How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters) by Mary Owens Crowther (interesting novels to read txt) π
The mechanical construction of a letter, whether social, friendly, or business, falls into six or seven parts. This arrangement has become established by the best custom. The divisions are as follows:
1. Heading 2. Inside address (Always used in business letters but omitted in social and friendly letters) 3. Salutation 4. Body 5. Complimentary close 6. Signature 7. Superscription
1. THE HEADING
The heading of a letter contains the street address, city, state, and the date. The examples below will illustrate:
2018 Calumet Street or 1429 Eighth Avenue Chicago, Ill. New York, N.Y. May 12, 1921 March 8, 1922
[Illustration: In the business letterhead appear the name of the firm, its address, and the kind of business engaged in]
When the heading is typewritten or written by hand, it is placed at the top of the first letter sheet close to the right-hand margin. It should begin about in the center, that is, it should extend no farther to the left than the ce
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It used to be thought that an executor could be qualified by friendship or relationship, but unfortunately it has been proved through the sad experience of many estates that good intentions and integrity do not alone make a good executor. Skill and experience also are needed.
This company maintains a trust department, under the supervision of Mr. Thomas G. Shelling, our trust officer, who has had many years of experience in the administration of estates. Associated with him is a force of specialists who can care for any situation, usual or unusual, that may arise. The services of these men can be placed at your disposal. I can offer to you not only their expert services but also the continuity of a great institution.
Individuals die. Institutions do not die. If you will turn over in your mind what may be the situation thirty years hence of any individual whom you might presently think of as an executor, I believe you will be impressed with the necessity for the continuity of service that can be offered only by a corporation. In many cases there are personal matters in the estate which a testator may believe can best be handled only by some of his friends. In such a case it is usual to join the individual executors with a corporate executor.
It would be a privilege to be able to discuss these matters with you.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Lucius Clark,
President.
P.S. Wills are quite frequently lost or mislaid and sometimes months elapse before they are discovered. It is needless to point out the expense and inconvenience which may be entailed. We are happy to keep wills free of charge.
A letter offering tax services
INTERVALE NATIONAL BANK
INTERVALE, N. Y.
June 1, 1923.
Mr. Michael Graham,
Intervale, N. Y.
Dear Sir:
This bank is prepared to advise you in the preparation of your income and other tax returns. It is a service that is yours for the asking, and we hope that you will avail yourself of it.
The department is open during banking hours, but if these hours are not convenient to you, special appointments can be made.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Samuel Drake,
President.
A letter giving the record of the bank
INTERVALE NATIONAL BANK
INTERVALE, N. Y.
July 6, 1923.
Mr. Donald West,
Intervale, N. Y.
Dear Sir:
As a depositor you will be interested in the enclosed booklet which records what the officers and directors think is a notable showing for the bank during the past year. I hope that you will also find it inspiring and will pass it on to a friend who is not a depositor with us.
May I thank you for your patronage during the past year, and believe me
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Samuel Drake,
President.
Letters of Order and AcknowledgmentOrder where the price of articles is known
North Conway, N. H.,
August 19, 1921.
Messrs. L. T. Banning,
488 Broadway,
New York, N. Y.
Gentlemen:
Please send me, at your earliest convenience, by United States Express, the following:
1 doz. linen handkerchiefs, tape edge, regular size $ 6.00
1 pr. Triumph garters, silk, black .75
4 white oxford tennis shirts, size 15Β½ @ $3.00 12.00
6 pr. white lisle socks, size 11 @ $.50 3.00
____________
Total $21.75
I am enclosing a money order for $21.75.
Yours very truly,
Oscar Trent.
Enclosure
(Money Order)
Order where the price is not known
Flint, Michigan,
July 14, 1922.
The Rotunda,
581 State Street,
Chicago, Ill.
Gentlemen:
Please send as soon as possible the following:
2 prs. camel's hair sport stockings, wide-ribbed, size 9
1 blue flannel middy blouse, red decoration, size 16
1 "Dix make" housedress, white piquΓ©, size 38
1 copy of "Main Street"
I enclose a money order for thirty dollars ($30.00) and will ask you to refund any balance in my favor after deducting for invoice and express charges.
Very truly yours,
Florence Kepp.
Encl. M. O.
Williamsport, Pa.,
March 10, 1921.
Carroll Bros.,
814 Chestnut St.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Gentlemen:
Please send me the following articles by parcels post as soon as possible:
2 doz. paper napkins, apple blossom or nasturtium design
1 "Century" cook book
1 pair "Luxury" blue felt bedroom slippers, leather sole and heel
1 large bar imported Castile soap
1 pair elbow length white silk gloves, size 6-3/4
Enclosed is a money order for $15.00. Please refund any balance due me.
Yours truly,
Janet M. Bent
(Mrs. Elmer Bent)
Formal acknowledgments
It is still a formal custom to acknowledge some kinds of orders by a printed or an engraved form. Some of the older New York business houses use the engraved forms which arose in the days before typewriters and they are very effective.
