The Simplest Business Deal

A series of business letters leading to the conclusion of a transaction usually includes the following sorts of letters: enquiries, replies to enquiries, offers, orders, order confirmations, advice of shipment, complaints and adjustment letters, and agency letters.

All these types of letters will be discussed in detail below, but to give a schematic idea of a business transaction, the following simple transaction with short letters has been selected.

transaction – сделка

agency letters – письма об агентских услугах

offer n – предложение

enquiry n – запрос

reply to enquiry – ответ на запрос

complaint – претензия, рекламация

order n – заказ

order confirmation – подтверждение заказа

advice of shipment – сообщение об отгрузке

adjustment letters – письма по исправлению претензий

Full-Block Letter Format / Полноформатное письмо

INTERNATIONAL SUIT DISTRIBUTORS

100 KENNEDY CIRCLE

CAMDEN, NJ 08103

U.S.A.

phone 609-555—0101 / fax 609-555—0102

May 1, 2010

Your reference 00012

Mr. Li Hao Chung, President

Taipei Suit Company Ltd.

2121 Fu Hsing Road, 6th Floor

Taipei 11549, Taiwan

Dear Mr. Li:

Thank you for your kind invitation to visit the Taipei Suit Company June 6 and 7, 2010.

Mr. Roier and I are pleased to accept your invitation to learn more about your company’s products. Taipei apparel is admired both in the offices of International Suit Distributors and throughout the United States.

We look forward to meeting you on June 6 and will send you details about our arrival when our travel arrangements are complete.

Sincerely yours,

(Ms.) Deanne Sidwell

General Manager

Prospecting Letter / Рекламное письмо-предложение

Asian Beauty Products

450 Sutter Street Suite 102

San Francisco

March 12, 2010

Chan’s Beauty Spa

125 Maiden Lane

San Francisco

Dear Ms Chan:

My name is Sondra Kim and I am an account representative with Asian Beauty Products, Inc. in San Francisco.

The reason I am writing to you is that we have an exceptional new line of cosmetic products that give long-lasting improvement in skin and hair, and that have been good sellers in many salons.

I am enclosing a brochure and price list for your consideration. I would like to call on you next week, give you some samples, and see if you have an interest in learning more about our products. I look forward to talking to you at that time.

Sincerely, Sondra Kim

Enclosures: brochure, price list.

Follow-up Letter / Письмо-напоминание

India Silks

Bombay, India

April 12, 2010

M. Meurice Joubert

Moroccan Trading Company

Marrakesh, Morocco

Dear M. Joubert:

I would like to say what a pleasure it was to have met you last Thursday. My thanks for having given me that opportunity

As you know, we are looking for an exporter for our uniquely designed dresses. We think your company would best represent us.

Let me add that I hope we will have a profitable business relationship, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Yours truly,

Ravi Patel

Account Executive

Complaint Letter / Рекламационное письмо

Tom Brown

189-9 Kent Street

Smithville, Ohio 37703

February 15, 2011

Software Unlimited, Inc.

2233 Connection Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20008

Attn: Customer Service

To Whom It May Concern:

Please cancel my account and give me a full refund on my credit card. I was unable to use your software on my computer and loading it onto my computer gave me problems with other existing software.

When requesting a refund, I was told by one of your phone assistants that I could not cancel my account by fax without losing $50 set-up fee. I was also informed that I needed to write a letter of explanation to the Customer Service Department in order to get my money back.

I find this system extremely frustrating. I should be able to receive an approval of my refund by fax or phone call. I must say I am disappointed with your software and your company.

Yours truly,

Tom Brown

Response to a Complaint Letter / Oтвет на рекламационное письмо

Software Unlimited, Inc.

2233 Connection Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20008

February 25, 2011

Tom Brown

189-9 Kent Street

Smithville, Ohio 37703

Dear Sir:

We have received your letter, and I am writing to you on behalf of our company. We appreciate your having taken the time to write us about your problem. We are always trying to improve our product and services.

We have cancelled your account as you requested and are sending you a refund. We apologize for the lengthy process in recovering the set fee; we are in the process of changing our policy so that refunds will be made more quickly.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you. Should you have any further questions, please call me.

Sincerely,

Noelle Randall

Customer Service

Rejection Letter / Отказное письмо

2500 North Fruitridge Road

Terre Haute, Indiana 47811

October 9, 2009

Ms. Andrews

109 Glimmer Circle

Larchmont, New York 10107

Dear Ms. Andrews

Thank you for taking the time to submit your bid to do the construction and installation for our Happy Homes project. We appreciate the time and effort you spent in preparing this.

