Importing and Exporting

Dear Sir,

We are enclosing documents including two Bills of Lading, Insurance Cover note, Invoice and Certificate of Origin, to be surrendered to Messrs. Robertson, Gaston and Sons, Beak Street, Bombay, against payment in cash.

Kindly inform us when our account has been credited with this amount.

Yours faithfully,

B.Hardwell,

Export Manager

(8)

Dear Sir,

We have pleasure in informing you that the goods ordered with your indent №56 dated 24December have been shipped by S.S. Commonwealth which is scheduled to sail from St.Catherine`s Dock on 26 February.

We enclose our invoice for the amount due, *viz. , ₤540,000. We have handed the documents to Barclays Bank with instructions to release them to you against payment through our agents in Bombay.

Yours faithfully,

B.Hardwell,

Export Manager

(9)

Dear Sirs,

We acknowledge with thanks your enquiry of the 30^th November for 50 Airflow bicycles with fittings as specified.

The price for these will be ₤515 *f.o.b., and we can promise you delivery not later than March.

We note that if you decide to place this order, you will pay cash against documents.

Yours faithfully,

B.Hardwell,

Export Manager

(10)

Advising of Inability to Review Amount of Claim

Dear Sirs,

We acknowledge with thanks receipt of your letter of the 8^th instant.

Regarding the cost of replacing the damaged parts, which you find to be high, we wish to draw your attention to the fact that we have included in our claim only the cost of material and labour, all other expenses connected with the repair not having been taken into consideration. We really think that the sum indicated in our letter of the 2^nd June is quite reasonable, and we request you to pay us the full amount claimed by our Clients.

Yours faithfully,

Jim Brown

Financial Director

(11) Enquiry Letter

Dear Sirs,

We require for the expansion of our plant a Portable Air Compressor, model K.CE-6M, as shown on page 25 of your catalogue and would ask you to send us your quotation. The machine must be delivered complete with all essential fittings and tools together with the manual in English for service and maintenance.

We have already received quotations from three manufacturers who are offering us compressors of a similar design, for delivery in 5 – 6 months. As, however, most of the equipment for our plan was purchased in Russia, we should prefer to obtain this additional machine from your company.

We should be prepared, therefore, to place this order with you if the Compressor could be delivered in January, 2009, at the latest, and if, of course, you could quote us a competitive price.

Your immediate reply would be very much appreciated.

Yours faithfully,

M. Brown

(Purchase Department)

(12) Reply to Request to Reduce Prices

Dear Sirs,

We thank you for your letter of the 20^th June concerning Paraffin Wax.

We are pleased that the quality of the goods meets your requirements, but we are surprised to hear that you consider our prices to be higher than those of our competitors. If you will refer to the last issue of the National Petroleum News, you will find that our prices are not above the quotations for Paraffin Wax of similar quality.

Wishing, however, to establish business relations with your company, we should be prepared to allow you a 5% discount from the prices quoted by us, reducing the price of Grade A to €62 – per long ton c.i.f. London, provided that you ordered at least 75 tons of each Grade. All other terms remain as stated in our letter of the 16^th June and in our General Conditions enclosed in it.

This offer is subject to your immediate acceptance.

Yours faithfully,

Vlad Ivanov

Head of Supply Department

(13) Agreement on Price and Delivery Terms

Dear Sirs,

We have pleasure in confirming the telephone conversation of today between your Vice-President Mr.V.Petrov and our Managing Director Mr. C.D.Harris during which it was agreed that the total price of the Turbo-Alternator Set with Feed Heater, Condenser and Spare Parts should be £120.000.0.0 (one hundred and twenty pound sterling). It was further agreed that the whole equipment should be delivered in nineteen months from the date of the contract.

We thank you for order which will have our most careful attention and shall be obliged if you will send us your contract as early as possible to enable us to proceed immediately to the execution of the order.

Yours faithfully,

………..

(14) Letters of Complaints and Claims

Dear Sirs,

Equipment under Contract №184/115

We are sorry to have to inform you that in the consignment of equipment we have received against the above Contract there are several broken cases and some machines are damaged.

We are sending you the report signed by our inspectors from which you will see the extent of the damage.

Also, we would like to draw your attention to a fortnight`s delay in shipping the machines. This is an infringement of Clause 4 of the Contract which, you may well see, also stipulates payment by the Supplier of damages in case of delay in delivery.

