Business Letter Writing

Even though this is a bad news letter, demonstrating the ability to put the main point first is crucial; this is called the direct approach. Experience has shown that the 80/20 rule applies. 80% of the time the direct approach needs to be used. Readers become restless and want to know the point. Provide it in the first couple of sentences.   Assume the following circumstance. There has been a problem with the plans for one of the projects you are managing at ESI.  You have to inform the customer of the problems by letter. Here’s what’s happened. Scenario:  ESI was contracted to provide 3 large tents, 30 tables, and 300 matching chairs for a corporate reception at Haverland Golf Course for Mason Industries for its annual customer appreciation event.  The event is scheduled for Friday evening April 22, 2020.  It’s about two weeks away. The plan was to have the set up complete on Wednesday. However, due to some scheduling conflicts, your staff and some of the equipment will not be available until late Thursday. Some of the equipment can be setup on Wednesday, some on Thursday, and get the final work done on Friday before 11:00 a.m. The writing job is to let the customer know about the problem, what actions have been taken to work it out and how it will work.  Additional details can be made up as you need. The real focus here is on proper format, the right tone, and making sure that the intended reader has the right information.