Unfortunately we must decline your bid at this time, as we have awarded the job to another company that has considerable experience in this type of project.

We thank you for your participation and hope we will be able to use your services at some time in the future.

Sincerely,

Michael Ellsworth, Manager

Happy Homes

Collection Letter / Инкассационное письмо

GLEASON’S DEPARTMENT STORE

2297 Front Street

Phoenix, Arizona 99075

April 24, 2010

Dear Madam:

Two months ago you purchased a physical fitness and training program from our gym. This program is a twelve-week, four-times-a-week intensive course with one of our expert trainers. At that time, you promised to pay $500 for this service, which we allowed you to begin without a deposit.

Five weeks have passed and we are disappointed that we have not received any money from you. Perhaps it has slipped your attention, and we would like to give you the opportunity to fulfill your obligation to us.

Please call our Accounting Department immediately and let us when we can expect payment.

Yours truly,

Ms. Sarah Lambert, Manager

Accounting Department

cc. (carbon copy) Collections Office

Practice Drills

1. Give some variations of Yours truly.

2. What is the difference between Yours truly and Best regards?

3. What does the expression I look forward to mean?

4. What is the abbreviation for carbon copy?

5. What is the abbreviation of electronic mail?

6. Most business letter salutations begin this way: ___________.

7. When you are sending a letter to a superior, such as a judge, a teacher, or diplomat, you might sign your letter: ____________ submitted.

8. Friends and relatives usually sign off this way: ____________.

9. When you are sending regards, you say: __________ regards.

10. What is a common way to end a business letter?

11. Read and translate the following business letters, give brief summaries of them:

BUSINESS LETTER 1

UNITED DENTAL CARE CORP.

208 Eastside Road

Columbus, Ohio 37891

November 9, 2011

Mrs. F. Jones

Marcus Drugstore

15 Ellison Place

Mansfield, Ohio 37048

Re: CLAIM ON TOOTHPASTE QUALITY

Dear Mrs. F. Jones

It is upsetting to learn that you have problems with our toothpaste.

Tony Mailer, our representative, will meet you on Wednesday morning, 15 November to investigate the problem. He will take the samples which will be forwarded to our Quality Control Department for analysis.

We assure you that the problem will be promptly resolved to your satisfaction. Please accept our apologies for inconvenience.

MICHAEL RAINBOW,

VICE-PRESIDENT

MR

BUSINESS LETTER 2

FLANAGAN’S DEPARTMENT STORE

12207 Sunset Strip

LosAngeles, California 91417

June 7, 2011

Ketchum Collection Agency

1267 Hollywood Boulevard

Los Angeles, California 91401

ATTENTION: MRS. TERRY ROBERTS

Gentlemen:

Subject: Mr. Gary Daniels, Account #69 112 003

We would like to turn over to your services the account of Mr. Gary Daniels, 4441 Natick Avenue, Sherman Oaks, California 91418. The balance on Mr. Daniels’ account, $829.95, is now 120 days past due; and, although we have sent him four statements and five letters, we have been unable to collect his debt.

Mr. Daniels is employed by West Coast Furniture Showrooms, Inc. He banks at the Natick Avenue branch of Third National City Bank and has been a customer of ours for four years. We have enclosed his file for your reference.

We are confident that we can rely on Ketchum as we have in the past. Please let us know if there is any further information with which we can furnish you.

Sincerely yours,

FLANAGAN’S DEPARTMENT STORE

Martha Fayman

Credit Manager

MF/wg

Enclosure

cc Mr. Norman Hyman

BUSINESS LETTER 3

ROUGUSONS ELECTRONICS

21 Mead Road

Swansea, Glamorgan 3ST 1DR

January 15, 20_

Mr. R. Brown

Homemakers Ltd.

54-59 Riverside

Cardiff CFI IJW

Dear Mr. Brown,

Thank you for inquiry about our new tape-recorder. I am enclosing our brochure with general information about the product.

In answer to your specific questions:

I. It costs £ 300 + VAT at 13.5%.

2. We offer a discount of 5% on orders of 5 units or more.

3. We will be able to deliver your order within 10 days of receiving it.

4. Unless you already have an account with us, we will require payment with your order.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely Yours,

Robert Roughson

General Manager

RR

Enc: Brochure

BUSINESS LETTER 4

STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Preston New Road

Denver, Colorado 61043

July 14, 20_

Mr. C. Bennett

Glaston Potteries Inc.

