like
to know which kind of food is served and whether the accommodation is in houses or tents.
Actually, we wholeheartedly want to become volunteers so we look forward to receiving your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Sebastian Senlle

GIVING INFORMATION
• Replying to enquiries can be positive, for example when you give the
reader information, or agree to do something. Sometimes, they can also be
negative, saying you are unable to help, or do not have the information,
service or product that the reader has asked for.
• If the reply is positive there arises an opportunity to persuade the reader
to do something such as buying a product or booking a service. To do this,
you might want to include extra information or catchy and colourful
descriptions. You will certainly want to make a good impression on the
reader by sounding helpful, business-like, and efficient.

GIVING INFORMATION
• Letters replying to an enquiry usually finish with an offer to give more
information or further help if this is needed.
• If the letter is negative, the negative information should usually be
given in a way that does not preclude further contact: you might be
writing to a potential colleague or customer, or someone who has been
a colleague or customer in the past. In a negative letter, you might want
to offer a solution to the problem, despite being unable to help
personally.

Types of Letters for Giving Information
Another categorization can be based on the information shared; in this the
letters can be grouped into 4 different types:
• Letter granting a favour
• Letter refusing a request
• Letter in response to an inquiry that is not clear
• Letter in response to an inquiry that requires very long answers

Useful phrases
Reason for writing:
• I am writing to inform you that/ advise you of/ let you know that…
• I feel delighted to inform you/ would like to inform you…
• I am writing in response to… (Your letter requesting information
about...)
• I am writing in reply to… (Your inquiry about…)
• I am writing with regard to (Our telephone conversation concerning...)
• I am writing (to you) on behalf of…/ in my capacity as…

Useful phrases
Providing first point:
• The first thing I would like to inform you of is/ tell you is
• I would like to begin by informing you
Providing further points:
• I would also like to let you know/inform you that
• You might also find the following information useful
• It might also be useful for you to know that
• Another piece of information that might be useful
•

Useful phrases
Enclosures
• Please find enclosed a …
• I have attached copies of
Ending the letter:
• I am at your disposal should you require/need further information
• I hope that this information will be of some assistance…
• I hope/trust that I have been able to answer all your questions…
• I would be pleased or happy to provide you with any additional information…
• I look forward to being able to help you again in the future
• Please do not hesitate to contact me when you require any further
information

Letter Granting a Favour
Things you need to consider when writing a letter that informs the sender
that his favour was being granted by the receiver:
1. Express your gratitude to the writer for importance given to you.
2. Emphasize your willingness to grant the favour and give him the
needed information.
3. If you have booklets or brochures, enclose them in your response.
4. Extend goodwill and let him feel that you are willing to continue
communicating with him. Example: Thanks for Listening!

Letter Refusing a Request
It is basically a “bad news letter.” You have one chance to say it right. Be as
diplomatic as possible. Don’t let your words come back to haunt you
someday.
1. Try to be positive about something in the letter of request.
• Yes, you will have to decline the request but you should be encouraging
about the person making the request and his or her endeavour.
2. Say thank you for the request.
• You should appreciate the fact that the one making the request had
enough confidence in you to ask you for your assistance.

Letter Refusing a Request
3. Provide your reason for refusing or declining the request.
• Don't just make excuses. Give honest reasons for refusing.
4. Offer a suggestion or alternative that they may find helpful.
• Since the person making the request came to you for help it is likely
that you may be aware of alternatives or other individuals who can
offer the help that is needed.

Useful Phrases for Apologising and rejecting proposals
• While I appreciate your firm’s need for this information, I regret that …
• It will not be possible to … for legal reasons. We are bound to …
• Your proposal is of interest to us, and we have had consultations about
it.
• However, we feel that it will not be in our interests to … for reasons of
(privacy)

Example
Dear Mr. Bennett:
I like your research regarding charity fund raising. Your approach is most
interesting.
It is a compliment that you find me able to write such a letter but I am sorry to
inform you that I cannot supply the letter requested. I hate to say "No" to your
request but I am no longer in possession of the letter format that was used by
Blue Ribbon Company.
I would recommend that you contact the Human Resource of the company. I
hope it will be of some help to you.
Sincerely,

Letter that is not clear
• Requests are often ambiguous, with many potential interpretations, or no
clear meaning at all. If you can’t answer the request because you are not
sure what is being requested, you must contact the requester as soon as
possible for clarification.
• You do not have to deal with the request until you have received whatever
clarification you reasonably need. However, you must consider whether
you can give the requester advice and assistance to enable them to clarify
or rephrase their request. For example, you could explain what options
may be available to them and ask whether any of these would adequately
answer their request.

