WRITING AND ANALYZING DOCUMENT

(INQUIRY, REPLY, COMPLAINT)

This paper is written to fulfill the assignment of

“English for Business”

Lecturer:
Nur Khasanah, S.Pd.I., M.Pd.

Compiled by:
Feri Nofitasari (204180032)
Ninda Rizki Pangestuti (204180055)
Nur Aeni (204180057)
Putri Melinia B.F. (204180058)

English Education B/ 7th semester

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING
STATE UNIVERSITY OF ISLAMIC STUDIES PONOROGO
2021
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
B. Research Problem

C. Research Objectives

CHAPTER II
 DISCUSSION

A. Writing Skill
1. Definition of Writing
Writing activity is the last skill that mastered by language learners after
listening, speaking, and reading, because writing skill need to be mastery in all
aspect of language.1 Writing is “production of the writer word that results in a
text but the text must be read and comprehended in order for communication to
take place”.2 So writing skill are specific abilities which help writers put their
thoughts into words in a meaningful form and to mentally interact with the
message.
Some of linguists were inclined to look at writing as second expression
form. Recently we seldom find that good writing as important purpose in
language learning programs.3 Written products are often the result of thinking,
drafting and revising procedures that require specialized skills, skills that not
every speaker develops naturally. The upshot of the compositional nature of
writing has produced writing pedagogy that focuses students on how to
generate ideas, how to organize them coherentl, how to use discourse markers
and rhetorical conventions to put them cohesively into a written text how to
revise text for clearer meaning, how to edit text for appropriate grammar and
how to produce a final product.

2. Good Writing
Good writing in any language involve knowledge the convention of written
discourse in culture as well as the ability to choose the precise words that
conveys one’s meaning. To write an interesting text and good paragraph, we

1
Burhan Nurgiantoro, Penilaian Dalam Pengajaran Bahasa dan Sastra, (Yogyakarta: BPFE
Yogyakarta, 2001) Third Edition, p. 296.
2
Marriane Celce and Murcia Elite Olshtain, Discourse and Context in Language Teaching.
(USA: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 142.
3
Furqonul Azies and Chaedar Al Wasilah, Pengajaran Bahasa Komunikatif. Teory dan
Praktek, (Bandung : PT. Remaja Rosdakarya Bandung, 2006), p. 128.
 should know what a paragraph or text is. Paragraph is a group of sentence that
develops one main point or an idea. A paragraph has unity when all of
sentences are related to the main idea. In writing a good paragraph, we should
concern to three things, they are:
a. Unity
Basically, a paragraph is unified by mutually supported sentences.
Unity is that all sentences within a paragraph are related to the main point.
Barly Bram said” the unity is synonymous with oneness”. This unity
means oneness to express the idea in one paragraph, all sentences; all of
the sentences stick together.
b. Coherence
Coherence also plays an important role in writing. It plays crucial
role in making a paragraph contains of smoothly-connected ideas. Each
sentence move naturally. To achieve coherence, the writer needs to use the
transition, such as however, although, finally, and nevertheless.
c. Meaning and Grammar
Although English is a foreign language (for us, Indonesia), we
have responsibility to express our ideas semantically and grammatically. A
piece of writing or sentence, or even a phrase, must be semantically
acceptable, and meaningful.4 Students must have good writing ability in
order to get a brighter future. There are many professions that need the
ability of writing, such as novelist, journalist, teacher and many more.
They who master the ability well, is easier to get any of those professions
above. When we write, we produce written message that we want to
deliver to the reader. The way we choose the right words is not enough to
send a message to other people. Therefore we cannot produce written
message automatically without an organized plan.\

