WRITING A COVER LETTER

Parts of a Business Letter This resource is organized in the order in which you should write a business letter, starting with the sender's address if the letter is not written on letterhead. Sender's Address The sender's address usually is included in letterhead. If you are not using letterhead, include the sender's address at the top of the letter one line above the date. Do not write the sender's name or title, as it is included in the letter's closing. Include only the street address, city, and zip code. Date The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written. However, if your letter is completed over a number of days, use the date it was finished in the date line. When writing to companies within the United States, use the American date format. (The United States-based convention for formatting a date places the month before the day. For example: June 11, 2001. ) Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page. Depending ...

Adjustment Letters An adjustment letter is a response to a written complaint. The objective is to inform the reader that their complaint has been received. It is also a legal document recording what decisions were made and what actions have or will be taken. Keep in mind that your reader has been inconvenienced. This is a prime goodwill building opportunity. Everybody makes mistakes and when a business owns up to one it goes along way to renewing the customer's confidence in a continued business relationship. The scope of your adjustment letter should reiterate the relevant facts of the claim. When the customer is right, include a forthright admission to that effect and extend a sincere apology. When the customer is not right, explain the reasons clearly and with every courtesy. Counter any negativity that may be in the complaint letter with a positive approach. Be gracious and emphasize the corrective steps being taken. Explanations for why the situation occurred are of less impor...