20-13 Vorley Road

Little-Rock, Arkansas 46678

Subject: Request for Marketing Information

Dear Mr. Bennett,

Thank you for your letter of 2 July. The provision of a list of commercial and industrial wholesalers and distributors will constitute a chargeable enquiry. The approximate cost of this service will be $300. The list will be sent to you approximately six weeks from the date of payment receipt.

If you wish to pursue the inquiry, you should contact the nearest branch of our information department.

I should be grateful if you could send trade literature on you products and company.

Faithfully yours,

Tony Dillman

Office Manager

TD

BUSINESS LETTER 5

JASONS COAL MINING LTD.

head Office, Bruce House

Bruce Street, Aberdeen AB9 1FR

March 25, 2000

Mr. J. Simpson

Claims Department

Kent, Clarke & Co. Ltd.

South Bank House

Borough Road

London SE1 OAA

Dear Mr. Simpson,

Thank you for advising us that you never received the 14 tons of coal covered on your purchase order No. 1239 dated 5 April 2000.

The coal was shipped on 16 April 2000. A tracer is being initiated and we will notify you as soon as the information becomes available.

If we are unable to determine the status, we will immediately release a duplicate shipment.

We are sorry for this situation and assure you of our prompt attention.

Yours sincerely,

Emily Snake

Shipment Department

ES

BUSINESS LETTER 6

MAHONEY AND MILLMAN, INC

1951 Benson Street

Bronx, New York 10465

May 2, 20_

RBM Manufacturing Company, Inc.

4022 Ninth Avenue

New York, New York 10055

Dear Sirs

We intend to purchase a new office copier before the end of the fiscal year. We would like to consider an RBM copier and wonder if you have a model that would suit our needs.

Our office is small, and a copier would generally be used by only three secretaries. We run approximately 3,000 copies a month and prefer a machine that uses regular paper. We would like a SCX-4200 Model, but rarely need to run off more than 25 copies at any one time.

We would also like to know about your warranty and repair service. Since our fiscal year ends June 30,20__, we hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely yours,

William Wilson

Office Manager

WW

BUSINESS LETTER 7

Donald Paton

183-9 Kent Street

Smithville, Ohio 37703

10 June, 20__

Mr. M. Greenbaum

Marketing Manager

Austin Motors Pty.

21 Mead Road

Birmingham B3 3EL

UNITED KINGDOM

Dear Mr. Greenbaum:

I am taking a course in Principles of Advertising at Smithville Community College in Smithville, Ohio, and am doing my term project on the ways in which British automobile manufacturers are now competing in the small-car market.

I would therefore greatly appreciate your sending me the following specifications on the new RX-7:

1. Fuel economy statistics.

2. Technological advances (such as steering system, brake system, and engine capacity).

3. Available options.

I would also find it very helpful if you told me in which magazine (or other mass media) you began your advertising campaign.

I am certain my classmates will find this information extremely interesting. I will be sure to send you a copy of my report as soon as it is complete.

Respectfully yours,

D. Paton

BUSINESS LETTER 8

CONDO CORPORATION

209 West Street

Kingston, Jamaica, W.I.

October 2, 20_

The Executive Inn

2 Main Street

Evansville, Illinois 60821

Dear Sirs,

Please reserve a double room with bath for Mrs. Linda Lettman for October 27- 29. Mrs. Lettman, executive of the Condo Corporation, will arrive at the hotel at approximately 6P.M. on October 27.

While in Evansville, Mrs. Lettman will meet with six members of the local Chamber of Commerce. She would, therefore, like to reserve the use of a small conference room for the morning of October 28, from about 9 A.M. until noon.

Please let us know the rates for both Mrs. Lettman’s accommodations and the conference room, and confirm this reservation.

Truly yours,

M. Stewart, Manager

BUSINESS LETTER 9

THE COMMITTEE TO KEEP MiNNESOTA GREEN

24 North Main Street

Blackduck, Minnesota 56630

July3, 20_

Mrs. Christine Solars

Solars and Wright

62 Onigum Road

Walker, Mihnesota 56484

Dear Mrs. Solars:

We are pleased that you will be participating in the Ecology Colloquium sponsored by the Committee to Keep Minnesota Green. As we discussed in our recent conversation, the Colloquium will take place on June 29 in the convention room at the Blackburn Inn.