3. Writing Process

4
Barly Bram, Write Well Improving Writing Skills, (Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2005), p. 20-21.
 In writing it takes study and practice to develop this skill. It is important to
note that writing is a process, not a “product”. This means that an article is always
possible to review and revise again. There are four main stages in the writing
process, namely planning, drafting, editing and final version.
a. Planning
In the planning stage, you organize the ideas, you generated by
brainstorming, the most efficient way to do this is to make an outline. It is a
guideline in writing in order to remember what we want to write and throw
what we not want to write.5
b. Drafting
We can refer to the first version of a piece of writing as a draft. This draft go
at a text is often done on the writing assumption that it will be amended later.
As the writing process into editing, a number of drafts may be produced on the
way to the final version.
c. Editing ( Reflecting and Revising)
Once writers have produced a draft they then, usually, read through what
they have written to see where it works and where it doesn’t. Perhaps the
order of the information is not clear. Perhaps the way something is written in
ambiguous or confusing. Reflecting and revising are often helped by other
readers (editors) who comment and make suggestion. Another reader’s
reaction to a piece of writing will help the author to make appropriate
revision.6
d. Final version
The last, you are ready to write the final copy to hand in. your instructor will
expect it to be written neatly and legibly in ink or types. Be sure that you
make all the correction that you note on your second draft. After rereading the
final copy don’t be surprised if you decide to make a few minor or even major

5
Alice Oshima and Ann Hoque, Writing Academic English Second Edition, (California:
Addison Wesley Publishing Company), p. 3.
6
Jeremy Harmer, How to Teach Writing, (England: Pearson Education Limited, 2001), p. 5.
 changes. Remember that writing is continuous process of writing and
rewriting until you are satisfied with the final product.7

All the writers, they do not make a draft directly but they always review and
revise their writing. For example the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway,
spent several hours each day for writing, you can imagine how many times this
great writer revised his work.

4. Importance of Good Business Writing Skills

Communication skills, including writing, are one of the most important
transferable skills that workers possess. Most business professionals, such as
marketing, finance, and research and development managers, need excellent
writing skills to properly convey ideas and concepts. There are many reasons that
writing skills are important in the business world. During a regular business day,
bosses write emails to employees notifying them of meetings or providing
instructions for specific projects. These written messages must be concise and
self-explanatory, so workers can be productive and not waste time asking for
further instructions. Business people are busy and well written communications
help save time. Additionally, good writing adds to the credibility of the writer and
reflects positively on a company's image. The unit for this project is taken from
professional writing for business communication. Professional writing is a
specialized field of communication whose purpose is to convey information
accurately and effectively. One in a professional environment can have the
greatest ideas in the world, but those ideas will be of no importance to one’s
company, one’s readers, or one’s career if those ideas are not expressed clearly
and with a positive tone, that meets the readers’ needs.
In an age when we have so many media choices and so many written
messages to create, having a strong and well-practiced process is important to
one’s success. In addition, knowing when to use the right formats for writing

7
Alice Oshima and Ann Hoque, Op.cit, p. 13.
 messages is important. It makes all the difference between how one’s message is
being read and understood.8

B. Analyzing Business Document

As we know that in business there must be various documents, such as
acknowledgement document, complaint document, inquiry document, order letter,
and letter of recommendation9. Business document is an old form of official
correspondence. A business document written by an individual to an organization
or organization to another organization. Business document are written from
various purpose, such as for ordering product from another company, build team
work with other company, for acknowledgment someone’s work and so on.
Especially in a global era like this, the technology that is growing is increasly
sophisticated. It is also experienced by the development of this type of document
in the business world. In the past documents were sent conventionally as in the
post man but with the development of the times and technology, sending
documents and receiving replies from other company is easy and fast, one of
which is using email. Companies get positive things about the technology in
sending documents, they can reply to documents quickly and affordable costs 10. In
the business document there are so many kinds of letters, such as Inquiry, Reply,
Complaint and many others.

