Английский язык (стр. 12 )

What is the basic means of communication between two companies? How many business letters are written every day? Which tone do most business letters have? Why? Why do many executives still prefer a written document? What does empathy mean? What does it mean to write a good letter? Why can business letters be challenging to write? Why is writing business letters like any other document? Why is it important to understand the service perspective when writing a business letter? Why is the tone of business letter so important? What should one avoid writing a business letter?

Text C

Types of business letters

I.  Read and translate this text in a written form:

The Adjustment letter

Here you respond to a claim letter and tell the customer how you plan to handle the situation. Regardless of what your final decision is, your purpose remains the same: show that you value the customer’s business and concerns, and that your company is fair and reasonable.

If the customer’s complaint can be resolved, simply express your regret about the situation, state the correction you will make, and end on a positive note by encouraging future business with your company.

The Claim letter

When you have a complaint, you use a claim letter to relay this information in a professional and ethical manner to the person you have the problem with. The purpose of the claim letter is to convince the reader that you have a legitimate complaint that deserves a desired response.

The more professional and written the claim letter is, the better the chance you have of receiving positive feedback in your favour. Consider this strategy when writing a claim letter: - identify the problem or service, explain the problem, propose a solution, end the letter respectfully.

The Order letter

This is the most common form of business communication, and it is written for a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer.

When writing an order letter, include all the information the reader will need to identify the merchandise, such as: quantity, model number, dimensions, capacity, material, price.

The Inquiry letter

As the title indicates, the purpose of this form is to obtain information from the reader. If the reader is expecting the letter, your task is easy.

If the reader is not expecting your letter, then it is more difficult. In this case, following these four guidelines will be helpful: state your purpose, list your questions or requested action, offer something in return to encourage action, follow up with a thank you note, e-mail, or phone call to the person who helped you with your respect.

The Sales letter

When writing a sales letter, it is important to have a good attitude in order to sell your product or service, because the reader will want to know why they should spend their valuable time reading the letter. Therefore, you need to provide clear, specific information that will explain to the reader why they should be interested in buying your product or service.

The Acknowledgement letter

There is no better way to loose business than to allow a letter to remain unanswered. Even if you are trying to keep your head above the flood waters of the busy season, acknowledging the receipt of a letter is polite and looks efficient. Acknowledgements can also be used to obtain further information to speed the relationship along.

Simple acknowledgements of the receipt of a letter (an enquiry, perhaps, or an order or application) can be printed on postcards and addressed using sticky labels, or on A5 headed paper (a short message such as these would look terse on A4). If using postcards, remember to have them printed with your company’s name and address.

The Apology letter

There are some occasions when there is no getting round it – you are in the wrong. You may have made a complaint that turns out to be unfounded, or you may have failed to do something you promised to do/ or done something you promised not to do. Whatever the situation, it is wise to make the apology immediately/ or as soon as possible after you find out that the apologies are in order – probably the best way to do this is by letter – it is so much easier to apologize on paper than in person.

The way to word an apology depends on the exact situation, but try to avoid abject groveling, and flimsy excuses. Try to sound sincere, and, where necessary, be prepared to take full responsibility.

Letters of apology are best written in the formal style, using the title and surname, and signing with ‘Yours sincerely’.

Responding to letters of complaint

Letters of complaint should always be taken very seriously/ especially if you are providing goods or services.

Your letter should be courteous, even if the complainant has abused you. You should be truthful – if you have already been having trouble with the product, say so. Try not to sound as if you are making excuses, but offer a reasonable explanation for the lapse. Never show that you do not believe the customer, or lead him to believe that the matter is not being taken seriously. Say that the customer’s patronage is important to you, and apologize for inconvenience.

II.  Read the following letters and match them with the type of the letter:

a) Adjustment letter b) Claim letter c) Inquiry letter d) Order letter e) Respo0nce to an Inquiry letter f) Sales letter

1)  Closed care

1248 SE Lancaster Blvd

Tigard, OR 97225

July 17,2011

WJ Billings, President

WJ&M Construction Company

2383 NW Turner Blvd

Tigard, OR 97225

Dear Ms. Billings,

I was very disappointed to read your letter of July 10th dealing with the issue of wrong product installed in one of your homes. As someone who values your business, I have already put a plan in motion to fix the problem.

My warehouse manager and a crew will be at the site July 19th to take out white desks and replace them with the black units, free of charge. Also, we will deduct another 10 percent of the bill for the misunderstanding.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

(signature here)

Kent Lenoir,

President

2)  Dawn Snyder, Professor

ICU Technical College

Portland, ME 04101

May 27,2011

Professor I. B.Writing,

Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO 80523

Dear Mr. Writing,

I would be honored to attend your colloquium on concept mapping in December. I think you know how strongly I feel about that paradigm and the role the great state of Main has played in its development.

