《商务英语函电教程》Unit 12 投诉受理与处理

General View
Generally speaking, complaints should not be necessary. In doing business, it is necessary to abide by contracts and everything should be done so carefully that no mistakes are made and nothing is damaged. Unfortunately, everything doe not always go as well as what we expect. Often due to many unforeseen factors, errors occur and goods are mishandled; accidents happen.
General View
General View
If the complaint is justified, you have to admit it readily, express your regret and indicate what steps the company is taking to put the matter right. If the complaint is not justified, point this out politely and in an agreeable manner. In that case, your letter should be written carefully. The key is not to make the customer feel that he is considered over-demanding in making his request, but to assure him that his complaint has been seriously considered and used facts to convince him of your position.
It is usually the hope of both sellers and buyer that any disputes between them be solved through discussion. However, if a satisfactory solution can not be reached between them after negotiation, a claim may be files to the court specified in the contract for arbitration. Complaints and claims can be often settled through friendly negotiation, arbitration or by law. Every complaint or claim requires a prompt answer or acknowledgement. Replies to complaint letters, often called letters of “adjustment,” should always be courteous, even if the complaints and claims are not justified.
Guidelines of Writing 2. Rules of adjustment and settlement
The following are the rules for replying to complaints and claims. (1)Take the complaint or claim seriously. (2)Explain what has happened and why it happened. (3)Ask for necessary cooperation from the customer.
As we need the articles we ordered to complete deliveries to our new customers, we must ask you to arrange for the dispatch of replacements at once. We attach a list of the contents of case No. 71, and shall be glad if you will check this with our order and the copy of your invoice. In the meantime we are holding the above-mentioned case at your disposal; please let us know what you wish us to do with it. Yours faithfully Ali Albert Encl. Survey report
Unit Twelve
Complaints claims adjustments
Learning Objectives
• After this Unit, you should be able to To describe complaint, claim, and adjustments To know how to make a complaint To understand claim practice
General View
All these may be result in subsequent complaints and claims of different characters. They may result from: 1）wrong goods delivered 2）shipment overdue 3）shipment damaged, or short 4）goods in inferior quality 5）goods badly packed
Hale Waihona Puke 1．Rules of complaint and claim
Guidelines of Writing
Complaints and claims are usually made by the importers who suffered losses against the exporters. A letter of complaints or claims should be written as follows: 1). Begin by regretting the need to complain or claim. 2). Mention the details of the goods complained about, including the name of the goods, the order and contract number, the date of delivery, etc. 3). State the reasons for being dissatisfied and ask for an explanation. 4). Refer to the inconvenience caused. 5). Suggest how the matter should be settled.
Specimen Letters-2 (Settlement of wrong delivery) February 18, 2008 Dear Sirs, Your Order No 43120 per s. s. “Isabella” Thank you for your letter of February 10 informing us that the consignment was delivered promptly. We appreciate your straightforwardness in pointing out that case No.71 did not contain the goods you ordered. On going into the matter we find that a mistake was indeed made in the packing through a confusion of numbers, and we have arranged for the right goods
Guidelines of Writing
(4)Do not shirk responsibility. If you are wrong, you should admit your mistake and apologize sincerely. You can state that you will never try every effort to prevent the error from happening again, but the trouble is caused by other people, you may promise to contact them and resolve the problems. (5)End with a friendly, positive comment.
to be dispatched to you at once. Relative documents will be mailed as soon as they are ready. Please keep case No. 71 and its contents until called for by our Commercial Counsellor’ s Office, whom we have informed of the matter accordingly. We were sorry for the trouble caused you by the error and wish to assure you that care will be taken in the execution of your further orders.