1. Inquiry letter
Inquiry letter is useful when you need information, advice, or directions.
In general, the general function of this letter is to respond to an advertisement
from information sources such as newspapers, magazines or electronic media
about a product/service when we interested in the information obtained.
Usually this letter is an initial step in building a business or cooperation from
two parties, namely the provider of the product/service and the buyer of the

8
Bindu Ranaut, Importance of Good Businesse Writing Skills, International Journal of
Language and Linguistics Vol. 5, No. 2, (West Coast University United States, June 2018) p. 32.
9
Chris Burke, Designing Business Documents, (USA: Monotype Typography, 2002), page 21.
10
Ibid., page 22.
 product/service. Be careful, however, not to ask for too much information or
for information that you could easily obtain in some other way, for example,
by a quick trip to the library. Letters of inquiry may be sent if you want to
be more knowledgeable about a process or the products and / or services
that a company or an establishment offers. It may be used in different
fields and is a way of formally asking for more information about the
thing that you wanted to learn about. 11
a. Type and contexts of inquiry letter
1) Solicited Inquiry: An inquiry made in response to the sellers
advertisement and publicity is called a solicited inquiry. Actually it is a
response by the buyer to the advertisement or publicity of a seller.
2) Unsolicited Inquiry: An inquiry made at the buyer’s own initiative is
called unsolicited inquiry. This type of inquiry is made when a buyer
wants to know anything from the seller.
b. Contents and organization inquiry letter
1) Early in the letter, identify the purpose_ to obtain help or information
(if it's a solicited letter, information about an advertised product,
service, or program).
2) In the letter, identify who you are, what you are working on, and why
you need the requested information, and how you found out About The
individual. In the letter, also identify the source that prompted your
inquiry, for example, a magazine advertisement.
3) In the letter, list questions or information needed in a clear, specific,
and easy - to- read format. You have quiet and number of questions,
consider, making a questionnaire and including a stamped, self-
addressed envelope.
4) In the letter, try to find some way to compensate the recipient for the
trouble, for example, offering to pay copying and mailing cost, to
accept a collect call, to acknowledge the recipient in your report, or to

11
Nimmo Linger, Business letters, ( New Delhi: Lotus Press,2005), p. 2
 send him or her a copy of your report. In a solicited letter, suggest that
the recipient send brochures or catalogues.
5) In closing letter, express gratitude for any Help the recipient and can
provide you, acknowledge the inconvenience of your request, but do
not thank the recipient "in advance ". In a letter, tactfully suggest to the
recipient that he will benefit by helping you (for example, through
future purchases from the recipient's company).12

When you recive an a inquiry letter, answer the questions as clearly

and briefly as possible. If you cannot answer the questions, explain the
reasons and offer alternatives. A reply to an inquiry letter should follow the
following steps:

a. Acknowladge the inquiry letter, that is, let the other company know that
you have recived and read their previous letter.
b. State what action you ou your company are taking.
c. Emphasize information your consider important (e.g. special discounts
or promotions).
d. Answer any spesific questions the inquirer ask
e. Suggest ways in which you could help the inquirer to make a decisin to
buy (visit on office or the company, an exhabition at a fair, offer the visit
of one of your representatives for a demonstration,etc.).
f. Invite the inquirer to ask for futher information
g. Close the letter
h. Add the appropriate ending13