I am enclosing the admissions sheet sent to me, as well as the articles you requested that I have recently published on the subject. Good luck on organizing the event – I cannot wait to be there!

Sincerely,

(signature here)

I. B.Writing,

Professor, CSU

DS/Is

3)  Dept. of English

Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO 80523

May 23, 2011

Ms. Dawn Snyder,

Professor

ISU Technical College

Portland, ME 04101

Dear Ms. Snyder,

I am a professor in English at Colorado State University organizing a seminar on concept mapping for a colloquium coming up in December. Based on your experience in this area, I was wondering if you would be interested in attending.

The deadline for admission is August 13. It would be a great honor to have you in attendance. Enclosed is an admissions form and more information on the colloquium.

Thank you for your time,

(signature here)

I. B.Writing,

Professor, CSU

4)  Closet care

1248 SE Lancaster Blvd

Tigard, OR 97225

July 7, 2011

Professor I. B.Writing, Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO 80523

Dear Mr. Writing,

Are you having trouble organizing your clothes into your existing closets? If you are like most Americans, you have trouble finding your favourite shirt when you really need it. This is why it is important to have an organized closet system.

At Closet Care, we have the skills and experience to come in and help you with your closet needs. May we stop by and offer a FREE estimate at how much it would cost you to rebuild your closet? If so, give us a call at and set up and appointment with one of your friendly operators.

Sincerely,

(signature here)

Kent Lenoir

President

5)  WJ&M Construction Company

2383 NW Turner Blvd

Tigard, OR 97225

July 10, 2011

Kent Lenoir, President

Closet Care

Tigard, OR 97225

Dear Mr. Lenoir,

As someone who has worked with you for over 12 years, we were very disappointed to see the work that you did on one of the houses we subcontracted to you in the Camas development.

As our oral agreement stipulated, we expected 5 black armoire units to be installed in the master bedroom, but instead, we found that 3 white particle-board desks were put in. I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.

We would like you to send out a crew to take out the white desks and put the black armoire units immediately, or provide us with a refund.

Yours truly,

WJ Billings,

President

III.  Write letters using the information in the chart below:

N	Date	Addressee	Address
1.	05.05.2011	A. B.Wilson& Co. Ltd	15Leadenhall Street London, E.C.3
2.	12.05.2011	The Liverpool Forwarding Agency;Ltd	19 Brunswick Street, Liverpool
3.	16.01.2011	The Export and Transport Co., Ltd	25 Water Street, Hull
4.	23.09.2011	The Bandies Tool Co., Inc.	1568 Commerce Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
5.	31.05.2011	Secretary of Assertion of British Motor Manufacturers	40 Conduit Street London, W. I.

Unit 8

Text A

Business Documents

Vocabulary

Commercial/Export Invoice	Торговый счет-фактура
Consular Invoice	Консульская фактура
Pro Forma Invoice	Фиктивная накладная
Quotation	Расценка
Record	Документация
Dispatch	Отправлять
Advice note	Уведомление
Order	Заказ
Port authorities	Администрация порта
Clear the goods	Растаможивать товары
Cargo	Груз
Consignee	Грузополучатель
Consignor	Грузоотправитель
Bill of exchange	Вексель
Title	Право собственности
Bill of landing	Коносамент, транспортная накладная
Airway bill	Авиагрузовая накладная
Shipment	Отправка товаров
Shipped bill of landing	Коносамент
Clean bill of landing	Бланк транспортной накладной
Dirty bill of landing	Коносамент с оговорками
Endorse in blank	Сделать передаточную надпись на бланке
Discharge	Разгружать
Bill of landing to order	Ордерный коносамент

I Read and translate this text:

Invoice.

An invoice is a document which gives details of the quantity, the description, the value per unit and the total value of goods which are dispatched from a seller to a buyer. In addition discounts are often included (In home or domestic trade the Value Added Tax must be also included, and invoices now have a V. A.T. registration number).

The invoice is printed form with the seller’s name and address, telephone, telegraph and telex number. The seller writes the name and address of the buyer on the invoice.