Example
“You have asked for all expenses claims submitted by Mrs Jones and dates
of all meetings attended by Mrs Jones in June, July or August last year.
This could mean:
A) all expenses claims Mrs Jones ever submitted, plus dates of meetings
she attended in June, July and August; or
B) all expenses claims Mrs Jones submitted in June, July or August, and
dates of meetings she attended in the same months.
Please let us know which you mean.”

Letter that requires a very long answer
• Although short is always assumed to be the thumb rule in business correspondence,
there are situations when length matters. Exercise more caution when you write a
lengthy letter as it requires more focus and structuring and any misses can change the
big picture altogether.
• Employ these strategies when writing a long letter
 Be concise, complete and clear with the information (quick tip: Trim your adverbs
and adjectives, instead employ the right verbs and nouns)
 Use bullets and don’t overload a paragraph with more than one key point
 Keep referring to the main point of discussion at intervals
 Use active voice and proper transition words
 Stay positive throughout and provide sum-up statements at the end
• Another possible alternative (granted the situation permits) is, you can direct them to
website or provide a hyperlink or enclose a physical copy of the material and guide them
where exactly they can find the information they are looking for.

Example
Dear Dr. Kimble:
We have received your request for information concerning our company’s
current business transactions in Hong Kong. We are pleased that you would
consider us a model of ethical business procedures and are sending you a copy
of our latest in-house newsletter, which covers precisely the information you
specified in your letter.
We wish you luck in your upcoming business ventures.
Yours Truly,

FINAL TIPS
• Omit needless detail. Tell the readers only what they need to know.
• Give just the important facts, not the whole background or history.
• Enclose or offer additional information for those readers who want
detail, or refer them to a Web site where more information can be
found.
• When a program, event, or other thing is new, say so.

Thank you…

COMMUNICATION
Session – 4
Letter for Placing an Order

Placing Orders
• This type of letter is a contract of selling and purchasing or services.
Placing orders are considered one of the simplest types of direct
request.
• While placing an order, you need not excite your reader's interest; just
state your needs clearly and directly.

Placing Orders
• Most of the companies use special forms for ordering merchandise or
service. They may use their own, called a purchase order, or one provided
by the seller, called an order form. These forms have blank spaces to
ensure the inclusion of all necessary information.
• Their advantage is that they enable a company to record and so carefully
file all expenditures.Nevertheless, there will be times when an order must
be put into letter format. At such times, you must be sure to include
COMPLETE, ACCURATE INFORMATION because incomplete orders result
in delayed deliveries, and inaccurate facts result in receipt of the wrong
merchandise.

Few suggestions for writing effective order letters
1. Provide the Information in a Clear Format
2. Write Orders, not just Hints
3. Complete Description of Each Item
4. How You Will Pay for the Order
5. Where, When, & How you Want the Merchandise Shipped

1. Provide the Information in a Clear Format
• Write a separate, single-spaced paragraph for each item, with double
spacing between paragraphs.
• Arrange your order in a tabular form similar to an order blank.
• When several sets of numbers, items, and prices are given, tabular form
is clearer than writing the information in sentences.

2. Write Orders, not just Hints
• Legally, an order letter is the "offer" portion of a contract. The
"acceptance" portion of the contract is completed when the seller
sends the merchandise.
• Use specific and direct openings such as "please send me" Or "Please
ship..." rather than vague phrases such as "I'm interested in ...." Or "I'd
like to...."

4. How You Will Pay for the Order
• Give the mode of payment to be used (personal cheque, COD, money
order, or credit card).
• Be sure to add any shipping charges and sales tax that may be part of
the total cost.
• To generate a credit card transaction, give the credit card number and
the expiry date.
• Also, if the printed name on the credit card differs from the signature
and typed name on the letter, be sure to give the exact name of the
cardholder.

5. Where, When, & How you Want the Merchandise
Shipped
• Mention the shipping address, or say that you want the merchandise sent
to the address. If you need the order by a certain date, be sure to include
that date in your order letter.
• And if you have a preference, include the method of shipment. Otherwise,
the seller will choose the shipping method and will send the merchandise
when it is convenient.
• Acronym FOB stands for "free on board" is found frequently used in writing
orders. If merchandise is shipped FOB shipping point, the buyer pays
shipping charges over and above the cost of the merchandise.
• If merchandise is shipped FOB destination, the seller pays the shipping
charges and they are included in the price of the merchandise.

DO’S & DON’TS
• The company with whom the order is being placed should be given
enough time to execute the order
• The letter should clearly indicate the product code or item number, the
size and the quantities being ordered, the date when the Purchase
Order Letter is being generated and the date by when the order is
expected to be executed or delivered
• If the order is being placed by a company then it usually should be in a
Purchase Order format

DO’S & DON’TS
• The Purchase Order Letter should also indicate the mode of delivery,
the mode of payment, if any advance has already been paid against the
order, the address where the order has to be delivered, details of the
costing of the price including taxes should be mentioned in the order.
• The name of the company or dealer with which the order is being
placed should be clearly written on the letter to avoid any
miscommunication of details.

