How to Reply to Enquiries

Aim
This page is to help you to reply to enquiries. It contains example expressions in the content section, example  letters and an exercise.

Content of replies:

Acknowledging receipt of an enquiry/request
- Thank you for your letter of ... regarding / concerning / in connection with ...
- I refer to your enquiry about / relating to ...
- I have received your letter of ... requesting information about ...

Explaining action taken as a consequence of the enquiry
- I have (reviewed our available stock) ...
- We held a meeting on 21 January to discuss possible solutions.
- I have checked/looked into/investigated (the possible approaches) ...

Making suggestions / justifying recommendations / pointing out pros and cons / hedging
- The best choice would be ... since ...
- I highly recommend ... as / due to the fact that ...
- ... would probably be more suitable because ...
- ... seems to suit you better although ...
- Perhaps you should choose ... even though ...
- I suggest that you (should) choose ...
- I recommend this item since ...
- In view of the fact that ..., I would strongly recommend ... as ...

Apologising and rejecting proposals
- While I appreciate your firm's need for this information, I regret that ...
- It will not be possible to ... for legal reasons. We are bound to ...
- Your proposal is of interest to us, and we have had consultations about it.
- However, we feel that it will not be in our interests to ... for reasons of (privacy).
- We are concerned that ...

Stipulating action requested or to be taken
- We shall arrange for ... by ...at the latest.
- I shall see to it that ...
- Our company will arrange for ...

Establishing goodwill and suggesting contact
- I hope this suggestion/information will be useful to you.
- I hope this information will prove useful to you.
- I hope that this information will help you to make decisions on your order.
- I look forward to hearing from you.
- I look forward to receiving your confirmation of ...
- I look forward to doing business with your company in the future ...
- Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further queries on ...
- Do contact me on 27615432 if you need further information.
- Please do not hesitate to contact me on 27615432 if I can be of further assistance.
 

Example letters

NOVELTY SAFETY EQUIPMENT LTD
14th Floor Shun Koo Building
Aberdeen Hong Kong

Attn: Mr Tim Lee
Manager
Sun Lee Consultancy Ltd
198 Fa Yuen Street
Mongkok
Kowloon

Dear Mr Lee

Enquiry regarding fire extinguishers

Thank you for your enquiry regarding our newly released range of fire extinguishers.

You will see from the enclosed catalogue that the range has been extended to include some highly efficient portable extinguishers for use on construction sites.

We are offering to our existing customers a 15% discount on orders of extinguishers from this new range.

We look forward to your increased order at this discount rate.

Yours sincerely

Silvia Choi

Silvia Choi
Merchandising Manager

Enc. 1

 

Gloria Business Consultants
6 Floor, 67 Booth Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong



Taifoon Trading Company
135 Tong Chong Road
Shaukiwan
Hong Kong

Dear Sir

Creating a New Image
Thank you for your letter of concerning the creation of a new image for the Yunan route.

We would like to congratulate your company on the inauguration of this new route. We are very much interested in helping to create a new image for it.

We would be pleased to quote prices and schedules if you could provide us with more detailed information.

May we suggest that we send two representatives, Mr. David Poon and Miss Cindy Tam to your office on at 10:00 a.m. for further discussions. Please do not hesitate to contact me if the date and time is not convenient for you. My telephone number is 2346-8999.

Yours faithfully

S. Kong

Simon Kong
Managing Director
 

 

    

 Everlong Batteries ]
171, Choi Hung Road
Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Tel/Fax 2235 2449




Mr J Wong
Purchasing Officer
Fortune Goods
317 Orchard Road
Singapore

Dear Mr Wong

Enquiry about Batteries

Thank you for your letter of regarding making copies of the sample battery you sent us.

I have investigated the situation and found that your specifications are exactly the same as the design of a proprietary camera battery manufactured by a large Japanese electronics company.

We feel that it would not be in our interests to supply this type of battery.

However, I would like to thank you for considering our company as your supplier.

I look forward to doing business with your company in the future

Yours sincerely

   David Choi

David Choi
Distributions Manager

 

FAX

To: Mr Victor Wong
From:  Ms Elizabeth Sullivan
Date:
Re: Reservation

Dear Mr Wong,
Thank you for your enquiry about the availability of a single room for six nights from to Unfortunately, we are fully booked during this period. However, I have contacted our sister hotel on Hong Kong Island and they have single rooms available. The room rate is $1,200 per night.

If you would like me to reserve a room during the period you requested, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards

E. Sullivan

E. Sullivan (Ms)
Accommodation Booking Officer
 

 

Exercise

Introduction:
This task is for you to practise matching the types of sentence you need in adjustment letters with suitable sentences.

Instructions:
Match the items in the boxes on the left with the items on the right:

  1. Click in the table cell containing the item you want to move.
  2. Click in the table cell where you want the item to go. The words will swap position.
  3. If an item is in the right position, it will have a green background and a tick.
  4. When all the table cells are green and have ticks, you have finished.

       Score: /

   
1 1   1
2 2 2
3 3 3
4 4 4
5 5 5
6 6 6
7 7 7
8 8 8
9 9 9
10 10 10

 

Last updated on: Friday, August 24, 2012