So we ask you to transfer to our account the sum of the penalty and to strictly observe the terms of the Contract in future.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

V/O Techmachimport

Unit 7

Text A

Business Calls

Although email and instant messaging are quickly becoming standard forms of office communication, the telephone still plays an important role in business. Just like a face-to-face meeting, telephone conversations are expected to and should follow certain rules of etiquette to help make the experience pleasant and productive for all those involved. It's easy to forgo manners when talking over the phone. Distractions abound, from impromptu meetings or email notifications blinking on your computer screen. Remember that a conversation over the phone carries just as much weight as a face-to-face meeting, as it is a great opportunity to communicate in real time.

A lot of people find it difficult to make phone calls in a foreign language – and that's understandable. Perhaps the most significant difference about being on the telephone is that you are cut off from your normal sources of feedback. In a face-to-face situation, you can rely on a number of visual cues to gauge the other person’s reaction to your message, but these aren’t available to you over the phone. You can't see the person you are talking to, their voice might be unclear, and you might find it difficult to find the right words.

Most business people, unless they feel very confident, prepare for an important phone call in a foreign language in advance. And during the call they are making notes while they are talking to help them to remember what was said. Although it`s quick and convenient to phone someone to give them information or to ask questions, the disadvantage is that there is nothing in writing to help you to remember what was said. It`s essential to make notes and often when an agreement is reached on the phone, one of the speakers will send a fax or e-mail to confirm the main points that were made. As it`s so easy to be misunderstood when talking on the phone it`s a good idea to repeat any important information (especially numbers and names) back to the other person to make sure you`ve got it right. Always make sure you know the name of the person you are talking to. If necessary, ask them to spell it out to you, so that you can make sure you`ve got it right – and try to use their name during the call. And make sure they know your name, too. It`s important to sound interested, helpful and alert when answering the phone. You may have to make or receive calls to or from regular customers and prospective customers, so a good telephone manner not only makes an impression in business, but it also helps to make money.

If you get shunted to a receptionist and he or she asks why you are calling, give a concise but informative statement that can be easily relayed. Do not, however, assume that your message will be communicated; when you speak directly with the person you are trying to call, repeat your message in your own words. Don't be insulted if you're asked to leave a message or call back later - previous engagements do take priority.

One thing you can do to improve your telephone skills is to learn some of the multi-word verbs that are commonly used in telephone conversations. Most of them are featured in this module. Hold on means 'wait' – and hang on means 'wait' too. Be careful not to confuse hang on with hang up! Hang up means 'finish the call by breaking the connection' – in other words: 'put the phone down.'  Another phrasal verb with the same meaning as hang up is ring off.  The opposite of hang up / ring off is ring up – if you ring somebody up, you make a phone call.  And if you pick up the phone, (or pick the phone up) you answer a call when the phone rings.

If you are talking to a receptionist, secretary or switchboard operator, they may ask you to hang on while they put you through – put through means to connect your call to another telephone. With this verb, the object (you, me, him, her etc.) goes in the middle of the verb: put you through. But if you can't get through to (contact on the phone) the person you want to talk to, you might be able to leave a message asking them to call you back. Call back means to return a phone call – and if you use an object (you, me, him, her etc.), it goes in the middle of the verb: call you back. Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is formality. It's important to use the right level of formality – if you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when they talk to you. On the other hand, if you are too informal, people might think you are rude!

Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context, you should use could, can, may or would when you make a request: 'Could I speak to Jason Roberts, please?' 'Can I take a message?' 'Would next Wednesday be okay?'. You should also use please and thank you or thanks very much whenever you ask for, or receive, help or information. It's important to show politeness by using words like would, could, please, thank you etc. But it's also okay to use some of the features of informal/spoken English - short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye - in other words - everyday English! So phrases like “I'm off to a conference..., no problem, bye!” and “hang on a moment and I'll put you through” are perfectly acceptable, as long as the overall tone of the conversation is polite.

It's better to ask for help or clarification when you're having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn't. It's perfectly acceptable to use phrases like 'Could you repeat that, please?' 'Could you speak a little more slowly, please?' and 'would you mind spelling that for me please?' Using phrases like these will help make sure that you have a successful phone call, and may save you from lots of problems later on. You could always say that the line's very bad today if you can't hear very well. And it's also a good idea to practise words, phrases and vocabulary before you make the call!