DO’S & DON’TS
• There is no scope for any grammatical or punctuation errors in the
Purchase Order Letter and it should be proof read and cross checked
for key details regarding the order before being typed.
• The Purchase Order Letter should ideally be typed but the signatory
should personally sign it.

Organization Plan for Orders
A. Direct Statement of the Request
• Use wording that indicates an order rather than a request: "Please send
me" or "please ship" instead of "I want" or "I need," which are neither
polite nor legally appropriate for a business order.
• Open with a general description of your order that encompasses all the
details.

B. Justification, Explanation, and Details
• For complex orders, provide a general explanation of how the
requested materials will be used.
• Provide all specifications: quantity, price (including discounts), size,
catalog number, product description, shipping instructions(date and
place), arrangements for payment (method, time, deposits), and cost
totals.
• Use a format that presents information clearly and makes it easy to
total amounts.
• Double-check the completeness of your order and the cost totals.

C. Courteous Close with Request for Specific Action
• Include a clear summary of the desired action.
• Whenever possible, suggest a future reader benefit of complying with
the order.
• Close on a cordial note.
• Clearly state any time limits that apply to your order, and explain why
they are important.

Sample Purchase Order Letter
Name of company with who order is being placed
Address of the company
Date
Subject: Purchase Order for 1000 T-shirts
Dear Sir or Madam
This is with reference to our meeting/telephonic conversation/mail correspondence on
___________ (date) when we visited your factory in connection with purchase of T-shirts
for our stores.
We are pleased to place an order for 1000 T-shirts against item number ___________ and
size _________. We would appreciate if the order is delivered at the address given below
latest by ____________ (deadline date) so that we can start selling it to our customers
before Christmas.
___________________ (Name and address where delivery will be made)

The terms and conditions of the purchase order are as follows:
1. Order for 1000 T-shirts with item number _________ and size __________.
2. Delivery will be made at the address mentioned above.
3. The order should be delivered latest by __________.
4. 100% payment will be made on delivery.
5. If the order is not delivered by the due date, please consider it as cancelled.
6. The price per pair, as mutually agreed, is Rs. ___________ inclusive of all taxes.
We hope to have a long business relationship with you.
Please feel free to contact the undersigned for any clarifications or
discrepancy in the order details.
Best regards,
(Name of signing authority)

Activity
• Write a letter of order to Schindler’s Brothers placing an order for
1500 DVD copies of the recently released Music Album “XXX” by Avril
Lavigne. You are free to add other details to create this order letter.

Thank you…

COMMUNICATION
Session – 5
Sending Reply Letters

Reply Letters
• Any business correspondence needs to follow certain hard and fast rules.
• When it comes to answering the business mails, one needs to exercise
caution for it might cost their business a valuable customer and the
reputation of the business totally depends on how the customers rate and
value them.
• In addition to the mail etiquette, given are certain handy expressions that
one might need when replying to various types of business
correspondences such as
 Reply to inquiries
 Reply to complaints
 Reply to orders

Reply to Inquiries
Content of replies:
• Acknowledging receipt of an enquiry/request
- Thank you for your letter of … regarding / concerning / in connection
with …
- I refer to your enquiry about / relating to …
- I have received your letter of … requesting information about …

Reply to Inquiries
• Explaining action taken as a consequence of the enquiry
- I have (reviewed our available stock) …
- We held a meeting on 21 January to discuss possible solutions.
- I have checked/looked into/investigated (the possible approaches) …

Reply to Inquiries
• Making suggestions / justifying recommendations / pointing out pros and
cons / hedging
- The best choice would be … since …
- I highly recommend … as / due to the fact that …
- … would probably be more suitable because …
- … seems to suit you better although …
- Perhaps you should choose … even though …
- I suggest that you (should) choose …
- I recommend this item since …
- In view of the fact that …, I would strongly recommend … as …

Reply to Inquiries
• Apologising and rejecting proposals
- While I appreciate your firm’s need for this information, I regret that …
- It will not be possible to … for legal reasons. We are bound to …
- Your proposal is of interest to us, and we have had consultations about it.
- However, we feel that it will not be in our interests to … for reasons of
(privacy).
- We are concerned that …

Reply to Inquiries
• Stipulating action requested or to be taken
- We shall arrange for … by …at the latest.
- I shall see to it that …
- Our company will arrange for …

Reply to Inquiries
• Establishing goodwill and suggesting contact
- 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 hearing from you.
- 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 …
- Do contact me on 27615432 if you need further information.
- Please do not hesitate to contact me on 27615432 if I can be of further assistance.