2. Reply
a. Definition
A reply for document is used for answering the question or looking
for infromation. These are especially common business communications,
12
Ibid hal 2-3.
13
Miguel F. Ruiz Garrido dan Inmaculada Fortanet Gomez, English Communication For
International Business I, (Biblioteca de la : Universitat Jaume, 2005), 25.
 it is provide the answers or information requested in a letter of inquiry.
The objective is to satisfy the reader with an action that fulfills their
request14.
b. Guidline in writing the reply for document
To write a reply for the document, here are some several tips to
write a good reply15 :
1) Review the original document
a) Review the original document carefully
Determine what the document asking for, after that begin
figuring out how to provide the information that is needed. In
reviewing a document, someone who reply the document is
permitted for take some notes from the document to determine the
point.
b) Find out the information from the document.
Take what ever steps that can be figure out from the
document and how to answer the writer’s question before reply
the document. For example, the letter may be asking the status of
a job application. If replyier not connected with the hiring process,
call the hiring manager to check on the application status before
responding.
c) Forward the letter to someone else if replier aren’t qualified to
answer it.
Sometimes, especially in business, people send letters to the
general address or contact person16. If replier receive a letter that
know someone else could answer much better, then send it along
to them to reply. This ensures the recipient will get the most
accurate response possible.
2) Constructing the Response
14
Manuel Perea, María Fernández-López & Ana Marcet , What is the letter é?, Scientific
Studies of Reading, 24:5, 434-443, DOI: 10.1080/10888438.2019.1689570, 2020 page 5
15
Chris Burke, Designing Business Documents... page 24.
16
Robert W. Bly and Regina Anne Kelly, The Encyclopedia Business Letters, Faxes, and E-
Mail, (USA: The Career Press, Inc, 2009), Page 29.
 a) Address the letter to the person who requested the
information.
Always open with a polite salutation like “Dear,” followed
by the person’s name. Greet the person directly, rather than using
a generic opening like, “To Whom It May Concern.” This is
impersonal and seems like the request was handled by a computer.
Instead, greeting the person by name is more personal and shows
that care went into writing this response17.
 If don’t know the person personally, use the titles Mr., Mrs., or
Ms., followed by the person’s last name. If the person has a
known title, like Dr., use this instead.
 If know the person or are unaware of their gender, use their
first name.
 As a good rule, open the letter with the same name and title that
the person signed their letter with. For example, if the sender
signed their letter “Dr. Johnson,” then open letter with "Dear
Dr. Johnson."
b) State that replierare responding to the original letter.
Let the reader know that replierare responding to their
letter. This tells the reader that their letter was received and
processed, and also lets them know the purpose of the letter. For
example : Very simply sating, “I am writing in response to replier
letter from June 13th” is a perfect opening for a response letter.
c) Answer the person’s inquiry as directly as replier can.
After the opening, get to the main point of the letter.
Address each question or concern from the person’s original letter
as completely as replier can. Make sure replier’ve hit every point
so the person is satisfied with replier response.
 State what the original letter inquired about, and then answer
the question. For example: “Replier letter asked who the
17
Ibid., 30.
 contact person for media inquiries is. The person is Janet
Walters. Her email address and phone number are as follows.”
 For longer inquiries, use a numbered list to answer each
question. This is easier to read and shows that each concern
has been addressed.
 Be through, but brief. A few sentences per question should be
enough to respond to the person’s original inquiry.
d) Acknowledge clearly if replier can’t fulfill the person’s
request
Sometimes replier can’t fulfill a person’s request. Be direct
about this. Don’t use a long-winded response trying to soften the
blow18. Replier recipient will appreciate a clear, direct response to
their question. Remember to always be polite and apologize while
replierare doing this so replier recipient doesn’t get offended19.
 Always use an understanding tone while turning down a
request, but also provide a firm response. State,
“Unfortunately, I’m unable to fulfill this request. We don’t
have the information replier need, and I can’t say when we
may have it.”
 If replier might be able to answer the question with more
information, ask the person for a response. State, “I’d like to
answer replier inquiry but I need to know more about replier
situation first. At replier convenience, please respond with the
date of replier application and the name of the person replier
contacted, and I will answer as soon as possible.
e) Thank the person for writing
Whether replier were able to answer the person’s request or
not, always be courteous and thank the person for their letter. This

18
Clare Whitmell, Business Writing Essentials, (USA: Penguin Books , 2014), page 15.
19
Ibid,. Page 17.
 shows replier appreciate their attention and maintains a positive
relationship with the letter writer20.
f) Sign the letter with replier name and title
Wrap the letter up with a formal closing like, “Sincerely,”
followed by replier name. If replier are working for a business,
write replier professional title underneath replier name. If replier
are handwriting or printing the letter, leave room for replier
signature after printing replier name. If replier are sending an
email, then writing replier name is fine.
g) Review the letter to make sure replier have answered the
person’s question
Recipient will be frustrated if they receive a response that
doesn’t answer their questions. Failing to satisfy the person could
leave a customer unhappy, or create more work for you because it
have to respond to another inquiry later on21. Keep the recipient
satisfied by answering their request as completely as you can.
Double-check letter and make sure it addresses everything from
the original letter. If anything is missing, add it in before sending
the letter out.

