Letter Writing
Placing Orders
An order letter is a contract of selling and purchasing or
services. 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.
Many 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 number 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.
Technique To Write A Letter
1. Give the
Information in a Clear Format
To make your letter easy to read, do one of
the following:
•
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….”
3. Give a
Complete Description of Each Item
Include the following information in your
order letter:
i.
Quantity ordered.
ii.
Catalog (or model or stock) number
iii.
Name of product
iv.
Description of product, including as much of the
following as is appropriate:
(1) colour
(2) size
(3) material,
(4) grade
or quality,
(5) pattern,
(6) finish, and
(7) any other details available.
v.
Unit price
vi.
Total price for desired quantity
vii.
Any other information that you have, including where
you saw the product advertised.
4. Tell How
You Will Pay for the Order (Mode of payment)
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.
If you want the item charged to a credit card, 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.
Merchandise is
shipped FOB destination or FOB shipping point. The initials FOB
stand for “free on board.” 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.
5. Tell Where,
When, & How you Want the Merchandise Shipped
Give the shipping address, or say that you
want the merchandise sent to the address above (your return address) or below
(if your address is typed below your typed signature).
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. For
example, you may need the merchandise in a hurry and be willing to pay the
extra cost of air express.
Study the
following letter. You will note that such letter with incomplete information
would run into trouble.
Dear Sirs,
Please send me one of your weather vanes
which I saw advertised for Rs. 1000. We have recently repainted our garage, and
a weather vane would be a wonderful finishing touch.
My cheque is enclosed.
Sincerely yours,
Keeping in view the above point you must plan your order letter thus.
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.
Look at another Example:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter of March 23 along with the catalog for
computer hardware. Please send us the following goods by TCS Land Cargo
Service.
i. Hard
Disk (60 GB) 6 Nos
ii. Ram
(256 MB) 6
Nos
The consignment may please be packed in strong cases. The book receipt
may be sent with other document through our bank from which you will receive
the payment in cash. Please make sure to send the consignment before April 3.
Yours
truly,
Acknowledging
an Order
Acknowledging an
order is a profitable practice. An order acknowledgment does several important
functions. A letter acknowledging an order provides an excellent opportunity to
resell your product and your organization. Some organizations think such
replies unnecessary. However, orders may not be a matter of routine for the
buyer. The acknowledgment completes a valid contract between buyer and seller.
An acknowledgment
should always be sent promptly. An acknowledgement is usually sent as a form
reply in the form of
i.
A postal card
ii.
An acknowledgment form
iii.
A duplicate invoice
iv.
An individual letter
While answering
use the following plan.
i.
Thank/appreciate the customer.
ii.
Restate the order to illuminate any likely
misunderstanding.
iii. Tell the customer that his order is being processed and
should reach him within the given time frame
iv.
Express your pleasure in serving him
In several
situations an acknowledgment letter becomes a must. These situations are listed
here.
1. A Customer’s
First Order
Never
miss the opportunity to make your first impression on a customer. You want to
welcome the customer and encourage him or her to buy from you again.
Dear Mr. Naveed,
We are pleased to have received your
order of September 15 and would like to welcome you as our new customer.
Your order (No. 62997) for one dozen
spark plugs is being processed and will be ready for shipment on September 21,
it will be delivered to your workshop by our own van, and payment will be
c.o.d. (our policy for all orders under Rs. 1000).
We are sure you will appreciate this
item of our auto line. Mr. Gul, your sales representative, will call on you
soon with a catalog and samples.
Cordially,
2. An Incomplete or Unclear Order
When information is missing in an order,
it is important not to throw the mistakes of the writers (your customers) in
their faces. Don’t tell your customers what they forgot – just ask for the
information you need to fill the order and encourage a quick response by
enclosing a reply envelope
Dear Mr. Ali,
Thank you for your order of October 22 for 6 shirts in black color. We
are eager to deliver order No 129 to your store as soon as possible.
But first, please let us know which collar
size you’d like. These shirts are made both in free size and different sizes,
small, medium, large. If you note your preference on the bottom of this letter
and mail it back to us today, we can have your order ready by the beginning of
next week. We’re sure you’d like to receive your purchase without further
delay.
Sincerely Yours,
Acknowledging
a Large Order
Situation:
The Sales Manager Ravi Publishing
Company Mr. Waseem has just received a big order from Mr. Kamran for accounting
textbooks. Waseem writes to acknowledge the order.
Dear Mr.
Kamran
Thank you for your large order for
Ideal Accounting 10/12. The Ideal accounting is very popular.
I think you will find Ideal’s materials
very easy to teach from, and I hope that you will receive outstanding results,
better than any of those of its competitors.
We are now in the process of developing
a film for the Ideal programme, and I’ll see that you get advance information
on it. I’m sending you an advance copy of an article which will appear in the
October Issue of Business Teacher, “Bookkeeping and Accounting Are Not the
Same.” I hope you enjoy it.
Please let me know if anything else is
required. Thank you again for your confidence.
Cordially yours,
3. Orders
Requiring a Delay in Shipment
Occasionally an
item will be out of stock and shipment will be delayed. You can help keep the
customer’s goodwill by telling when shipment can be expected.
Consider the following:
Dear Sir
Requests for our book, “Effective English
Grammar & Composition,” have been overwhelming. As a result, we are
temporarily out of copies.
Nevertheless, the new printing is presently
being prepared, and I have added your name to the mailing list to receive a
copy as soon as it is available.
