Although, as with most business communications, there is a degree of flexibility in the way minutes are presented, there is a general style to which you should adhere. The first rule is that minutes should follow the order of the agenda. The second is that there
Minutes should summarise the main points raised at the meeting and indicate what deci- sions were made. They should not be a blow-by-blow account of what was said and by whom. Indeed, apart from indicating who introduced particular papers or who was asked to undertake a specific task, it is very often not necessary to mention individuals at all.
Even when a vote is taken, it is usual simply to give the numbers for and against rather than indicating how everyone voted. Some organisations prefer (or are even required) to minute how each participant voted in the interests of openness, particularly those whose members are elected representatives, such as local government. Moreover, it may occa- sionally happen that someone who disagrees strongly with a decision asks for their disagreement to be minuted, but otherwise it is unusual to say how individuals reacted.
Below is how the minutes of the management meeting whose agenda is shown above might appear, bearing in mind these guidelines.
Minutes of the Management Meeting held on 12 October 20XX
Present:Mary King (Chair), Patrick Baptiste, Stephen Martinson, Belinda Snow, Farida Aftab, Keith Sturgess, James Watson
1. Minutes of the last meeting. These were agreed as a true record.
2. Matters arising.
a. Item 4. PB reported that the redundancy policy had been to the unions for consultation as agreed, and he was still waiting for their response.
3. Financial report. This had previously been circulated and is attached. BS explained that, since it was produced, some long-standing debts to the organisa- tion had been settled, and the cash-flow situation was therefore more positive than the figures suggested. There was some discussion about the forecast for the end of the year, but it was agreed that the organisation’s financial situation looked very healthy.
4. Arrangements for the managers’ conference. The following arrangements were decided:
a. Venue. Several venues were suggested, but it was finally agreed that the Lockwood Hotel provided the best facilities.
b.Date. Friday, 2 December.
c. Format. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that the conference should focus on our key priorities for the coming year, rather than involving a department-by-department analysis of performance. A list of these priorities and the senior managers who have agreed to make presentations on them is attached. Each presentation is to last one hour (including questions).
5. Policy on payment of expenses. This policy was reviewed. It was decided, by six votes to one, that no change should be made to the current policy, nor to the amounts that can be claimed. JW asked to have it minuted that he did not agree with this decision: he felt that the amounts should be increased in line with the retail price index.
6. Survey of staff attitudes to recent organisational changes. As previously agreed, a group is to be set up to conduct this survey and report back to a future meeting. This group will comprise: MK, SM and FA.
7. Date of the next meeting. 15 November 20XX
Making Complaints
When you are complaining about something, do not become aggressive or abusive, especially if it is your first communication. The action – or lack of action – about which you are complaining could well be the result of a genuine error or misunderstanding. We all make mistakes, and it is only common courtesy to give the other person the benefit of the doubt. As we have seen, emotion has no place in business communications; not only is it good manners to be polite and unemotional, it will probably be in your own long-term interests. An aggressive approach might get results, but it could easily make the other person defensive and uncooperative, and it could be at the expense of your long-term business relationship. As always, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. How would you react if you received a letter like the following?
C. J. DOBSON PLUMBER 45 King Street
Brownchurch BC2 1DE Tel. 01987 654321 3 September 20XX
The Manager
National Midland Bank 5 High Street
Brownchurch BC1 2FG Dear Sir/Madam
Are you trying to bankrupt me? Don’t you get enough out of me legally without trying to cheat me as well?
For the last three months my statements have shown interest charges for an overdraft, together with a ‘service charge’ of £50 and ‘transaction charges’ of varying amounts. I was overdrawn by £1,000 for a short period in May, so I expected to pay a small amount of interest in June, and perhaps a small charge. But I did not expect to be penalised for the next three months. Do you realise that you have taken a total of £300 of my money? And for all I know my next statement will show another amount deducted.
This is not the kind of treatment I expect from my ‘friendly High Street bank’. You will please credit my account with the excess you have taken, plus interest, immediately. If I do not receive a corrected statement within a week, I shall take my account elsewhere and report you to the Office of Fair Trading.
EXERCISE 20
If you are working in a group, role-play a short meeting to discuss the Christmas party, based on the agenda you drafted in Exercise 19 (or on the example given in the answer to that exercise).
