ENG2020 English for Business Communication

Week 6 Letters of Adjustment

An adjustment letter (that is, reply to letters of complaint) has a great role in every kind
of product or service oriented organization. Adjustment letters deal with all kinds of
complaints and claims: unsatisfactory service, defective product, goods not delivered,
shipment arriving late, etc.

Guidelines – How to Write an Adjustment Letter

1. Begin with a positive statement to show you are pleased to hear from the client or
express regret over the troublesome situation, or both.

2. Refer to the date of the customer’s claim or original complaint letter and explain the
purpose of your letter.

3. Express the problem again so that the customer realizes that you comprehend their
case.

4. Explain the circumstances that led to the situation. Provide a respectful and factual
explanation to show the client that they are being treated in a fair manner.

5. Make your decision in relation to the claim.

If the customer is right, recognize this fact and extend a sincere apology. State
specifically which corrective actions will be taken.

If the complaint is invalid and you deny the request, explain the reason inoffensively and,
if possible, offer some substitute or partial compensation, or some friendly advice.
*Never promise the customer to do the impossible or violate company policy, but do
persuade them that you have their needs in mind.

6. Conclude the letter amiably, perhaps expressing hope that both parties will continue
doing business.
ENG2020 English for Business Communication
Week 6 Letters of Adjustment
Example 1 Reply to a complaint about damaged or defective goods

E-Expert Limited
247 Canton Road, Kowloon
Tel: 2677 4488 Fax: 2393 6785
Website: www.e-expert.com.hk Email: enquiry@e-expert.com.hk

15 October 20--

Mr. Jackson Poon

Manager
Goodwill Computers
Unit 45, Golden Computer Arcade
Shamshuipo, Kowloon

Dear Mr. Poon,

Replacement for KIMSON Potable Hard Disks

I refer to your letter dated 10 October 2019 regarding the standard of the KIMSON
portable hard disks we supplied to you recently. Thank you very much for bringing this matter
to our attention. There is no doubt that strict quality control is very important.

After investigation into the issue with our suppliers, it was found that they mistakenly sent
us a consignment of faulty disks. Apparently, the damage was caused during the production
process, and the suppliers are currently recalling all of batch 590a.

I really must apologise for the inconvenience you have been caused. I can assure you that
in future we shall do all we can to avoid this incident. We have enhanced the system of quality
control to ensure thorough check of the products before they are dispatched to our clients.

We take all our customers’ comments seriously. With this in mind, we are more than
happy to replace the faulty disks. A replacement consignment will be sent to you immediately,
and we would be grateful if you could return the faulty disks to us. Our company would, of
course, reimburse any charges incurred. Please accept our apologies once again for the
inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,

Nixon To
Assistant Sales Manager
ENG2020 English for Business Communication
Week 6 Letters of Adjustment
Example 2 Reply to a complaint about late delivery

Supreme Office Supplies

184 Wan Hing Street, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon
Tel: 2778 5643 Fax: 2645 8976
Website: www.supremeoffice.com.hk Email: enquiry@supremeoffice.com.hk

21 December 20--

Mr. Edward Chen

Purchasing Manager
Worldbeater
16/F., Harmony House
78 Hennessy Road, Wanchai
Hong Kong

Dear Mr. Chen,

Delivery of Galaxy GX9 Photocopiers

I am writing in response to your letter of 17 December 2019 concerning delivery of your

order for 15 Galaxy GX9 photocopiers. Thank you for notifying us of the matter.

According to our Accounts Department, although we discussed delivering the above

photocopiers on the phone by 1 December 2019, in fact we did not receive your order form
until 17 December 2019 – the same day as your letter of complaint. I am afraid the delay in
delivery has been due to the fact that we had not received any formal order from you.

I regret that, therefore, we cannot guarantee delivery before New Year. As mentioned in
our phone conversation earlier this month, this time of year is very busy for us. However, as it
is obviously that you have been inconvenienced by this unfortunate situation, we are prepared
to offer you the loan of 15 Galaxy GX7 photocopiers until such time as we can deliver your
order.

If the above suggestion is acceptable to you, please contact me by return so that I can
make the necessary arrangements. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Elise Woo
Sales Supervisor
 ENG2020 English for Business Communication
Week 6 Letters of Adjustment
Activity 1
The following are extracts in a letter of adjustment, which have been completely mixed up.
a) Try to piece together the extracts in the correct order of a letter.
b) Proofread the extracts and correct the errors.
c) Discuss whether the language of this adjustment letter is diplomatic or not.

A. I deeply show concern about the inconvenience caused and dissatisfaction of your
customers. Having been your long-time supplier of hardware products, we are earnest to
maintain our business relationship. However, you may notice that our goods are always
non-refundable once they have sold. Under our company’s policies, I regret that we are
unable to offer you a refund for the entire order only because of retailers’ unsatisfactory
sales revenue of our products.

C. Your sincerely,
B. Issues about poor quantity of handsaws (model 88b) Rosita
Rosita So
Sales Manager
D. I refer to your letter dated 22 February 20-- with respect to
the quality of handsaws purchasing in our store. We express E. Dear Mr. H. Law,
immense gratitude for your comments which help our
continuous improvements.
I. 27 February 20--

F. As a compromise, we could still arrange for a half replacement to you. If you could return half
(that is, 50 handsaws of your order) intact handsaws of model 88b, we can offer an exchange with
model 78b with free shipping. If the arrangement is acceptable, please contact us as soon as
possible so that the goods can be sent once we received the 50 handsaws from you. We look
forward to hear from you soon.

