Summary
In this chapter, you learned how to write difficult letters.
Hopefully, you now understand that - to achieve the right tone - you sometimes need to do more than write courteous sentences. You may also need to structure the letter in an appropriate way.
In this chapter, you learned the appropriate structure - or pattern - for three kinds of difficult letters:
l persuading a customer to accept your suggestion
l refusing a customer's request
l responding to a customer's unjustified complaint.
You can review these patterns in the Summary Exercise.
Summary Exercise
In this chapter, you learned how to write three types of difficult letters.
In the following exercise, you can quickly review the appropriate structure for each type of difficult letter.
Complete the following patterns by
l identifying the type of difficult letter you use the pattern for
l inserting the missing part in the pattern itself.
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A |
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1) Pleasant introduction, with empathy |
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2) Complete explanation of the situation |
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3) |
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4) Advice or suggestion |
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5) Polite close, with offer of help |
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B |
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1) Pleasant introduction, with compliment |
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2) |
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3) Advice or suggestion |
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4) Polite close, with offer of help |
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C |
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1) Pleasant introduction, with compliment or empathy |
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2) Reasons for the reasons for the refusal |
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3) Refusal |
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4) |
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5) Polite close, with offer of help |
a. Persuading a customer
b. Refusing a request
C. Responding to unjustified complaint
d. Reasons for / benefits of suggestions
e. Refusal of request / compensation
f. Advice or suggestion
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Answer |
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Responding to unjustified complaint |
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1) Pleasant introduction, with empathy |
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2) Complete explanation of the situation |
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3) Refusal of request / compensation |
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4) Advice or suggestion |
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5) Polite close, with offer of help |
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|
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Persuading a customer |
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1) Pleasant introduction, with compliment |
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2) Reasons for / benefits of suggestions |
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3) Advice or suggestion |
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4) Polite close, with offer of help |
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|
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Refusing a request |
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1) Pleasant introduction, with compliment or empathy |
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2) Reasons for the reasons for the refusal |
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3) Refusal |
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4) Advice or suggestion |
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5) Polite close, with offer of help |
Well Done!
You've now completed Chapter 7!
By now you should be able to write letters in which you
l persuade a customer to accept your suggestion
l refuse a customer's request politely
l respond to a customer's unjustified complaint.
Remember to use the patterns you learned in this chapter whenever you need to write these types of letters.
In the next chapter, you'll learn how to improve your letters with a final edit.
See you there!