An invoice sent to a buyer is a bill which tells the buyer the exact amount he must pay. It can also be a form of advice note. It may give details of the cost for information only, or it may be a statement of costs which must be paid before the goods are delivered. A Pro Forma Invoice is like this. It is like an invoice in every way, but it is used:

a.  When the seller demands payment before he dispatches the goods. This may happen with new customers whose credit status is unknown.

b.  For information. A Pro Forma Invoice may be a quotation, informing a buyer how much the goods cost, including the cost of freight and insurance if necessary.

c.  When goods are sent on approval – that is, when the seller sends samples of goods to the buyer who can then inspect them before he decides to buy.

How an invoice is made out. When an order is received from a buyer the Sales Department passes copies to other departments such as accounts, packing and dispatch. If the goods are not in stock, a copy of the order is sent to the factory for manufacture.

The order is transferred to a printed form and copies of this form are sent to various departments. The Sales, Accounts and Dispatch Departments must have copies. The buyer’s name and address, the number of goods ordered, and the order number are typed on this form. Columns are left blank for the price of each good, and the total. One of these copies is retained by the Accounts Department, which completes the remaining columns - this copy is known as the invoice.

The Commercial (or Export) Invoice. This is an invoice which is used in exporting and includes details of shipment, freight and insurance. The Export Invoice is a very important document, and is required by banks when they issue credit, it is one of the shipping documents. It must be carefully made out, as it is the basis for the Bill of Landing.

The Consular Invoice. This is a type of invoice which is necessary for importing goods into some countries. It states the value for the customs authorities in the importing country. The exporter must guarantee that all the details on the invoice are accurate, and must sign it. The Consul of the importing country signs and stamps it also. There are three copies of the Consular Invoice. Two of these are sent to the port authorities in the importing country. The third copy is added to the shipping documents. The consular Invoice helps the customs authorities to clear the goods quickly, and to calculate the import duty correctly. It is often used to stop sellers evading the payment of duty, and can be used to compile the statistics for imports.

II.  Answer these questions:

1.  What details does an invoice contain?

2.  How can be called the invoice sent to a buyer?

3.  What other form can it be?

4.  When does a seller demand payment before dispatching the goods?

5.  Why are some goods sent for approval?

6.  Where are copies of an invoice sent to when an order is received?

7.  Who fills blank columns of these copies?

8.  What details does the Commercial Invoice contain?

9.  Why is the Export Invoice a very important document?

10.  What is the Consular Invoice used for?

11.  What does it state?

12.  Who signs and stamps it?

13.  Who does the Consular Invoice help?

III.  Insert the correct words in the appropriate spaces:

Balance	quarterly	commercial	bill
basis	quotation	consular	retains
debit	clear	statement	duty
column	submit	open

An invoice is a (1)……….that is, a demand for payment. It can also be a (2)……….a regular notice of a buyer’s account with a seller. The statement invoice is for buyers who have an (3)……….account with sellers, and is often sent monthly or (4)………. In a statement each invoice is a (5)……….entry, and each payment by the buyer is a credit entry. There is a separate (6)……….in an invoice for the quantity of goods dispatched, and the description of the goods, the price for unit, and the total value. In the statement there is one each for debit and credit entries, and for the (7)……….

A Pro Forma Invoice is like an ordinary invoice, except that it is sent to the buyer for information before he buys, or for payment before the seller dispatches the goods. If the Pro Forms Invoice is for information, it a form of (8)………..a description of price and costs to help the buyer to decide.

An invoice which is used in international trade and includes the cost of freight and insurance is called a (9)……….or Export Invoice. This is one of the shipping documents and is very important for banks, customs, and shipping.

An invoice that is signed by the seller and an official from the importing country’s embassy or consulate is called a (10)……….Invoice. This invoice is very often used for customs authorities in the importing countries to make sure that the customs (11)………is paid. It is also used to help (12)……….a consignment through customs, to avoid a lengthy inspection and ling delay. When the invoice is made out, a copy is sent to the Packing and Dispatch Departments, and the Accounts Department (13)……….a copy. They fill in the columns for price and total value. These details must be accurate, as the invoice is the (14)……….for the Bill of Landing, and the exporter must (15)……….these two documents, the Export Invoice and the Bill of Landing to a bank for payment.

IV.  Match these equivalents:

A	B
1.Advice note	a)Администрация порта
2. Clear the goods	b)Документация
mercial/Export Invoice	c) Заказ
4. Consular Invoice	d) Фиктивная накладная
5. Credit status	e) Уведомление
6. Dispatch	f) Торговый счет-фактура
7. Order	g) Расценка
8. Port authorities	h)Растаможивать товар
9. Pro Forma Invoice	i) Отправлять
10.Quotation	j) Кредитный статус
11.Record	k) Консульская фактура

Note the words and phrases used to express how often or how regularly something occurs and insert them in the following sentences: