Letter of Enquiry [PDF]

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7. LETTER OF ENQUIRY. REPLYING TO A LETTER OF ENQUIRY I. What is a letter of enquiry? II. Guidelines III. Structure and useful vocabulary IV. Replying to a letter of enquiry V. Activities VI. Homework I. What is a letter of enquiry? Letter of enquiry/ inquiry is a general term used for a number of different kinds of business letters addressed to a company with a view to getting information about the goods they manufacture/ deliver or about services offered. It is usually short and to the point, containing only the request and a short introduction with an address, phone number or e-mail address from the sender’s side. II. Guidelines  state clearly and concisely what you want – general information, a catalogue, price list, sample, quotation etc;  when your enquiry is to a supplier whom you have not dealt with previously, say how you obtained their name and give some details about your own business;  when writing to a supplier who has been recommended, mention this fact;  when there are many points on which info is required, enumerate your enquiry;  if replying to an advertisement, mention the journal or newspaper, the date;  if referring to a catalogue, brochure, leaflet, always quote the reference (e.g. Cat. No. A123; J/M/3);  you may suggest terms and discounts;  be direct, but still polite (e.g. I want a prompt reply vs. A prompt reply would be appreciated). III. Structure and useful vocabulary 1. Introduction Useful language With reference to your advertisement (ad) in... Regarding your advertisement (ad) in ... We were given your name by … Your name has been given us by the … We were advised by … that you were interested in supporting… I am writing to enquire about … We were impressed by the products you displayed at the … exhibition and we are now genuinely interested in … We are a wholesale importing house having many customers throughout the country both in the wholesale and retail trades and … We are a well-established trading company which maintains its commercial network in the main cities of the country… We are importers and exporters specialized in … We are one of the largest importers, exporters and distributors in the …industry. Your commercial office in our city has advised us that you handle the export of ……of which we are large buyers. Following our conversation with your representative in your London showroom, … 2. Body 1

a. Useful language for expressing request for quotations, offers, catalogues, price-lists, prospectuses etc. Will you please/ Kindly/ Please let us have/ send us a quotation/ your best price for a lot of … products. We would be grateful/ obliged if you would send us your catalogue/ price-lists/ pattern-books. Kindly (please) quote us your lowest/ best/ most advantageous prices for the goods listed below. We should be glad to receive your illustrated catalogues and leaflets. It would be helpful if you could send us samples showing your range of products. We would like to attend your showroom to see a demonstration… Would you please give me the following information:… b. Useful language for expressing prospects for fruitful business relations and request discounts or other advantageous terms As we expect/ anticipate/ foresee a considerable demand for this range of goods, we should require special terms/ a special discount. As we hope to attain a considerable turnover, we trust you will quote us your lowest price. If your prices are competitive, we shall probably give you large/ regular orders. If your quality comes up to our expectations, we shall be able to do good business to mutual advantage. If you can supply right away from stock, we would be prepared to place an initial order at once. 3. Ending Useful language We thank you in anticipation of a prompt reply. An early reply will oblige/ your prompt reply will be appreciated. We look forward to your quotations. IV. Replying to a letter of enquiry/ Offers 1. Introduction In reply to your enquiry of … concerning …, we wish to inform you that… Replying to your request for information of …, please note that … In reply to your letter of …, we regret to state we are quite unable to give you any information about …. Thank you for your enquiry in reply to which we are sending you under separate cover our illustrated catalogue. In reply to your enquiry we send you enclosed our price lists and folders. Thank you for your enquiry, in reply to which we are sending you our illustrated catalogue under separate cover. It is always a pleasure to hear from an old friend again. We are pleased to receive your letter in reply to our advertisement in The Trade Review… 2. Body Your enquiry is receiving our careful attention and we hope to be able to send you our quotation soon. We have contacted the manufacturers with a view to finding out whether those products are available for sale and will advise you immediately upon receipt of their reply. We regret to inform you that, at the present time, we cannot offer for sale the goods you requested. We express our regret that we are unable to accept deliveries within the time you required. As our company does not export the required goods, we have passed your enquiry to …, who, being the sole exporters of such goods in this country, will contact you. We can quote the following quantities and prices… 2

We are happy to inform you that … We have pleasure in offering you the following goods… We enclose herewith our price list… Catalogue and price list are enclosed for your kind attention. The samples submitted to you recently represent our latest production. The samples we sent will undoubtedly convince you of the excellent quality of our goods. The quality of our goods leaves nothing to be desired/ is superior to any other make. The price would amount to …per… Our prices range from … to… We regret that due to increased costs of raw material and labour, we have no alternative but to request a higher price for this …than in the previous contract. 3. Ending We are certain our goods will give you full satisfaction and we shall be glad to hear from you soon. We feel sure these goods meet your requirements… We shall be pleased to receive an order form you/ to have your confirmation soon so that we know how to proceed with your requirements. Please let us know if you would like further details. If you consider our terms acceptable, please mail your order as soon as possible. We assure you we will give our best attention to your orders. We shall execute the order on receipt of your instructions. If there are any other products in which you are interested, kindly ask for further offers. V. Activities 1. Below you will see parts of three letters of enquiry. Choose one word/ phrase from the following list to fill in each gap: advertisement price range Dear

latest catalogue current issue information

price list forward payment

advise faithfully model particularly still reference available

A. ..1...... Sir I have seen your .....2................ in the .......3............... of Office Weekly and am interested in your range of office stationery. Could you please send me your ......4................ and .........5............... . I look ............6............ to hearing from you. Yours ........7............, B. With ........8............ to your advertisement in today's Times, could you please send me ........9........ about your office furniture. I am …...10...... interested in your adjustable typist's chairs. C. 3

Some time ago we purchased from you some JF72 solar-powered pocket calculators. As this .......11......... was so popular with our customers, we would like to know if it is ........12............ If so, would you kindly .......13........... us of your terms of ................... and any quantity .......14............. available. Could you please also include details of any new models in the same .....15..........? 2. Complete this fragment from a letter of enquiry. Decide whether to use: a/ an, the or no article at all in the blank spaces. Thank you for your letter giving us .......1...... details of ......2..... products we enquired about. .....3...... main item we are interested in is ......4...... kitchen unit listed in .....5...... catalogue under .....6...... heading CM214. As we are building .....7..... large block of ….8…..apartments, we think ......9.... unit like ...10...... one listed, might be .....11..... best installation for our purposes. Please let us know what your terms of .....12..... trade are. Could you also tell us if you are able to offer ....13…….. trade and ......14...... quantity discounts on ....15..... price for ......16...... large order? We would also be grateful for .....17....... samples of all materials used in ......18........ manufacture of your units. I am including ......19...... plan of our apartments, and ......20...... dimensions we would need. 3. Read the letter above again and find words/ phrases that mean: a. details of conditions of sale; b. price reduction to a company in the same business; c. a small amount of a product offered free to a potential customer; d. book giving details of items for sale; e. request from a customer to supply goods; f. price reduction for a large order. 4. Rewrite the following questions in a less direct form, beginning with the words given. e.g. What are your terms of trade? Please let us know what your terms of trade are. 1. Could you send me a copy of your latest brochure? I would be grateful ……… 2. How much discount will you give on orders of 5,000 units? Could you please tell us … 3. When can we expect to receive the cheque? I am writing to enquire….. 4. Would you like us to arrange an appointment with one of our representatives? Please let us know……… 5. Has Mr. Crane returned from the Menswear Exhibition yet? Do you happen to know….. 6. Does your company export to South Korea? Could you tell us…. 5. Translate the following letters into English: a. Stimati Domni, Suntem o firma importatoare si de desfacere in domeniul articolelor pentru cadouri. Ne intereseaza produsele noi si am fi bucurosi sa primim informatii asupra marfurilor pe care sunteti pregatiti sa le exportati. Suntem dispusi sa functionam ca reprezentanti unici sau sa importam sis a desfacem produse direct. Asteptam cu nerabdare amanunte cu referire la marfurile dumneavoastra. 4

Cu stima, … b. Stimate Domnule Brown, Datoram numele si adresa dvs. Consilierului comercial al ambasadei dvs. In tara noastra, dl. Jan Jakobson. Ne intereseaza sa importam de la dvs. masinile mentionate in lista alaturata. Vom fi indatorati daca ne-ati trimite catalogul si preturile cele mai scazute pentru masinile mentionate. Va rugam sa ne trimiteti raspunsul dvs. si cataloagele cu posta aeriana. Al. dvs., … c. Stimati Domni, Va multumim pentru scrisoarea dvs. Din data de 20 martie 2010. Ne face placere sa anexam prezentei catalogul nostru, impreuna cu lista noastra de preturi pentru toate produsele, asa cum ne-ati solicitat. Va rugam sa ne informati ce articole va intereseaza pentru a va putea furniza detaliiile necesare. Puteti fi suguri ca vom acorda prompt atentie comenzii dvs., pe care asteptam sa o primim. Cu stima, …

VI. Portfolio As Head of The Human Resources Department of the International Bank FRG, write a letter of enquiry (about 230 words) to the School for Modern Languages, where you would like your employees to get training in Business English. Ask questions about how long the course lasts, the overall number of classes, level, price, available materials, certification offered etc.

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