LESSON 27: HOW TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINTS ABOUT BILLING ERRORS?
--怎样回复客户对帐单中错误的抱怨？


CONTENTS

I. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS 常用语

II. SAMPLE 范文

III. TIPS 掌握写作要领

IV. EXERCISE: WORDS, PHRASES AND SENTENCE PATTERNS 精通常用词组和句型

V. WRITING WORKSHOP 写作小作坊

VI. GOODIES & GIFTS 实用小礼物

I. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
常用语

1. How to admit that you have made a mistake?

Thank you for calling our attention to the error in your July bill.

You are correct. We did make an error on our invoice No. ______.

You are correct that we omitted the 10 percent discount you are entitled to.

The error in the bill was due to an error in our computer records.

2. How to apologize for your mistake?

We apologize for this computer error.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this error has caused you.

We are sorry for our error that made it necessary for you to return our last bill.

3. How to tell the customer that you have taken measures to correct your mistake?

A corrected invoice will be sent to you today.

We will mail you a corrected bill today.

The billing error, I'm glad to say, has been resolved. Your April bill will reflect the correct balance due.

Your account has been amended to show a credit of $150.00, as requested in your letter of July 5.

4. How to assure the customer the same mistake will not be made again?

We are sorry for the unfortunate mistake and we assure you we will make a special effort to prevent future billing errors.

I'm confident that this unfortunate incident will not be repeated.

We have corrected the records, and I can assure you that similar mistakes won't occur again.

5. How to end your letter?

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to serving you in the future.

We value your business and look forward to serving you in the future.

I hope this resolves the issue to your satisfaction. I look forward to doing more business with you in the future.



II. SAMPLE
范文

Dear _________:

Thank you for your message of October 5 in which you pointed out that two mistakes totalling $450.50 had been made on your September statement.

I apologize for the errors. They were due to a fault in our computer records. We have corrected these records, and I can assure you that similar mistakes won't occur again. I have enclosed another statement for September which shows the correct balance of $3,243.50.

I am sorry for the inconvenience that our errors have caused you and thank you for calling them to our attention.

Yours sincerely,



____________[name]
____________[title]

Enclosure



III. TIPS
掌握写作要领

1. Tell the customer that you have received his/her complaint.
2. Admit your mistake if the complaint is justified.
3. Explain the problem.
4. Describe HOW and WHEN adjustment will be made.
5. Promise that the same mistake will not occur again.
6. Apologize for any inconvenience.
7. Try to reestablish goodwill at the end of your letter.



IV. EXERCISE: WORDS, PHRASES AND SENTENCE PATTERNS
精通常用词组和句型

1. Click on the word or phrase that fits the sentence:

  1. Thank you for calling last week ____ our error in your billing last month.
    (A) regard
    (B) to regard
    (C) regarding
    (D) with regard

  2. I checked your account ____ our bookkeeper, and I am happy to say that you are correct: there is a mistake in your July statement.
    (A) at
    (B) with
    (C) to
    (D) from

  3. Your check was credited to the wrong account ____ an error in our computer records.
    (A) because
    (B) from
    (C) since
    (D) due to

  4. You are correct that you are entitled ____ the 5 percent discount that we unintentionally overlooked.
    (A) for
    (B) to
    (C) with
    (D) in

  5. The error was caused because we have another customer whose name is the same ____ yours.
    (A) as
    (B) with
    (C) to
    (D) like

  6. We unintentionally ____ the 10 percent discount that you are entitled to. A corrected invoice will be sent to you today.
    (A) ignored
    (B) rejected
    (C) denied
    (D) overlooked

  7. Please ____ a moment to review our records and confirm that we now have your information correct in our computer.
    (A) get
    (B) give
    (C) take
    (D) lend

  8. We have made all our customer representatives aware ____ this incident which, I regret, has caused you so much inconvenience.
    (A) of
    (B) to
    (C) with
    (D) for

  9. I have forcefully reminded our employees ____ their important roles in giving our customers impeccable services.
    (A) to
    (B) of
    (C) with
    (D) in

  10. We are sorry for the mistake and we _____ you that we will take special measures to prevent billing errors.
    (A) convince
    (B) guarantee
    (C) insure
    (D) assure




2. Fill in the blanks with words chosen from the list below. Add capitalization when necessary (1):

revised, showing, made, bringing, due to, and, canceling, amended, called, requested

I would like to apologize for the error we (1) in our invoice #CD23098. I'm (2) that invoice and sending you a new invoice.

We are grateful that you have (3) this matter to our attention. Your account has been (4) to show a credit of $130.00, as (5) in your letter of March 5.

Thank you for (6) the errors to our attention. Your statement is being (7) by the accounting department (8) will be sent to you today.

The error in your November statement (9) a charge of $985.30 for a shipment of Mini-R recorders was (10) a billing error.




3. Fill in the blanks with words chosen from the list below. Add capitalization when necessary (2):

particularly, of, for example, seeking, used, against, retrieve, worthy, almost, as well

The Internet is providing powerful tools for people who want to invest their money wisely. Online investing is growing up fast in the U.S. and starting to catch on in other countries (1) . What (2) to be a marginal pastime for a small number of devotees has become (3) a necessity, (4) for investors venturing into high-tech and small-cap stocks. Internet message boards, (5) , have proved to be a (6) source of investment information. And a growing number of Web sites are offering staff-produced content -- much of it is free (7) charge. Investors (8) to hire a broker can (9) from these Web sites a lot of useful information: stock quotes, market-news summaries, announcements of disciplinary actions (10) firms and brokers, company information, and so on.



V. WRITING WORKSHOP
写作小作坊


If you want to write well, you must learn to use punctuation marks correctly. Read the passages below and add punctuation marks and capitalization when necessary. The answer is for your reference.
(加上标点符号并在每个整句的开头将字母大写)




写作小作坊 叁考答案

Many economists see electronic commerce as a leading factor in the future development of high-tech industory. However, only when we can get broadband into the homes of ordinary consumers, will the potential of e-commerce be fully realized.

To achieve this goal, a lot has to be done. At the moment, broadband Internet access is still not available to the vast majority of households. When millions of consumers try to shop at online stores during the holiday season, cybertraffic over conventional phone lines often slows down to a crawl. But this situation will soon be changed. Already, cable operators and local phone companies are vying with each other in the broadband market.

Experts believe cable will hold the lead in the next few years, because it is better suited to carrying high-speed traffic than ordinary phone lines and the services are also cheaper. At the same time, phone companies are bringing out the technology of DSL, or digital subscriber line, that can send broadband traffic over ordinary phone lines. No doubt, consumers will benefit from competing services in an expanding market. The more companies entering the competition, the more choices for consumers.


VI. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
GOODIES & GIFTS （实惠小礼物）

New Words, New Meanings

1. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): a technology for bringing high-bandwidth information or high-speed Internet access to homes and small businesses over ordinary telephone lines. With DSL, digital data does not need to be changed into analog form and back. Instead, it is transmitted to the user's computer directly as digital data and this allows the phone company to use a much wider bandwidth for transmitting it to you.
数位用户专线

Example:

Telephone-based digital subscriber line (DSL) service that provids high-speed Internet access in homes will be available in 1999.

2. POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service): Traditional phone service.