You should identify yourself and your company when receiving an incoming call. While it's not impolite to say, "Off the Wall Productions, Mary Robert speaking," it might be easier on the listener to say, "Thank you for calling Off the Wall Productions. This is Mary Robert. How may I help you?" Variations on this theme can convey your greeting quite effectively. If you work at a large corporation with many departments, it may also help to include your department or section name, "This is Mary Robert, accounts receivable. How may I help you?"

Exercises

I. Imagine you are calling a company and want to speak to someone who works there. Which of the phrases below could be yours and which of them could be said by someone answering your call? Fill in the chart below:

How can I help?

Can I speak to ….please?

Please hold on.

I`ll just put you through.

Who`s calling, please?

I`ll see if he`s in.

Just a second.

Who shall I say is calling?

Hang on a moment.

I`ve got …on the phone for you.

You	Someone answering your call

II. Now read two sample phone calls and pay attention to all the useful phrases:

(1)

Michelle: Hello, you've reached the marketing department, Michelle speaking. How can I help?

Man: Yes can I speak to Rosalind Wilson, please?

Michelle: Who’s calling please?

Man: It’s Richard Davies here

Michelle: Certainly. Please hang on and I’ll put you through.

  Man: Thank you.  

(2)

Michelle: Hello, marketing, Michelle speaking.  How can I help?

Man: Could I speak to Jason Roberts please?

Michelle: Certainly. Who shall I say is calling?

Male: My name’s Mike Andrews.

Michelle: Just a second -  I’ll see if he’s in. Hello, Jason, I’ve got Mike Andrews on the phone for you ... OK - I’ll put him through. Hang on a moment, I’m just putting you through.

III. You are Marie Spencer and you work in the finance department for a major corporation. The telephone rings ... How would you answer the phone? There are three options for you to choose from:

1. Hello?

2. Hello, can I help you?

3. Hello, Finance Department, Marie speaking.

IV. You are Marie Spencer and you work in the finance department of the *U.S. Big-D Construction Corporation. Imagine that Mr. John Gordon, Finance Director of the London *Patterson Construction is calling. He wants to make an appointment with Mr.Weston, the head of finance department of your company who is away for a conference in Paris at the moment. Mr. Weston went there three days ago and he will return on Friday next week. Which of the phrases below could be yours and which of them could be said by Mr. John Gordon? Fill in the chart below.

I`m afraid Mr….won`t be back till next Friday.

Hello. My name is ….. Could I contact …please?

I`m afraid ….is not available. He is ….

Could you take a message, please?

I`m sorry. Mr Weston isn`t available today. Three days ago he went to Paris to a conference and hasn`t returned yet.

Would you tell him I called up?

I`m coming to ..on …. I`like to make an appointment with Mr…. Will he be able to see me about 11.00 on Monday next week?

Will you hold on a moment, please? I`ll just ask his secretary if he`s returned.

Could you ask him to call me up as soon as he returns, please?

Hello. My name is …..May I have a word with…please?

Would you like to leave a message?

I`ll ask Mr…. to call you back as soon as he can.

Marie	Mr. John Gordon

V. Reconstruct the whole telephone conversation between Marie Spencer and John Gordon using appropriate phrases.

VI. Imagine that Mr.Weston, Marie`s boss, has returned to London. Mary has to report to him about the phone call from John Gordon. How would she do it? Before you start fulfilling the task, revise the following rules:

Indirect Speech (also referred to as 'Reported Speech') refers to a sentence reporting what someone said. It is almost always used in spoken English. If the reporting verb (i.e. said) is in the past, the reported clause will be in a past form which is known in English grammar as Sequence of Tenses. This form is usually one step back into the past from the original. It is also important to change time words (signifiers) when referring to present, past or future time to match the moment of speaking. For example, she said, "I want to bring my children tomorrow." This sentence is turned into the following: She said she wanted to bring her children the next day. Study the examples:

Direct speech	Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)
"I live in Paris."	He said he lived in Paris.
"I am working at an important project."	He said he was working at an important project.
"I have visited London twice."	He said he had visited London twice.
"I went to New York last week."	He said he had gone to New York the week before.
"I had already completed."	He said he had already completed.
"I am going to take part in the negotiation.	He said he was going to take part in the negotiation.
"I will bring the draft agreement to London."	He said he would bring the draft agreement to London.