Monday 14 April 2008
Warm-Up 4
Warm-Up 4 doesn't give you any marks (!), but it is, perhaps, a way for you to see the collective wisdom of the group about two key areas in the In-Tray exam: complaining and apologising. Since you don't get any marks for it, you don't have to do it either - but I'm sure that your contributions will be gratefully received by everyone else, if you do!
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6 comments:
What do you think are the best strategies?
When it comes to apologising, I think one of the best strategies is to first admit that a mistake has been made. This shows that you are not trying to get away and are willing to deal with it. In situations, when you have to complain about something, I think it is very important to keep your “cool” and not get carried away and start to curse. I think that it might have the opposite impact than the effect you want to achieve.
Do you have any good language tips?
When I write, I almost always add here and there colloquial language. I think it originates from the all the time spent in front of msn in my earlier days. So my tip is to read through the text just to look after colloquial language.
Personal experiences where a well-written letter did the trick for you?
Last summer I worked at Ericsson as a Customer Logistics Manager and I had contact with another Ericsson employee in Singapore. During an incident according a missing cargo I had to call my contact and ask him some questions. It might have been the accent, but for all I know, he could as well have talked about the weather. So I asked him if we could take the matter in writing instead. And so we did, and the matter was solved.
Kerim Bergaoui
Complaining and apologising
- Generally you must use the correct salutations and closures, i.e. Dear Sir and Yours faithfully if you do not know the name of the recipient. Avoid colloquial expressions if you can. A centered bold title is a common business practice.
- When apologising, it is important to acknowledge that a mistake has been made and to avoid the apperance of trying to make excuses. Try to inspire confidence, but still you have to come up with a concrete idea about how things are going to be put right in a detailed way. It is important to write so that your client may come back to you. End with a hope that the mistake is not going to have a negative effect on your relationship.
- When complaining the trick is to use language hard enough to make your point, but not so hard that the recipient starts to obstruct you. You have to make clear that something is wrong, but do not express yourself much more strongly than necessary. It is important to keep the “balance of power” in mind in a business relationship, which can vary quite widely. The key is to be diplomatic.
/Sofia Olsson
What I think is the most important thing when you are either complaining or apologising is trying to get your message through without sounding too harsh. This can be a difficult thing to do since, especially if you are complaining, you are probably a bit upset and it is easy to let that frustration take over.
It’s good to phrase your statements in a formal way so that it makes the people reading it think you know what you are talking about and that you are a person that they should think of as important. When it comes to the language itself you should try not to use the exact same language that you use when speaking, since that is not considered appropriate for formal occasions.
When you are complaining it is important to notify the reader exactly what it is that you are unsatisfied with and what you want them to do in return for you to feel pleased and try to make your demands reasonable.
Apologising can be just as difficult as complaining but it is mostly about meeting the other parts needs and negotiating.
Always try to sound as calm as possible when either complaining or apologising but still try to get your message through.
/ Hanna Volkert
In my opinion, I would say it is always good to read business magazines like Economist and Business Week which helps you to improve you English business writing. You can borrow them in the library or check them out on the internet.
Also having English-speaking friends/workmates or doing an internship abroad increases your English vocabulary. Furthermore, you can watch the BBC or CNN channels on TV which I consider it would be positive so as to get familiarize yourself with the language!
Victoria Alvarado
My hottest tips:
* When you have to complaint about something you got to be legible of what you want to achieve. Do not let the other part run you over if you know you are right.
* Try to explain as detailed as you can what it is you want. Sometimes there is just a missunderstanding that leads up to an argument.
* Be firm in your language, but leave out curses for example. Even though you feel like cursing sometimes. It is always best to stay calm even if it is hard.
* Be sure to back up your arguments legally if possible. This helps you if you have to go as far as to bringing someone to court.
Strategies:
* First of all you have to explain as detailed as you can what the problem is. A letter of complaint is a good way of doing this. Be sure you let them know that you are not satisfied, but do not use foul language when you do it. Keep the letter formal, and try not to accuse anyone in advance.
* If this does not help I suggest you meet, face to face, and discuss the matter. If you have not written your letter properly there might be some missunderstandings.
* The last way out is to let them know, if you got the legal advantage, that you will bring them to court if the problem is not solved.
Language tips:
* The best thing is to always have a nice tone in your language, even though you are angry.
* Your language should also be formal when you write.
* You should not curse in a letter of complaint. If you do, it is very easy for the person who reads it to ignore you, or maybe take it to a “higher level”.
/Emelie Wikström
The best strategy when it comes to all communication in writing is firstly to decide what you want the outcome to be. What do I want? What is my desired result? After that it is necessary to take in consideration if this is someone I need to co-operate with in the future or if this is a “one-time”-occasion. Even though it might appear as a person or company I will not need in the future it is very important to remember that communication in writing pulled out and used again and again, against yourself!
Therefore I personally believe in a very correct, un-emotional language in business-writing. Be to the point, what are the actual facts? This is very important when telling somebody off, feelings are one thing, facts are another!
When apologizing, again be correct, to the point and most of all, sincere!
My personal experience comes from last summer. We had a shipment that had to be neutralized after collection and before delivery. This is done when the trader do not want to reveal where the goods is manufactured. This shipment went wrong, the driver made a mistake and the receiver found out. Our client was, mildly put it, not very pleased with our service. I wrote him a mail, describing step by step what had happened and was very sincere but not licking his boots. Trading with neutralized goods always means a risk for the trader, which he was very aware of. Our excuse was accepted, the freight paid and he still use us.
Lotta Enberg
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