Then write up the minutes of that meeting. If you are working on your own, write your own minutes of a meeting you have recently attended.
You would hopefully correct the error, but you would not feel very well disposed towards the writer – Charles Dobson would have soured his relationship with an impor- tant person in the success of his business.
Before you start writing, you should have two things clear in your mind:
G What precisely are you complaining about?
G What do you want done about it?
It is no use complaining in a general way – about ‘poor’ service, for example, or ‘shoddy’
workmanship or ‘late’ delivery – unless you have specific details to quote. The other person can only take corrective action if he or she knowspreciselywhere things have gone wrong.
Similarly, they can do little more than apologise if you do not say what corrective action you want taken. This action may simply be to improve the service, workmanship or delivery you receive, but even then you should try to be specific. What level of service do you expect? What do you consider a satisfactory delivery time? And of course, many complaints require more specific action – to issue a credit note, to replace faulty goods, or to compensate you for financial loss.
With the answers to these questions, you should be able to prepare your complaint, which should be in three parts:
G a polite introduction, perhaps pointing out the good relationship you have enjoyed with the other person or organisation so far
G the specific details of your complaint
G a request for corrective action Overleaf is a letter based on this format.
The Four-stage Approach to Complaining
1 Write a friendly letter, e-mail or memo, or make a friendly call, explaining the nature of your complaint and the action you would like taken.
2 If you do not receive a reply, or no action is taken, contact the organisation or person again, still in a friendly way, but take a slightly firmer line.
3 If you still do not receive satisfaction, drop the friendly tone but remain polite.
4 Finally (and this stage should always be in writing), while remaining polite, threaten some kind of action – withholding payment, reporting your correspondent to the authorities, legal action, whatever seems appropriate to the nature of the complaint.
It is important to keep a record of the date on which you took each action and the outcome, if any, even if you are phoning rather than writing. In that way you can refer back to each stage if necessary.
C. J. DOBSON PLUMBER 45 King Street
Brownchurch BC2 1DE Tel. 01987 654321
3 September 20XX Mr Gordon Marshall Manager
National Midland Bank 5 High Street
Brownchurch BC1 2FG
Dear Mr Marshall
ACCOUNT NO. 43876653
As you know, I have been a customer of your bank for many years, and I have always found you and your staff friendly and efficient. I hope, therefore, that you will be able to correct what I assume is an error in your computer systems.
In May I was overdrawn by £1,000 for a short period, owing to an unexpected repair to my van. I know that I should have cleared the overdraft with you, but as I say, the bill was unforseen. I therefore expected to have to pay interest on that amount, as well as a charge for becoming overdrawn without prior clearance. The relevant amounts were shown on my June statement, and I thought that was the end of it.
However, I have had interest, a service charge and transaction charges deducted in July and August as well, with the result that I have paid a total of £300. I am sure this cannot be correct, and I can only assume that your computer is automatically deducting these charges on the assumption that I am still overdrawn.
I would be grateful, therefore, if you would look into the matter and credit my account with the excess that has been deducted, plus any interest that might have accrued.
I look forward to receiving an amended statement shortly.
Yours sincerely
Charles Dobson
This is friendly and clear, and should achieve Charles Dobson’s objective as well as the pre- vious example, while keeping the relationship with his bank manager on a friendly basis.
EXERCISE 21
You are refurbishing your office and have ordered 30 workstations and chairs. You only receive
Answering Complaints
How can you turn a complaining customer into a satisfied one? It is not too difficult. The first thing the person wants is to be reassured that you take the complaint seriously. Too many so-called customer service departments, even (or perhaps especially) in large companies, try to fob complainers off with what are quite obviously standard letters which do not address the nature of their complaints at all. One is left with the impression that they have no interest in correcting any underlying fault in their system.
Beyond that, what is needed is a friendly approach, a conciliatory attitude, and a willing- ness to take any action that may be necessary if you are at fault. Even if you are rejecting the complaint, it is possible to do so without causing offence.
The answer to a complaint can be divided into two or three parts, depending on whether you are accepting or rejecting it:
G the apology if you accept the complaint, or an expression of regret or concern if you reject it
G the explanation
G the remedy if you accept the complaint