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Letter of Inquiry: Replies and Refusal

This document provides guidance on writing replies to inquiries and requests. It discusses: 1. When saying 'yes' to a request, directly answer all questions asked and provide the details of any arrangements such as dates, times, and locations. Express appreciation for the inquiry and promote your organization or products. End positively. 2. When saying 'no' to a request, start with a friendly buffer paragraph to maintain goodwill. Explain the reason for refusal politely and offer encouragement when possible. Suggest alternatives to help the customer. The sample letters demonstrate direct and polite replies that either fulfill or decline a request while maintaining a positive tone. Proper responses are important for good customer service and relations.

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Mansoor Shahbaz
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144 views15 pages

Letter of Inquiry: Replies and Refusal

This document provides guidance on writing replies to inquiries and requests. It discusses: 1. When saying 'yes' to a request, directly answer all questions asked and provide the details of any arrangements such as dates, times, and locations. Express appreciation for the inquiry and promote your organization or products. End positively. 2. When saying 'no' to a request, start with a friendly buffer paragraph to maintain goodwill. Explain the reason for refusal politely and offer encouragement when possible. Suggest alternatives to help the customer. The sample letters demonstrate direct and polite replies that either fulfill or decline a request while maintaining a positive tone. Proper responses are important for good customer service and relations.

Uploaded by

Mansoor Shahbaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LETTER OF

INQUIRY
Replies and Refusal
A. Replies to Inquiries

Use the direct plan when you say ‘yes’ to an inquiry or request, and be sure to
follow the suggestions listed here in your reply:
1. Give the Exact Information Requested
■ • State in the first sentence that you are granting the request or answering
the inquiry. A common error in answering inquiries is failure to answer some
of the questions asked. Prevent this common error by marking on the letter
of inquiry the points or questions to be addressed. Before you send your
reply, double-check with the original letter to see that each point or question
has been adequately covered.
■ • When answering ‘yes’ to a request for an appointment or reservation,
repeat in your letter all the details such as date, time, and place.
Sample

Dear Mr. Ali,


We are happy to receive your registration form and deposit for the 21st Century
Marketing Conference to be held April 3-7 in Lahore.
The Lahore Hilton has set aside a block of rooms at a special discounted rate for
conference attendees. The rate is Rs. 1000 for a single, Rs. 1500 for a double. To make
reservations, call 00 – 11 - 22 before February 1.
Pakistan International Airlines is offering conference attendees up to 40 percent off
the regular fares. To make flight reservations, call 800-684-4000, and refer to
identification number J0969.
When you arrive at the conference, be sure to register before noon on Monday, April 3,
so that you can attend the 1:00 p.m. special roundtable discussion by market analysts.
Yours truly,
2. Express Appreciation for the Inquiry
■ Tell the customer, either directly or by implication that you are glad he or she has written
to you about one of your organization’s products or services. Write in the spirit of
service and goodwill. The tone of your reply should express your appreciation.
3. Sell Your Organization or Product
■ Put “sell” into every letter you write. An inquiry tells you that the customer was
interested when he or she wrote, but what guarantee do you have that the interest is still
“hot”? Stress the benefit of converting interest into action.
4. End with a Positive Close:

■ If appropriate, offer to give further assistance and end with a goodwill closing. When
inquiries are clear, concise, and specific, they are easy to answer.
■ Look at the following example. Immediately after the request was received,
the following reply was written. Since all the customer’s questions could be
answered positively, the writer used the direct approach.

Enclosed are samples of the paper we recommend for letterhead stationery. We

are happy to answer the questions in your June 15 letter because the content

and design of your organization’s letterhead create a first and lasting impression

of your organization………….
Sample

Dear Mr. Hassan,


Thank you very much for your letter of May 21 in which you requested us to send
you the latest Catalogue and pricelist of our office supplies and equipment. I
sent them this morning, by First Courier Service.
The Catalogue gives complete details of our products I am sure you would find
them suitable to your requirements as usual.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
ACTIVITY-1

Write a letter to inquire about the availability and price of _______product that
you saw on their Facebook page. Also inquire about the price of one unit and as
well as the discount on bulk.
B. Refusal to Inquiries / Requests-
It follows the Indirect Approach
1. Start with a Friendly Buffer Paragraph
■ When you receive a letter that begins, “It is my unpleasant duty to inform you
that…” or “I’m sorry to tell you that we cannot grant your request…” in such
situations don’t you immediately close your mind to whatever else the writer
may say? You think that the writer is not interested in helping you in building
goodwill or in keeping your friendship. The writer seems concerned only with
saying no and getting an unpleasant task completed. But suppose the letter
begins this way:
Sample
Dear Mr. Babar,
We were happy to hear that your family was very pleased with your portraits.
Due to a limited storage space; one of the portraits got destroyed. All negatives
are also destroyed one day after an order has been filled.
A refund in the amount of Rs. 5000/- is being processed and you will receive it
soon. Please do let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.
Yours sincerely,
4. Give Encouragement and, When You Can, Give Help
Sometimes you can take the sting out of a “No” with a helpful suggestion. For example, a
department store representative, in declining an order for an article not carried by the store,
may tell the customer where he or she can make the purchase. The reservations manager of a
hotel, not able to make the reservations requested, suggested:
Example:
If you can conveniently defer your arrival in Murree until May 15, we shall be glad to
reserve a double room for you and your wife. If you must be here on May 10, you might
write for help to the Greater New Hotel Murree at 105 the Mall, Murree.
Sample-1 Sample-2
(1)
(The situation is same)
Gentlemen,
Gentlemen,
Please send me two copies of your
free catalogue, “Prime gifts” which was I am impressed by your advertisement in
the March issue of Ad Vision International
advertised in the March issue of Ad concerning your free brochure, “Prime
Vision International. I plan to keep a Gifts.” This seems like the answer to the
copy and send the other to my friend. most popular question, “What shall we
give our outstanding employees when we
Thank you want to reward them?”
I’d like six copies one for myself and one
Yours very truly, for each of our general managers in
Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and
Islamabad.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely yours,
Reply to the Previous Samples
Dear Mr. Gul,
In a courier service, I am sending you six copies of our catalog, “Prime Gifts”. I
am very pleased that you want to circulate it.
The catalog explains everything but I do want to say that for quantities of 20 or
more gifts we offer an attractive discount.
Please let me know if I can be of help in other ways.
Yours cordially,
Activity-2

Use the letter written in Activity-1 and generate an appropriate reply to that
inquiry letter.

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