Chapter 4: Clients and Customers
24 Writing
Before you write
In this section, we will practise writing a formal workplace email in response to a complaint.
Writing email messages is an important skill that you will need for many tasks related to employment and daily life. The way you write an email will depend on the purpose of the message, but there are some basic things you must do:
- Use the appropriate salutation and closing.
- Use the appropriate level of formality.
- Organize your information.
- Be brief and to the point.
The context
Read the context below. Think about the context and talk about it.
A customer is very upset over parking issues because of the parkade construction at CDN Malls. The customer, Daniel Lindberg, has written an email to CDN Malls about his bad experience.
Sima is going to reply to the customer. Talk about the features Sima’s reply must have and how soon she should reply to the customer.
Read the four email messages below. Select the most appropriate response to the customer. Discuss why you chose or rejected a message.
a)
b)
c)
d)
The content
Let us look at Sima’s reply more carefully.
- When you handle a complaint via email, it is important to start and end the email with a positive message. It is also important to let the customer or client know that you value their feedback. The email needs to be formal because it is addressing a complaint, and the audience is a customer. You can see how Sima does this in the example below:
| The steps Sima follows | Sentences from her email |
|---|---|
| She starts the email with a positive message. | Attached to this email, you will find a printable gift certificate for $25.00 that you can use at any of the
restaurants at CDN Malls. |
| She apologizes. | We are sorry for the inconvenience the parkade renovations have
caused you … |
| She thanks the customer for the feedback. | We appreciate your taking the time to provide us feedback. |
| She gives the customer
information on changes or action taken. |
It has helped us make the directions to our oth7er parkade and surface
lots clearer. Our staff will continue to monitor the situation to facilitate customer access and parking. |
| She ends the email with a positive message. | Your business is important to us, … |
Discuss how Sima makes the email sound formal. Which words and phrases make the email sound more formal?
We have attached a full refund for …
Thank you for …
We sincerely apologize for …
We have arranged for the ______ you requested.
We appreciate …
Please accept our apologies …
We are sorry that …
We will do everything we can to …
I must apologize for …
Your satisfaction is important to us.
We are grateful for …
We would like to thank you for …
We regret that …
Please accept our invitation to …
We would like to offer …
Complete the chart below by matching each of the above expressions to its purpose.
| Expressing a positive message | Expressing an apology | Expressing thanks |
|---|---|---|
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