3. Complaint Letter
a. Definition of Complaint Letter
Complaint letter is a letter written to the seller by the buyer raising
complaints or claims regarding mistakes taken place during the order to
payment period. The complaint letter formalizes a problem situation by
putting it into writing and is usually the last resort to try to get a situation
resolved.
According to Coach (2016), complaint letter is letter written to
bring the mistakes to the notice of those who must own the responsibilities

20
Robert W. Bly and Regina Anne Kelly, The Encyclopedia Business Letters... page 32
21
Chris Burke, Designing Business Documents....., page 26.
 for them are called claim or complaint letter. It means that complaint letter
is the letter that is written by the purchaser to the seller about who
responsibilities to the thing mistakes from the seller.22
In addition, Bly (1999) argues that in complaint letters is the
writers responsibilities to let the readers know about the problems of their
services or products, hence the letters would be written clearly and
precisely, not forgetting that it would be written politely, so as not to
offend the readers because actions would not be taken if the readers feel
offended.23 Moreover, it is vital that the writers know how to make the
complaints appropriately.
Moreover, complaint letter is the letter purpose to solve the
problem or dissatisfaction. According to Naterop in Stankov (2002:20),
denotes the letters complaint as the way to solve a problem or to deal with
difficult situations.24 It means that the purpose of the business letter to
solve the problem that happen from the writer to the reader.
According to Geffner (2007:67), complaint that calls upon the
company to make recitation is called claim. The company responding the
claim will write a letter adjustment. The claim letter are the letter when
customer is satisfied with goods service, a complain letter will inform
company or organization of the problem.25
Based on the explanation the expert above, it can be concluded that
the complaint letter is the letter that is writing to convey costumers
dissatisfaction about a service or item that their provided. The purpose of
writing complaint letter is to solve problem. It can make the customers
does the complaint to the supplier or organization.
b. Tips and Tricks How to Write a Good Complaint Letter
This is the several tips and tricks how to make a good complaint letter
22
Coach, How (Not) to Write of Complaint, (Michigan: Language Arts Journal of Michigan,
2016), p. 56
23
Bly, R. W., The Encyclopedia of Business Letters, Fax Memos, and E-mail, (Petaling Jaya:
Advantage Quest, 1999), p. 36
24
Naterop B., Business Letters for all, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 20
25
Geffner, B. Andrea, How to Write Better Business Letters, (New York: Barron’s, 2007), p.
67
1) Address your letter to the customer service department
When writing a letter of complaint, your best chance of success
will come from directing the letter to the customer service department
of the company. The customer service department is accustomed to
dealing with complaints and your letter is likely to be processed
efficiently and effectively.
Try to find out the name of the customer service manager or
director and address your letter to them personally. Begin your letter
with Dear Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms followed by their surname. If you
cannot find the name of the customer service manager, simply
write Dear Sir or Madam.
2) Quickly get to the point of your letter
The very first line of your letter should clearly address why you are
writing the letter and what your exact complaint is. Give as many
pertinent facts as possible, including the date, time and location where
you made the purchase or received the service, along with any relevant
serial or model numbers.
 The recipient of the letter should be able to identify the point of the
letter under five seconds, so avoid any long, rambling intros.
 You may provide further detail or explanation of the situation in
the paragraph following your opening sentence, but the first line
should draw attention to your complaint as succinctly as possible.
 For example, your opening sentence might read: "I am writing to
complain about a faulty hair dryer that I purchased from your
company on the 15th of July at your location on First Street, New
York."

3) State specifically what outcome or remedy will satisfy you

If you want a replacement, a refund, a repair, or some other form of
compensation, state this clearly in your second paragraph. This will
 help to avoid receiving a form letter or other stock response, and give
the recipient something to work with on their end.
 Try to be as constructive as possible in your comments, suggesting
a way that you can move forward and continue your relationship
with the company.
 If you demand a refund or some other form of compensation, while
simultaneously informing them that you plan on taking your
business elsewhere, they will have little incentive to try to resolve
the problem.
 If you would like the company to correct a broader problem, state
that in your letter as well, but recognize that such a thing may take
time.
 Do not threaten legal action in your first communication. It may be
the solution you ultimately require, but send your complaint letter
first and await a response.
4) Attach copies of supporting documents
These may include receipts, guarantees, warranties, copies of
checks you sent and, if appropriate, photos or videos. All
documentation should be included with your letter. Make sure that you
send copies of any documentation you wish to include, not the
originals. That way, there's no chance of this key information being
lost or mislaid, should you need to provide evidence to someone else.
Also make sure to state in the body of the letter the exact materials you
are including. For example: "Please find attached a copy of my original
receipt, along with a copy of the hair dryer's guarantee and information
regarding the serial number."

