[tab name=’Guidelines’]

Guidelines : postponing/Cancelling

Postponing or Canceling Appointments

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• State the postponement or cancellation up front, giving your reasons if possible.
• We find it necessary to postpone the appointment we had originally confirmed with you for the afternoon of July 7. Two of our staff will be out of the country that week.
• I’m sorry to let you know we must cancel the appointment with you for 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 27. The figures that would have made our meeting meaningful have now been collected and reviewed by all the appropriate staff. Subsequently, we have decided that we will not be moving ahead with the project as we discussed.
• Cheryl, would you mind if we waited to talk until I can be more definite in my profit projections?
• I’m afraid our meeting date about the Hyde proposal is not going to work out for me. I’ve had to change my schedule and will be away during that week.
• Because I’m new in the organization, I’m finding over and over again my time is still not my own–and it may never be. I’m embarrassed to say I must postpone our June 2 meeting until I learn more about our organization’s strategies and goals for this region.
• I’m in the position of having to curtail some of our activity and spending in the advertising arena for this next quarter. Therefore, I need to cancel our upcoming participation in your video demo session on August 10 and 11.
• Be sure to include full details about the date, time, and place so the reader will know exactly which appointment or meeting you are referencing.
• I’m referring, of course, to the meeting we tentatively scheduled for September 5 at the Hyatt Grand Ballroom.
• So, perhaps you can find something more profitable to do with your hour on Friday, June 5, than discuss fiber optic options with me. I’m sorry for having to cancel so late in the month.
• Because Fred Swanke has no further information at this point, our June 9 meeting in my office would be counterproductive.
• Show your concern about inconveniencing the other person and take the initiative in rescheduling.
• I’m sorry to have to put you off once again. Please bear with me in this long process.
• Thank you for your understanding about this last-minute cancellation. I do want to be able to meet with you later when I can give your request the full attention it deserves.
• Would you forgive me for this inconvenience? We should be able to reschedule before the summer is over. I’ll give you a call.
• Bill, please write me again to let me know when you will next be in Shreveport. I’m sorry you’ll have to change your itinerary at this late date, and I’ll do my very best to arrange my schedule to be available to meet at your convenience during that time.
• I’ll phone you to reschedule as soon as we have the go-ahead.
• When the information arrives, I’ll get back to you.
• I’m sorry to inconvenience you with this sudden change of plans, but I trust you understand my decision under these circumstances.
• I hate to cancel appointments and hope you’ll understand my need to do so this time. Feel free to call again, however, at the end of the year, and we’ll plan to talk in January.
• Thank you for being so accepting of my situation. Will you please phone me again next month about getting together?
• Please give me a call in a couple of months to see if it would be appropriate to set up another meeting then.

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[tab name=’Example 1′]

Example 1: Sample Letter for postponing/Cancelling

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Jakawa:

Our company situation has changed since we arranged to meet in my office July 10 for an overview of the legal services your firm can provide our employees involved in the Baytown incident. As you may have read in the papers recently, a new investor group has purchased both of our Houston divisions. Of course, with this change in management, a decision to retain legal counsel for the rumored lawsuits would be unwise.

If you don’t hear from me within the next eight to ten weeks, you can assume the decision has been made to use our internal legal staff for the situations we have discussed.

Thank you for offering to take the time to meet with me about our current difficulties and your professional expertise along those lines. I wish you every success as you and your new firm put down roots in the community.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]

Example 2: Example Letter for postponing/Cancelling

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear George:

Will you forgive me for having to postpone our April 2 meeting during the TIB convention? You were so thoughtful to call and suggest a get-together for dinner at the Houstonian, but we find the timing is not going to work out with the client commitments we’ve made during the week. I trust you understand our wanting to take advantage of being in the city for the convention to see our clients in the region.

I’ll phone you the next time I’m in Baltimore and see when you’re available for lunch. Your new strategy for Malaysia is timely, and I’ll be eager to hear more.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 3′]

Example 3: Example letters for cancelling appointments

Memorandum

TO:

FROM:

DATE:

SUBJECT: Cancellation of Budget-Controls Discussion

Bart, I need to cancel our budget-controls discussion scheduled for next Tuesday, June 16, in my office. Sometime next week, I’ll phone to arrange another date to get together about this important matter.

I’m sorry for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause, but three key individuals from whom I need to gather information before you and I talk are on a field trip to our Oklahoma plant.
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[tab name=’Example 4′]

Example 4: Cancel Appointment Letter

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Bill:

April to June is our very busiest season of the year, and when we set our April 28 appointment, I’d forgotten the attendant deadline pressures.

Could you give me a call later in the year, perhaps in November, to see if we can work out a mutually convenient time for discussing the fiber-optic project you mentioned in your April 4 letter?

Cordially,
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[tab name=’Example 5′]

Example 5: Business Document for postponing/Cancelling appointment

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Barbara:

Would it be possible to postpone our breakfast meeting on September 8 at the Anatole? I’ve just received an invitation to attend a management seminar in Vienna that week and I am trying to juggle my schedule to make the trip.

If convenient for you, I can make a breakfast meeting a week later, Wednesday, September 15, at the same place. Just let me know how that week looks for you. Planning so far in advance has both its advantages and disadvantages, doesn’t it?

Please forgive me for this urge to get on a plane every time my management there invites me, but I do hope you understand the situation. Thanks.

Cordially,
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[tab name=’Example 6′]

Example 6: Example of postponing meeting letter

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Columbine:

We regret to notify you at this late date that the Graphics-Made-Easy seminar you were to attend on March 21 at the Regent Hotel has been canceled due to insufficient enrollment. Although we’ve presented this seminar in-house for the past ten years at many large corporations across the nation, we have discovered we know too little about marketing our seminars through direct mail! And we hope to change that situation soon.

In the meantime, we apologize for your having to reschedule your week because of this seminar cancellation. If it is possible for you to travel out of town, however, we have the same seminar scheduled for March 27 in St. Louis at the Belfast Hotel. I’ve taken the liberty of enclosing more detailed information about that seminar.

Let us know if you would like us to switch your enrollment to the St. Louis class. Otherwise, we’ll be refunding your registration fee by return mail.

Thank you for considering our programs. As you are well aware, excellent graphics spell the difference between an almost-effective proposal and one that wins the contract.

Sincerely,
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