Aim:
This page is to help you develop your ability to use a positive tone in letters
of adjustment. Letters of complaint are often written with a very negative tone,
but you should not copy the negative words, you should replace them with
positive or neutral ones.
Examples:
Negative
Positive / Neutral
your complaint
your comment
failure
operation / functioning
problem
issue
the lack of
the number of
too many
the large number of
Exercise
Here is a letter of complaint.
The tone is negative, as shown by the following words and phrases: spoiled,
unworkable, and several wasted hours. Read the situation and the
letter, then move on to the reply and edit it.
Situation
You are an administrator for Exhibitions International, a
company which organises business exhibitions and trade fairs around the world.
You have received the following letter of complaint about your company's most
recent exhibition.
Flat 303 Lucky Mansions
856 Cheung Sha Wan Road
Cheung Sha Wan
Kowloon
The Administrative Officer
Exhibition Services
Exhibitions International
33 Kadoorie Avenue
Kowloon
Dear Sir/Madam
I attended your exhibition Sound Systems
at the Fortune Hotel from
and found it informative and interesting.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the event was spoiled by a number of
organisational problems. I explain each of the problems below.
Firstly, I had difficulty in registering to attend the
event. You set up an on-line registration facility, but I found the facility
totally unworkable. Even after spending several wasted hours trying to
register in this way, the computer would not accept my application. I
eventually succeeded in registering by faxing you.
Secondly, the exhibition was held at
one of Hong Kong's most prestigious hotels, but frankly the venue was better
suited to a medium-sized business conference than to a large exhibition open
by registration to the public. The lack of space led to serious overcrowding
in the venue, particularly at peak visiting times (i.e. lunch times and
early evening). On one or two occasions I was also seriously concerned about
the physical safety of attendees.
The final point I want to make concerns product
information. It is very enjoyable to see and test a range of excellent sound
systems, but it is also important to be able to take away leaflets on
interesting products, so that more research can be done before deciding
which system to buy. However, by the time I attended the exhibition all the
leaflets had been taken.
Could I please ask you to look into these matters - not
only on my behalf but also on behalf of other attendees, and in fact on
behalf of your company, too.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Michael Leung
Michael Leung
Instructions: In the following letter choose the options that give the letter a positive
tone. You can see your score underneath the letter. Then click the 'See
Feedback' button next to the score.
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