5) Give them a time limit to resolve the matter

It is helpful to provide an exact time period within which you
would like the issue to be resolved. This will give you peace of mind
 and will help bring the issue to a speedy conclusion. Providing a time
limit will also help to prevent the possibility of your letter becoming
lost or forgotten about, which may lead to further awkwardness and
resentment between you and the company. Just make sure that the time
period you provide is reasonable. A week or two is usually sufficient,
though this will vary depending on what your requests are.
6) Finish the letter respectfully
Thank the recipient for their assistance, and let them know how
and when they can reach you to resolve the matter. This will make
their job a lot easier, resulting in a more efficient outcome for you.
 Sign off the letter with Yours sincerely, if you know the name of
the person you are writing to, or Yours faithfully if you referred to
them as "Sir" or "Madam". Avoid informal closings such as "Best,"
or "Yours truly."26

c. Making General Complaints (Step to make Complaint Letter)

When sending a complaint, you will need to decide whether it is
appropriate to use fax or email, where privacy cannot be guaranteed, or to
write a letter. Some complaints, e.g. a mistake in a small payment or in the
number of goods despatched, can be faxed or emailed, but a letter should
be used for larger or more serious complaints.
1) Opening
Do not delay. Complain as soon as you realize a mistake has been
made; delay weakens your case and can complicate the matter as
details may be forgotten. There is no need to open by apologizing for
the need to complain (We regret to inform you..., I am sorry to have to
write to you about … ) as this also weakens your case. Simply begin:
 We would like to inform you...

26
Wiki How, How to Write a Complaint Letter to a Company, Accessed on
https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Complaint-Letter-to-a-Company?
amp=1#aoh=16312447601758&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From
%20%251%24s
  I am writing to complain about …
 I am writing with reference to Order No. P32, which we received
yesterday.
2) The Language of Complaints
Emotional terms like disgusted, infuriated, or amazed have no
place in business. You can express dissatisfaction by saying:
 This is the third time this mistake has occurred and we are far from
satisfied with the service you offer.
 Unless you can fulfill our orders efficiently in the future we will
have to consider changing to another supplier.
 Please ensure that this sort of problem does not arise again.

Do not be rude or personal. In most cases correspondence between

companies takes place between employees in various departments.
Nothing is gained by being rude to the individual you are writing to.
You may antagonize someone who has probably had nothing to do
with the error and, rather than getting it corrected, he or she could
become defensive and difficult to deal with. Therefore, do not use
sentences like:

 You must correct your mistake as soon as possible.

 You made an error on the statement.
 You don't understand the terms of discount. We told you to deduct
discount from net prices, not ctt prices.

Use the passive and impersonal structures

 The mistake must be corrected as soon as possible.

 There appears to be an error on the statement.
 There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding terms of
discount. Discount is deducted from net prices, not CIF prices.
 Do not use words like fault (your fault, our fault) or blame (you are to
blame) these expressions are rude and childish. Do not write:

 It is not our fault. It is probably the fault of your despatch

department.

Instead, write:

 The mistake could not have originated here, and must be connected
with the despatch of the goods.

Never blame your own staff, and finally, while writing the
complaint remember that your supplier will almost certainly want to
help you and correct the mistake. Suppliers are not in business to
irritate or confuse their customers but to offer them a service.

3) Explaining the Problem

If you think you know how the mistake was made, you may politely
point this out to your supplier. Sometimes, when a mistake occurs
several times, you may be able to work out why it is happening more
quickly than the company you are dealing with.
 Could you ask your accounts department to check my code carefully
in future? My account number is 246-642, but they have been
sending me statements coded 642-246.
 I think the reason that wrong sizes have been sent to me is because I
am ordering in metric sizes, and you are sending me sizes measured
in feet and inches I would appreciate your Iooking into this.
4) Suggesting a solution
If you think you know how the mistake can be corrected, let your
supplier know.
 If I send you a debit note for €984.00 and deduct it from my next
statement that should put the matter right. The best solution would
be for me to return the wrong articles, charging you P&P.
  Rather than send a credit note you could send six replacements,
which would probably be easier than adjusting our accounts.

d. Replying to Letters of Complaint

1) Opening
Acknowledge that you have received the complaint, and thank your
customer for informing you.
 Thank you for your letter of 6 August informing us that …
 We would like to thank you for informing us of our accounting
error in your letter of 7 June.
 We are replying to your letter of 10 March in which you told us
that ...
2) Asking for time to investigate the complaint
Sometimes you cannot deal with a complaint immediately, as the
matter needs to be looked into. Do not leave your customer waiting but
tell them what you are doing straight away. In this case, an email or
fax message is appropriate as the customer then knows immediately
that you have received the complaint and are doing something about it.
 While we cannot give you an explanation at present, we are
looking into the problem and will contact you again shortly.
 As we are sending out orders promptly, I think these delays may be
occurring during transit. I shall get in touch with the haulage
contractors.
 Would you please return samples of the items you are dissatisfied
with, and I will send them to our factory in Düseldorf for tests.

3) Explaining the mistake

 If the complaint is justified, explain how the mistake occurred but
do not blame your staff. You employed them, so you are responsible
for their actions.
 The mistake was due to a fault in one of our machines, which has
now been corrected.
 There appears to have been some confusion in our addressing
system, but this has been sorted out.
 It is unusual for this type of error to arise, but the problem has now
been dealt with.
4) Solving the problem
Having acknowledged your responsibility and explained what went
wrong, you should put matters right as soon as possible, and tell your
customer that you are doing so.
 We have now checked our accounts and find that we have been
sending you the wrong statement due to a confusion in names and
addresses. The database has been adjusted and there should be no
more difficulties. Please contact us again if a similar situation
arises, and thank you again for pointing out the error.
 The paintwork on the body of the cars became discolored because
of a chemical imbalance in the paint used in spraying the vehicles.
We have already contacted our own suppliers and are waiting for
their reply. Meanwhile we are taking these models out of
production and calling in all those that have been supplied.
 The fabric you complained about has now been withdrawn. The
fault was in the weave of the cloth, which was due to a
programming error in the weaving machines. This has now been
corrected and replacement fabric will be sent to you.
 5) Rejecting a complaint
If you think the complaint is unjustified, you can be form but polite
in your answer. But even if you deny responsibility, you should always
try to give an explanation of the problem.
 We have closely compared the articles you returned with our
samples and can see no difference between them. Therefore, in this
case we are not willing either to substitute the articles or to offer a
credit.
 Our factory has now inspected the unit you returned last week, and
they inform us that the circuits were overloaded We can repair the
machine, but it will be necessary to charge you as incorrect use of
the unit is not covered by our guarantee.
6) Closing
It is useful when closing your letter to mention that the mistake,
error, or fault is an exception, and it either rarely or never happens.
You should also, of course, apologize for the inconvenience your
customer experienced.
 In closing we would like to apologize for the inconvenience, and
also point out that this type of fault rarely occurs in the Omega
2000.
 Finally, may we say that this was an exceptional mistake and is
unlikely to occur again. Please accept our apologies for the
inconvenience.
 Replacements for the faulty articles are on their way to you, and
you should receive them tomorrow. We are sure that you will be
satisfied with them and there will be no repetition of the faults.
Thank you for your patience in this matter, and we look forward to
hearing from you again.27

27
A. Ashley, Oxford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence, (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2013), p. 100-102
 CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

A. CONCLUSION
B. SUGGESTION
In making this paper, the authors realize there are still shortcomings and
errors caused by the limited knowledge that the author has. So, the author asks for
criticism and advice from the reader for the perfection of this paper.
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