Тема 5. Деловы письма (business letters) (стр. 8 )

Our deadline is 28 June, and the lorries have been completed except the engines that need to be fitted.

Unless we receive the components within the next five days, the order will be cancelled and placed elsewhere. We should warn you that we holding you to your delivery contract and if any loss results because of late delivery we will be taking legal action.

Yours faithfully

Questions:

Is this the first reminder of non-delivery? What is the export order for? Why are the Buyers pressing for urgent delivery? What are the Buyers' intentions if they fail to get the delivery in з time?

Letter 5

Reply to complaint of non-delivery

Dear Sirs

Thank you for your letter of 6 June concerning your order No VC 581-3I which should have been supplied to you on 3 June.

First let us apologize for your order not being delivered on the due date for the problems you have experienced in getting in touch with us about it. But as you may have read in your newspapers we have experienced an industrial dispute which has involved both administrative staff employees on the shop floor, and as a consequence has held up all production over the past few weeks.

However I can tell you that the dispute has been settled and we are back normal production. Nevertheless there is a backlog of orders to up on, but we are using associates of ours to help us fulfil all outstanding commitments; your order has been given priority, so we should be able to deliver the engines before the end of this week.

May I point out, with respect, that your contract with us did have a standard clause stating that delivery dates would be met unless unforeseen circumstances arose and we think you will agree that a dispute is an exceptional circumstance. However we quite understand your problem and allow you to cancel your contract if it helps you to meet your own commitments with your Scandinavian customers. But we will not accept responsibility for any action they may take against you.

Once again let us say how much we regret the inconvenience this delay has caused and emphasize that it was due to factors we could not have known about when we accepted your delivery dates.

Please phone or fax us letting us know if you wish us to complete your order or whether you would prefer to make other arrangements.

We look forward to hearing from you within the next day or so.

Yours faithfully

Questions:

Why did the Suppliers fail to meet the delivery dates? What actions have the Suppliers taken to meet their commitments? Do the Suppliers hold themselves responsible for the problems their Buyers face in delivering their consignment of lorries to the Scandina­vian customers? But why will the Suppliers not accept any responsibility for any action the Scandinavian customers may take? What is the Suppliers' suggestion about the fulfillment of the order?

Sum up the exchange of letters.

Phone the Suppliers and clear up the position of your order for engines.

VOCABULARY

sawn goods to match the samples/to be up to sample, as per sample to sell by sample to lose one's custom ant. to welcome one's custom to compare how do these models com­pare? to compare favourably with... contents (pl.) to tamper with the document has been tam­pered with to hold sb to sth components backlog to give priority to sth to give top priority to sth to meet (one's own) commit­ments with sb

пиломатериалы соответствовать образцу продавать по образцам потерять клиента (в чьем-л. лице) сравнивать чем отличаются эти две модели? выгодно отличаться от... содержимое, содержание трогать, портить, (тайно) изменять подделывать, искажать документ подделан требовать от кого-л. соблюдения чего-л. комплектующие задолженность (по выпуску продукции), резерв, запас, портфель зака­зов уделять первостепенное внимание чему-л. выполнить в первую очередь выполнить свои обязательства пе­ред кем-л.

Ех. 1. Give the English equivalents

Letter 1: по заказу № A808; выражать удивление и разочарование поводу качества; не соответствовать образцу, на основании которого был подписан контракт; доски не того размера; выполнить заказ; не соответствовать/не удовлетворять чьим-л. потребностям; подтвердить дату поставки.

Letter 2: произошла ошибка в отборе товаров; сравнить товар с образцом; Вы можете рассчитывать, что мы заменим товар; предоста­вить скидку с неохотой; мы не хотим лишаться такого клиента, как Вы.

Letter 3: в крайне неудовлетворительном состоянии; ящик вскрыт без разрешения); количество, указанное в счете (фактуре); недостающий товар; требовать компенсацию у администрации ж/д; помочь кому-л в получении необходимой информации.

Letter 4: со ссылкой на вышеуказанный заказ; связаться с кем-л. по телефону; дать возможность выхода на скандинавский рынок; край­ний срок; получить комплектующие в течение 5 дней; требовать от кого-л. соблюдения сроков поставки.