The Colloquium will begin with the keynote address at 10:30 A.M. At 11:00, you will join our other guests of honor in a debate on the topic, «The Cost of Conservation: Public or Private Responsibilities?».

Along with the other members of the Committee, I am looking forward to our meeting on the 29th.

Sincerely yours,

David Marston

Chairman

BUSINESS LETTER 10

THE BARCLAY

5500 South 96th Street

Omaha, Nebraska 68127

August 10, 20_

Mr. Albert Dunnell

2233 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.

Washington DC 20008

Dear Mr. Dunnell,

This letter will confirm your reservation for a single room with bath for August 24- 27. Your room will be available after 2 P.M. on the 24th.

Since you will be arriving in Omaha by plane, you may want to take advantage of The Barclay’s Shuttle. Our limousine departs from the domestic terminal every hour on the half hour, and the service is free for guests of the hotel.

Cordially yours,

M. Allison, Manager

BUSINESS LETTER 11

OLSEN’S UPHOLSTERY LTD.

72 Preston New Road

Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 4UL

7 August 20_

Mr. D. Norton

Tib Street

Maidenhead

Berks SL65D2

Dear Mr. Norton,

Thank you for your order of October 22 for 6 rolls of black nylon webbing. We are eager to deliver Order 129 to your store as soon as possible.

But first, please let us know whether you’d like the webbing in 1-, 1.3- or 1.5- inch widths. 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.

Olsen’s Upholstery products are among the finest made, and we’re sure you’d like to receive your purchase without further delay.

Sincerely yours,

K. Winford

Sales Manager

BUSINESS LETTER 12

SILVER IMPORTS, LTD.

609 San Anselmo Avenue

San Anselmo, California 94960

March 4, 20_

Mrs. Bonnie Comm

Bonnie’s Baubles

4091 West Ninth Street

Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27102

Dear Mrs Corum,

Thank you for your recent order, number 622. We are always especially delighted to serve an old friend.

Your six pairs of Chinese Knot earrings (item 15b) and one dozen Primrose pendants (item 8a) have been shipped by United Parcel and should arrive at your boutique within the week.

Unfortunately, our stock of 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 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,

Chun Lee

Manager

BUSINESS LETTER 13

BOOKS-BY-MAIL

P.O. Box 799

Dallas, Texas 75220

April 10, 20_

Mrs. Donna Phillips

Crosby, Texas 77532

Dear Mrs. Phillips,

Thank you so much for ordering Indra Masher’s outstanding book «An Introduction to Indian Cooking». As you know, in the fifteen years since its first publication, Mr. Masher’s book has become a classic and a standard for great cooks everywhere.

Sadly, «An Introduction» is no longer in print, and I am returning your check for $15.95. But to satisfy your interest in Indian cuisine, I would like to suggest an alternative, Purnamattie Jaffrey’s «Indian Gourmet». Mrs. Jaffrey was a student of Mr. Masher, and her recently published volume has been widely hailed by both food and cookbook critics.

If you would like a copy of «Indian Gourmet», which costs only $13.95, please let me know, and I will immediately send it to you.

Cordially,

David Ewing

Order Department

BUSINESS LETTER 14

Lindon’s Co

Kernigan, Jakarta 12950

Indonesia

March 25, 2011

Bridges & Co. Ltd.

32 Highgate, West hill,

London SE

England

Dear Messrs Fox and Hill,

With reference to your letter of 5 February, 2011 and further to our telephone conversation I’m pleased to inform you that our deal has been successfully completed. In accordance with our preliminary arrangement I’ll report you periodically about any changes.

I would be grateful if you could send a reply at your earliest opportunity.

Please find enclosed our latest catalogue.

Sincerely yours,

Jack Grey

Grammar revision. Infinitive

Инфинитив

Инфинитив (Infinitive) - это неличная форма глагола, обладающая свойствами как существительного, так и глагола. Инфинитив имеет 3 временные формы, выражающие одновременность или законченность действия, а также залог. Признаком инфинитива является to перед глаголом. В предложении инфинитив выполняет функции подлежащего, дополнения, обстоятельства цели, составного сказуемого.

To read is interesting. Читать - это интересно.

I like to read very much. Я очень люблю читать.

Табл.7.