In the meantime, you may find a book by
Professor Shibly to be of some help. The book entitled “Common Errors in
English” published by us.
Yours faithfully,
Partial Delivery
When a partial
shipment can be made, the customer must be informed that certain items have
been back ordered. Again, the letter should assume the customer’s willingness
to wait. But it should also make an attempt to “resell” the merchandise by
stressing its finer features without emphasizing the missing items.
Consider the
following example:
Dear Mr. Ali,
Thank you for your recent order, number 622.
We are always especially delighted to serve an old friend.
Your six pairs of Chinese earrings (Item
15b) and one dozen Primrose necklace (item 8a) have been shipped by TCS and
should arrive at your boutique within the week.
Unfortunately, our stock of Chinese
bangle bracelets (item 9d) has been depleted because of a delay in shipments
from China. Our craftsmen have been at great pains to keep up with the demand
for these intricate and finely wrought bracelets. We have put your one dozen
bracelets on back order and hope to have them on their way to you before the
end of the month.
Very
truly yours,
6. Orders for
Products Sold Only Through Dealers
Although it may
be your policy to sell your products only through dealers, it is never a good
idea to use the phrase “it is our policy” -- a customer’s reaction may be that
you should change your policy. Just explain what your policy is. If you must
get this idea across, say “it is our practice” instead. That phrase isn’t quite
as strong.
Asking For Substitute Delivery
Dear Mr. Ahmed
Thank you very much for ordering Parveen
Shakir’s outstanding collection. As you know, in the five years since its first
publication, it has become a great appeal everywhere.
Sadly, ‘Khushboo’ is no longer in
print, and I am returning your cheque for Rs. 200. But to satisfy your interest
in poetry, I would like to suggest ‘Sadburg’ another fine book of the poetess,
as an alternative.
If you would like a copy of ‘Sadburg’
which costs only Rs. 200, please let me know, and I will immediately send it to
you.
Yours faithfully,
Refusing an Order
Some orders must
be refused. It may be the policy of your organization to sell only through
dealers. Or the customer’s account may be in unsatisfactory condition for you
to ship the merchandise on credit.
Letters refusing
orders call for the indirect plan, or the “sandwich approach,”
with the bad news in the middle. Use the following outline for these letters.
1. Start with
a “Buffer”
Thank the customer for the order, and
repeat the details.
2. Give an
Explanation
In a positive way, tell why you
cannot complete the order and stress what you can do, along with the
advantages to the reader. Offer to help the reader in any way you can -- give
the name of the nearest dealer, explain credit terms, or offer an alternate
solution.
3. Say No
Many times your explanation will imply the
“No” that is coming. Be sure the refusal is clear.
4. End With a
“Buffer”
Resell your organization and your
products.
In the following example see how the
writer suggests a substitute in place of an ordered, discontinued item.
Gentlemen,
Many thanks for your order of April 12
for Seabreeze window air conditioner. You can be sure that your decision to buy
a Seabreeze was a decision to buy the best in the market.
Your order cannot be filled as the line
has been discontinued. However, we offer you, latest range of split air
conditioner. This latest model has several improvements and new features. We
now stock the new split air conditioners. This model has these improved
features.
remote controlled
heavy – duty
compressor
noiseless
available in 3
sizes
Enclosed is our
latest catalogue. We hope you would certainly like these new models. We look
forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Delayed
Shipment
Situation
The manufacturer
of institutional uniforms and supplies received an order on July 14 from
General Hospital for 20 uniforms. Fifteen days late, the hospital writes that
the uniforms did not arrive. The uniforms were sent to another hospital in
Lahore City. In the response, the manufacturer tries to set things right and
retain the hospital’s goodwill
Dear Mr. Bari,
The 20 uniforms you ordered on July 14 are being sent to you today and
should be at your place by Friday of this week.
When I investigated the original shipment, I was astounded to learn that
your uniforms were sent to another hospital. It’s hard to account for such an
error, and the only excuse I can offer is that we’ve had several part-time
warehouse people this month to fill in for some of the regular crew who are on
vacation.
I
hope that this special shipment will compensate in part for the trouble we have
caused you. Please do let us know if we can do anything more for you.
Best personal wishes.
Sincerely
yours,
Unexpectedly Out of Stock
Unexpectedly Out of Stock
Situation
Mr. Rasheed, a
sales representative for Five Star Publishers, has just visited a Bookstore in
Multan (Mr. Sultan owner) and promised Mr. Sultan that he would receive 16
copies of Business English. Upon arriving at company headquarters,
Rasheed learned that there are no copies left due to the unexpected purchase of
the entire inventory by a foreign publisher. The Vice President of Five Star
Publishers writes to Mr. Sultan to apologize for Rasheed’s unfulfilled promise.
Dear Mr.
Sultan,
When you placed an order with Mr. Rasheed last week for 16 copies of the
Business English, he promised immediate shipment.
I would have made that promise, too Mr. Sultan, because our inventory of
this handbook seemed adequate for at least six months. However, neither of us
was prepared for the news that, just three days ago, a European distributor
cleaned us out of stock.
Of course, we immediately put in a large order for the handbook, and
have been promised 2000 copies by October 22. The same day we get our copies we
will send yours to you, and if everything goes right you should have your
copies by October 24.
We’re feeling very good about our professional handbook series. I’m
mailing you today a booklet describing the books in this series. In the
meantime, Mr. Rasheed joins me in wishing you a smashing fall season at your
Bookstore.
Sincerely yours,
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