Letter 5: производственный конфликт; рядовые работники; задержать производство; производство нормализовалось; ликвидировать отста­вание по выполнению заказов; выполнять обязательства; уложиться в даты поставки; возникли непредвиденные обстоятельства.

Ех. 2. Fill in the blanks with one of the following words, use the correct verb-form

to assist sb with backlog of orders to cause inconvenience to claim compensation for the damages to compare favourably invoiced quantity to meet our own commit­ments with our Suppliers sawn goods of the wrong size to tamper with the unforeseen circum­stances remain in force with reference to your claim
Take security measures so that the files not_____. The        were delivered to you by mistake. Please write if we can_________        any information to support your claim. We recommend you______from the Carriers as the damage oc­curred when the goods were at their risk. _____for non-delivery of the components under order No. VIP 88 we would like to inform you that.... We spare neither effort nor time to catch up with the        . We regret to inform you but we cannot extend your credit as we have______. The delivery time can be extended for a period equal to that during which_____. We apologize for the        _____to you. From the pricelist enclosed you will see that our prices _______those of our competitors. There is a discrepancy between the        ______and the quantity received.

Ex. plete the following sentences in English

We will not charge you extra for the installation as (не хотим терять в Вашем лице заказчика). The balance sheet (подделан). We advised them that we were going to (требовать компенсации убытков). They persist that they (не уложились в даты поставки) due to circumstances beyond their control. (Мы ни в коем случае не несем ответственность за действия) they may take against you. We are doing our utmost (чтобы ликвидировать задолженность заказам). (Производство нормализуется) as soon as the industrial dispute is settled. We are working day and night (чтобы уложиться в крайний срок). No doubt you appreciate that this will help us (выполнить наши обязательства перед нашими клиентами). (Если комплектующие не будут получены в течение недели) we will take legal action.

Ex. 4. Fill in the blanks with prepositions

The goods delivered________mistake will no doubt be returned___ our account. Can we rely _____your giving us a discount ______the faulty goods if we decide to retain them?        checking the contents we found that the articles were quite unsuited___the needs        our customers. The signature        the document has been tampered        ______. The goods arrived _______the Buyer's premises _________ a very unsatisfactory state. We are writing _____you ____reference ______the above order. We have tried to contact __you________phone but nobody ______ your factory knew anything _________it.

Example 5. A letter of complaint

Mistakes can happen no matter how efficient a busi­ness firm tries to be. There might be a misunderstand­ing about the goods to be supplied; sometimes the consignment is dispatched too late or delays are caused in transit; defect is discovered when the equipment is put into operation and so on. Therefore a letter with the complaint expressed is sent.

Airport of Domodedovo Domodedovo area Moscow region Russian Federation 142015 Garment factory Customs officers' Clothing 306, Pererva Street Novosibirsk R F 961500 27 Nov. 2010 Gentlemen: Thank you for your delivery of suits which were ordered on November 4. However we wish to draw your attention to two matters. We didn’t supply the red dresses. We are returning them by separate mail, and would ask you to replace the whole lot by 100 units size 12 in the correct colour. As far as your charges for air freight are concerned, we agree to pay the extra costs which you invoiced. However your costs for packing and insurance must have been lower for air cargo, and we request you to take this fact into consideration and to make an ad­justment to the invoice amount. Would you please send us a rectified invoice, reduced accordingly. We look forward to your dealing with these ques­tions without delay. Yours truly, P. Zernov P. Zernov HR manager

NOTES: In the EXAMPLE 5 there are two com­plaints: the first is about the suits colour and the second — about the fact that air freight seems too expensive to Garment factory (Customs officers' Clothing).

From this letter we see that the correspondent takes the trouble to explain his complaint clearly and pro­poses ways in which matters can be put right.

Example 6. Letter of adjustment

Letters that are written in response to claims may be called adjustments. These letters are among the most difficult to write as they require under all circumstances patience, tact, and diplomacy. You will not lose your customer if you react at his claim promptly.