If you accept the complaint, then in the final part of your letter (before you sign off, per- haps with another brief apology) you should outline how you intend to remedy the situation. This could simply involve changes to your systems or your way of doing things so that the same mistake does not happen again. Or it could take a more concrete form, such as giving the complainant a credit note, cancelling an invoice, or paying some form of compensation. It all depends on the circumstances.
But remember that goodwill is important in any business relationship. If you have com- mitted an error or inconvenienced a business contact in any way, it is worth a bit of trouble, and even money, to ensure that the goodwill is not lost. So when it comes to a remedy, err on the side of generosity.
Below is a letter accepting a complaint. It includes all the elements we have been talking about, from a graceful and unreserved apology to a brief explanation of what went wrong and then a generous suggestion for remedying the situation.
NEW MODE FASHIONS 5 Thornton Road, Langton LT2 3UV
(01234 987654 12 July 20XX
Mrs J. Wilson Hilton & Co.
46 Kilsey Street Osberton OS1 2TU Dear Mrs Wilson
What apparently happened was that the order was held back because the computer showed a query on your account. By the time we discovered that the query was a computer error, the consignment was late. We have now corrected the error, and have instituted a system for informing customers immediately if there is likely to be any delay in the despatch of their orders.
This means that this should not happen again, but I realise that it does not solve your immediate problem, which is that your customer has cancelled her order. I would therefore like to make the following two suggestions:
1. We will cancel your invoice for the garments, enabling you to give them to your customer free of charge as a means of regaining her goodwill.
2.We will in addition credit you with the full value of the order, to compensate you for the loss of business you have suffered.
I hope that these suggestions meet with your approval, and that you will accept my apologies for the inconvenience you have been caused.
Yours sincerely
Gillian Holding Managing Director
Clarifying Complex Problems
One of the hardest letters to write is the one designed to sort out a situation where the correspondence has become bogged down in a mass of claims and counter-claims to the extent that the two organisations cannot agree on what the situation is. Every letter, e-mail or telephone call seems to add yet further complexity; it requires a lot of research, a lot of patience, clear thinking and clear writing to unravel it all – and clear writing is absolutely crucial. Make quite sure that there is no ambiguity or vagueness in your letter (and in this situation you should definitely write, not try to resolve the issue over the tele- phone), because there must be no further misunderstanding to muddy the waters.
The most common situation in which such problems arise is in reconciling accounts, where a plethora of invoices, counter-invoices, credit notes and queries seem to fly back and forth, adding layer upon layer of complexity. But they can also occur when there are disagreements over deliveries, over who is responsible for which aspects of a contract, or over the extent of a company’s liability for unsatisfactory service. The letter from Martin Davies above, in which he rejected Mr Stephenson’s complaint, is a simple exam- ple of this kind of letter.
EXERCISE 22
Look again at Exercise 21. Imagine that you work for the supplier of the office equipment, and you have received the telephone call for which you made notes in that exercise. You have conducted an investigation and find that the company is indeed at fault. Write a letter accepting the complaint.
There are four stages to this task.
1. Assembleallthe information that is remotely relevant to the situation. This means every invoice, every credit note, every statement, every delivery note, every letter or e-mail received or written, by you or anyone else, any notes of telephone conversations.
2. Go through it all, preferably in chronological order. Make sure that you have a copy of every document referred to in the correspondence (and if it is an accounting query, every invoice or credit note referred to in any statements). If there are any items you do not have, and they cannot be found, make a note. Read everything, several times if necessary, until you fully understand the situation. It can sometimes help to make notes as you go along, but however you do it, make sure that it is all quite clear in your mind.
3. Write your letter, setting out the situation as you now understand it, in a clear and logical sequence. The clearest sequence may be chronological order, but with certain accounting queries it could be numerical order by invoice or the order in which items appear on a statement. Explain how each document mentioned fits (or does not fit) into the picture and give a summary of the situation (in an accounting query, this will be who owes what, but in other circumstances it will be different – for example, with a contractual problem it might be who needs to take action). If your correspondent refers to documents you do not have, ask for copies. If you mention documents (particularly invoices, delivery notes or credit notes) which he or she does not appear to have, enclose copies.
4. Do not give your correspondent a chance to introduce any confusion into the situation.
Insist that, if they agree with your analysis, they should take any action you propose, and if they disagree they should indicate precisely what they disagree with and provide documentation to support their case. In other words, ensure that any further
correspondence relates to your analysis. And insist that they respond in writing; a telephone call will only provide another opportunity for misunderstanding to arise.
If you follow these four steps, your letter should produce the desired result. But the most important steps are probably the first two. If you do not have all the information in front of you, and if you do not fully understand the situation yourself, then your letter will probably just cloud the issue still further.
Below is a letter showing how this four-stage approach works in practice. It is clear, each document is presented and explained, there is a summary of what Brian Wagstaff believes his company owes, and there is a clear statement of what he expects Wendy Cartwright to do next.
FRANCIS MONK & CO 6 High Street, Midchester, MC1 4GF
Tel. 01324 123456 Wendy Cartwright
Financial Director Canter Distribution Ltd 5 Jarvis Way
Branston
Dear Ms Cartwright
Thank you for your letter of 2 March, sent with your February statement. Perhaps if I explain, item by item, what our understanding is of the situation between our two companies, we can resolve this dispute once and for all.
Invoice 14235. This was paid on 25 October with our cheque No. 015943, which was cleared on 10 November. My colleague Henry Thompson asked for the item to be cleared from our statement in his letter of 6 January, but it has not yet been done.
Invoice 14425. This invoice was charged at the wrong discount. On 22 January, Henry Thompson wrote and asked for a credit note to amend the discount. Your colleague Lawrence Davies wrote to him on 5 February to say that instead of issuing a credit note you would cancel the invoice and issue a new one.
Invoice 14457. This is for exactly the same goods as invoice 14425. Since we did not order two consignments, I assume that it was intended to cancel invoice 14425, although nothing to that effect appears on the invoice itself. On 3 February, I e-mailed asking whether this was the case. The only reply I received was an unsigned e-mail on 10 February, saying that the invoice was correct, but with no further explanation.
Invoice 14534. I agree this invoice.
Credit note 10987. This relates to faulty goods received on invoice 14534, and is correct.
Invoice 14768. I agree this invoice.
Invoice 14784. I agree this invoice.
Credit note 11259. There is no mention on this credit note of what it relates to. From the amount, I assume that it is to correct invoice 14425, on which we were given the wrong discount (see above).
Missing from your statement is any reference to our invoice 08976 of 6 February (copy attached), relating to the return of goods. I can confirm that the goods were delivered – our delivery note is signed by Ted Victor.
The correct position, as I see it, is therefore as follows:
Amount due, as per your statement: £1,862.79
Less invoice 14235, already paid: (£234.63)
Less invoice 14425, which should have been cancelled: (£526.46) Add credit note 11259, which should not have been raised: £96.23
Less our invoice 08976: (£186.54)
––––––––––––
Actual amount due: £1,011.39
If you agree with my analysis, I would be grateful if you would send me an amended statement. As soon as I receive it, I shall send you a cheque for the full amount. If you do not agree with my understanding of the position, perhaps you could let me know, in writing, what in particular you disagree with, and let me have details of how your view differs from mine.
Yours sincerely
Brian Wagstaff Chief Accountant
Writing Reports
A good report is a joy to read – clear, concise, well argued and to the point. It leaves no sign of the effort that has gone into making it like that! Good reports take time and care, however, and require particular skills to compile. We discussed the layout of reports in Chapter 3; here we will be looking at the techniques involved in writing them.