General acknowledgment forms
THE GENERAL STORES CO.
CHICAGO, ILL.
April 18, 1923.
Mr. Walter Crump,
29 Adams Street,
Maple Centre, Ill.
Dear Sir:
We acknowledge with thanks your order No. ______ which will be entered for immediate shipment and handled under our No. ______ to which you will please refer if you have occasion to write about it.
If we are unable to ship promptly we will write you fully under separate cover.
Very truly yours,
The General Stores Co.
S.
THE GENERAL STORES CO.,
CHICAGO, ILL.
June 13, 1922.
Mr. Joseph Ward,
Wadsworth Hill, Ill.
Dear Sir:
We have received your order __________ requesting attention to __________ No. __________.
Unless special attention is demanded, the routine schedule is on a ten-day basis, and we therefore expect to ______ your instrument on or about __________.
In corresponding on this subject please refer to order No. ______.
Very truly yours,
The General Stores Co.
S.
In answer to a letter without sufficient data
THE GENERAL STORES CO.
CHICAGO, ILL.
September 8, 1922.
Mrs. Benjamin Brown,
Carr City, Ill.
Dear Madam:
We thank you for your order recently received for one shirt waist and two pairs of stockings.
We were unable to proceed with the order, as the size of the waist was not given. If you would be kind enough to state what size you wish, we shall gladly make immediate shipment.
Very truly yours,
The General Stores Co.
S.
Where the goods are not in hand
L. &. L. YOUNG
600 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, N. Y.
November 3, 1921.
Mrs. John Evans,
500 Park Avenue,
New York, N. Y.
Dear Madam:
We are out of size 5 B at present in the white kid shoes you desire, but we should be pleased to order a pair for you, if you wish, which would take two weeks. If this is not satisfactory to you, perhaps you will call and select another pair.
Kindly let us know what you wish done in this matter.
Very truly yours,
L. & L. Young.
Letters of Complaint and AdjustmentThe letter of complaint is purely a matter of stating exactly what the trouble is. The letter replying to the complaint is purely an affair of settling the trouble on a mutually satisfactory basis. The Marshall Field attitude that "the customer is always right" is the one that it pays to assume. The customer is by no means always right, but in the long run the goodwill engendered by this course is worth far more than the inevitable losses through unfair customers. The big Chicago mail order houses have been built up on the principle of returning money without question. Legalistic quibbles have no place in the answer to a complaint. The customer is rightly or wrongly dissatisfied; business is built only on satisfied customers. Therefore the question is not to prove who is right but to satisfy the customer. This doctrine has its limitations, but it is safer to err in the way of doing too much than in doing too little.
Claims for damaged goods
This letter is complete in that it states what the damage is.
420 Commonwealth Avenue,
Boston, Mass.,
February 8, 1922.
Messrs. Wells & Sons,
29 Summer Street,
Boston, Mass.
Gentlemen:
The furniture that I bought on February 3rd came to-day in good condition with the exception of one piece, the green enamel tea-wagon. That has a crack in the glass tray and the lower shelf is scratched. Will you kindly call for it and, if you have one like it in stock, send it to me to replace the damaged one?
Very truly yours,
Edna Joyce Link.
(Mrs. George Link)
830 Main Street,
Saltview, N. Y.,
May 2, 1921.
Acme Dishwasher Co.,
Syracuse, N. Y.
Gentlemen:
I regret to inform you that the Acme dishwasher which I purchased from your local dealer, I. Jacobs, on December 4, 1920, has failed to live up to your one-year guarantee. In fact, the dishwasher is now in such bad condition that I have not used it for three weeks.
I must therefore request that in accordance with the terms of your guarantee you refund the purchase price of ninety dollars ($90).
Very truly yours,
Eleanor Scott.
(Mrs. Lawrence Scott)
Complaint of poor service
Webster Corners, Mo.,
April 24, 1920.
Messrs. Peter Swann Co.,
Kansas City, Mo.
Gentlemen:
Attention Mr. Albert Brann.
On Tuesday last I bought at your store two boys' wash suits. This is Monday and the goods have not yet been delivered. The delay has caused me great inconvenience. If this were the first time that you had been careless in sending out orders I should feel less impatient, but three times within the last four weeks I have been similarly annoyed.
On March 3rd I sent back my bill for correction, goods returned not having been credited to my account. On March 15th the bill was again sent in its original form with a "please remit." I again wrote, making explanation, but to date have received no reply. If I must be constantly annoyed in this manner, I shall have to close my account.
Very truly yours,
Helena Young Tremp.
(Mrs. Kenneth Tremp)
Replies to letters of complaint
WELLS & SONS
29 SUMMER STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
August 12, 1922.
Mrs. Samuel Sloane,
Chelsea, Mass.
Dear Madam:
We have your letter of August 8th in regard to the damaged perambulator. We are very sorry indeed that it was damaged, evidently through improper crating, so that there does not seem to be any redress against the railway.
We shall be glad to make a reasonable allowance to cover the cost of repairs, or if you do not
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