Sample reply letter to business inquiries
Attwood and Sons Limited
22 Highland Way
Ashford Kent
Syarif Al Mukharom
Marketing Manager
Lorban Electronic Limited
Jl. Tugu Pahlawan 12
Sidareja-Cilacap
Dears Mr. Syarif,
We thank you for your inquiry of 15 February 2009 asking for detailed information.
We are sending you herewith illustrated catalogue together with pricelist and samples including the type and price of our
products by separate post. We are sorry because the booklets cannot be in Indonesian.
We also offer 10% discount for each radio and television if your order is more than 100 items. We assure you that that our
products’ quality is high and suitable with the market demand.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Wong
Sales Manager
Encl. catalogue

Reply to complaints
Useful Expressions:
• Acknowledging receipt of a complaint letter
o Thank you for your letter of … regarding / concerning / in connection with …
o I refer to your letter of … about / relating to …

Reply to complaints
• Apology for the error or fault
o We must apologise for …
o We sincerely apologise for …
o Please accept our apologies for …
o I would like to apologise for the error made by our company in (verb+ing)
• Accepting the Complaint
o We agree that the usual high standards of our products / services were not
met in this instance.

Reply to complaints
• A short explanation of the fault
o Introductory phrase
• As a result of our investigation, we found that... (Not: After our investigation...)
o Causes
• The error was caused by … / was due to …
• Apparently, the problem was the result of … / resulted from …
• The cause of / reason for the mistake was …
o Effects
• As a result …
• This led to …
• Consequently …
o Solutions
• We have modified / changed our ...
• We have implemented a system to...
• To prevent re-occurrences we have set up a verification procedure.
o Assurances
• We assure you that this will not happen again.

Reply to complaints
• Investigation to be made
o We are currently investigating the cause of ...
o We will investigate the cause of...
• Proposal to settle the difficulty
o As a gesture of our regret, we are prepared to …/ we are willing to …/ we would
like to …
o To show goodwill, we will …
• An offer to take goods back, make a replacement, give a discount etc.
o We have dispatched the new items by express courier. They should arrive
by Tuesday, 24 May 2016.
o To show our goodwill, we would like to offer you a 5% discount on your next
order with us.

Reply to complaints
• Regret at dissatisfaction
o While we can understand your frustration, ...
o We understand how disappointing it can be when your expectations are not
met.
• Rejecting responsibility for the problem leading to the complaint
o I regret to inform you that …
o I am afraid that …
o Unfortunately, I must point out that …
• Reasons for the rejection
o This is because the guarantee period has expired.
o This is due to the fact that the guarantee period has expired.

Reply to complaints
• If a third party (another person or organisation) is to blame, direct the
complainer to that party
o We therefore suggest that you contact...
• A concluding paragraph aiming at retaining the goodwill of the
customer
o We look forward to receiving your further orders, and assure you that they
will be filled correctly / promptly.

Sample reply letter to a complaint
Dear Mr. Handoko
Thank you for your letter of May 24, 2016.
I am sorry to learn of the problems you experienced with our service. I also apologize that
you feel you were given the impression that our staff member was rude to you.
I am looking into the matter you have raised and I, or one of my colleagues will write to you
again as soon as we can, within the next 3 working days.
However, if you would like to discuss this matter further in the meantime, please call me on
0896312448
Thank you again for writing to us. If I can be of any further help, please let me know!
Yours sincerely,
Dave

Reply to Orders
Getting to write a good receipt order confirmation letter
• Once you have ordered goods from a particular store you will probably
receive a confirmation letter on you orders.
• So this goes out to those companies starting a business and looking for
the best tips on writing a receipt of order letter to confirm goods
ordered by your customers.
• While writing you will have to keep in considerations the following tips
as stated below.

Reply to Orders
• Formal – The letter to be written is formal, so it should be in a serious
tone. It should a direct tone while writing to the consumer.
• Dates – While writing the confirmation letter you should inform the
recipient the dates you will be delivering there goods that they ordered
form you.
• Record – Show a record of the items bought that is the quantity and also
the total price of the goods ordered. Before writing the records, ensure first
that you have informed the customer that you have received the payments
on the goods.
• Short and precise – Be brief as you jot down the letter and make sure to
go straight to the point and not to write long unnecessary stories.

Sample reply letter to an order
To:
Quantum Komputer
5th Floor, Mangga Dua Mall
Blok D26, Jakarta
Subject: Letter confirming receipt and despatch of your order dated April 02, 2016
Dear Sir,
We thank you for your kind order of the April 02, 2016, and have the pleasure of advising dispatch of the
4500 books stated therein by rail today. You directed us to send the books per V.P Post; but considering
their large number we have thought it reasonable to send them by rail as it will lessen the cost. We hope
you will approve of our action. The R/R is sent under a separate cover per Registered Post.
Awaiting the favour of further orders
Yours faithfully
Jan

Thank you…

Writing skills-Dr.Chithra G.K (Associate Professor ) VIT

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