G. Mr. Henry Law

Purchasing manager H. After understanding the situation with our Sales
Central Hardware Store Representative, Mr. Harold Wong, it was found that
G/F., Tai Lok Building he did mention the better durability and efficiency
84 Cheung Lei Road, of model 88b when he demonstrated the product at
Chai Wan your shop. Moreover, experiments proved that it
Hong Kong really performed well in the above criteria with a
sharp blade, far better then model 78b and all
previous models of handsaws.
J. Hong Kong Hardware Supplier Limited
1/F., Golden Mansion,
285 Lockhart Road,
Wanchai, Hong Kong Correct order of the extracts:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
ENG2020 English for Business Communication
Week 6 Letters of Adjustment

Language and tone in letters of adjustment

In most cases, a negative tone is often expressed in letters of complaint. However, when we
write letters of adjustment in response to these letters, we should not copy the negative
words. Rather, they should be replaced them with positive or neutral tone though we have to
respond to someone who has complained about our company/ services/ products. The aim is
to resolve any problems, clarify any misunderstandings and maintain relationship.

Situation
You are the Event Manager for CentreStage Limited, a company which organises fashion
events in Hong Kong. You have received the following letter of complaint about your
company's most recent event.

Cosmo Couture
Unit 3C-D, Block B
PMQ, Central, Hong Kong
4 October 20--
Event Manager
CentreStage Limited
21/F, Devon House
Taikoo Place
979 King’s Road
Hong Kong

Dear Sir/Madam,
“Elites In The Spotlight” exhibition

I participated in the captioned exhibition at the Harmony Hotel from 28 to 30

September, and had the precious chance to meet local designers of different brands and
other visitors. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the event was spoiled by a number of
organisational problems.

First of all, I had difficulty in registering as a participating company in the event. You
set up an on-line registration facility, but it was totally unworkable. Even after I had spent
several hours trying to register via this facility, the computer did not accept my application.
I eventually succeeded in registering by faxing to your company.

Moreover, the exhibition was held at one of Hong Kong's most prestigious hotels,
but apparently the venue was better suited to a medium-sized business conference than
to a large function open to the public. The lack of space led to overcrowding in the venue,
particularly at peak visiting times, which seriously undermined the interaction between
participating brands and the visitors as well as affected the physical safety of attendees.

I hope you can look into these matters and have better planning so that these
problems can be avoided in any future functions organized by your company.

Yours faithfully,

Lilian Chung
Creative Director
Activity 2
The following is a letter of adjustment written by you in response to Ms Chung’s complaint.
Discuss with your course mates to rewrite the parts which are underlined so as to give the
letter a positive tone.

CentreStage Limited
21/F., Devon House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Hong Kong
Tel: 8491 2005 Fax: 8491 2215
Website: www.centrestage.com.hk Email: enquiry@centrestage.com.hk

10 October 20--

Ms Lilian Chung
Creative Director
Cosmo Couture
Unit 3C-D, Block B
PMQ, Central, Hong Kong

Dear Ms Chung,

Re: 1. Complaints about “Elites In The Spotlight” exhibition

I refer to your letter of 4 October 2019, in which you made several comments related
to the 2. failure of our online registration facility, the 3. lack of space at the exhibition
venue and the physical safety of the attendees. We express gratitude for your comments,
which can help us improve our services in the future.

Our online facility was 4. totally unworkable because 5. there were too many visitors
to that webpage on a regular basis, which made the server 6. ineffective.

The hotel was 7. unsuitable for the large number of attendees due to a high number
of registrations for the event several days just before the deadline. These registrations
caused the situation in which we booked a place which was more suitable for a specialist
exhibition function rather than a large public event.

To state it simply, we were 8. caught unprepared for the enthusiastic response from
both the local fashion brands and the general public. This led to 9. dangerous conditions
because we underestimated the space required and the security officers were 10. unable
to control the visitor flow.

For next year's exhibition we will make better arrangements for a large number of
participants and visitors. We look forward to seeing you there.

Yours sincerely,

Y. S. Koo
Event Manager
1. 6.

2. 7.

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.

Group Activity – Case study

Study the case below:

You are the Customer Service Manager in a large tourist agency. You have received a letter of
complaint from a family who has just come back from a 4-day tour to Seoul, Korea arranged
by your company. The following allegations are made:

a) The family were dissatisfied with the quality of the hotel accommodation (small rooms,
insufficient facilities, etc.) arranged by your company, and when they demanded to be
moved to another hotel, they were told that this was impossible;
b) They were unhappy with the quality of transport (poor air-conditioning, uncomfortable
seats, etc.) used for visits to places of interests.
c) The family felt that the meals were not up to standard as they thought that the tour
guide deliberately took them to those restaurants just for getting commission;
d) They found the itinerary unsatisfactory and too rush as they did not have sufficient time
for shopping.

Work in groups to show reply to the above points raised to the best of your ability. You can
decide whether the complaints are justified or not, but your decision should be based on the
discussion of the actions your company has taken and the findings you have got.