[tab name=’Guidelines’]
Guidelines : Replying Positively
Replying Positively to Suggestions
Guidelines and Alternate Phrases
- Express appreciation for the suggestion, initiative, and interest shown.
- We appreciate your interest in writing to us.
- Thank you for taking the time to put your ideas on paper for us.
- We appreciate your initiative in suggesting a change in upholstery fabrics for our interiors.
- We always enjoy hearing from our customers, and your letter was no exception. Your suggestion for the new plants around the building has merit in a climate such as ours.
- State what action you plan to take on a good suggestion.
- Let me forward your idea to the responsible manager and she will be in touch shortly.
- Summarize the benefits gained and your appreciation for a suggestion you can use.
- We think this idea should save us almost $10,000 next year alone. We commend you for this farsightedness.
- You are so right in your analysis of the situation. We can certainly count on at least an extra hour’s productive time each day. We appreciate your calling the matter to our attention.
- We will not lose sight of what you have contributed to the company in a way that you have probably considered “a small matter.” We don’t. It’s an excellent idea, and you deserve much credit for this.
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[tab name=’Example 1′]
Example 1: Reply positively to a suggestion
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Walter:
Marge Caldwell and I were pleased to talk with you last week about the problems you see in the marketing campaign we have planned to launch this spring. We appreciate your usual candid appraisal of the reactions you anticipate from field employees.
We have given careful consideration to the concerns you raised and have passed on our notes of the discussion to the responsible vice president. After he has time to review them, I will get back to you about how we can put these changes into effect with your people.
Please keep me informed about any other developments in your research–both formal and informal.
Regards,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]
Example 2: Samples of replying positively to suggestion letters
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Mel,
Thanks for your August 6 letter with copies to Roger Tamson and Phil Lewis. We appreciate the time you took to write us about this lead with Aramco. Dedicated employees like you keep us on our toes.
Our team will certainly follow up on the possibility of working with Aramco in connection with the canal construction. A contract with them could mean a substantial part of our 19– revenue.
Thanks,
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[tab name=’Example 3′]
Example 3: Positive response to suggestion letter
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Mr. Benton:
Thank you for writing us about changing our operations to remain open 24 hours a day. The idea has come up for discussion from time to time, but we have never been quite able to measure the customer’s need for such coverage. You raise some provocative points in your letter, and we plan to give round-the-clock scheduling more careful attention. In fact, we are now toying with the idea of sending out a questionnaire in our monthly statements to find more ways to improve services to our customers.
We take your letter as a welcome show of loyalty and interest. Thank you for letting us know how to better meet your needs.
Cordially,
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[tab name=’Example 4′]
Example 4 : Reply letter
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Mr. Gelvin:
Tom Carter and I were impressed with your suggestions for an Employee Incentive Plan. Your commitment to company excellence was evident when we read the thoughtfully written memo you sent us. I agree with your assessment that our sales and thus our profits could improve with an incentive plan in place.
Tom and I have studied your specific recommendations for implementing a plan based on an individual meeting or exceeding goals set by management for them rather than setting competitive group goals. We like this idea; it stresses improvement without creating an unhealthy level of competition between co-workers, and prevents suspicious of favoritism.
We have passed your ideas along to the vice president. She is enthusiastic, but has asked for you to prepare an example of possible employee goals and rewards. Would they include extra days off, certificates or prizes.
Please prepare a report for the vice-president. If possible, can you have it to her by the end of the week at the latest? She would like to meet with you at 10:00 a.m. on Monday to discuss the matter further. Thank you for the commitment you have shown to the company.
Yours truly,
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[tab name=’Example 5′]
Example 5: Example of reply letters
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Ms. Alcott,
We have reviewed your report offering discounts on shipping for those customers who spend $120,000 or more a year with our company. We are pleased to inform you the board is seriously considering your suggestion.
Your projected figures of the cost versus the capital gains were impressive, and made a strong case for the implementation of such a project.
We commended you for your initiative.
Yours truly,
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[tab name=’Example 6′]
Example 6: Suggestion reply letters
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Mrs. Parks:
We appreciate the suggestion we received from you concerning the redistribution of payments of long time customers who have traditionally had good payment histories.
Mr. Moss is agreeable to the suggestion, particularly your recommendation of a requirement that companies must have been working with us for at least five years, and that the redistribution of payments be made on a case-by-case basis after consultation with Mr. Phillips in customer accounts.
Mr. Moss will be meeting with myself, Mr. Farmington, and Mr. Parks on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. As you are the originator of this plan, we feel that it is important for you to be there also. Please arrange your schedule accordingly.
We look forward to developing this idea with you.
Regards,
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[tab name=’Example 7′]
Example 7: Replying Positively
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Gary:
I received your memo and am enthusiastic about the idea of a weekly brainstorming meeting for staff. Given the creative nature of our work, I am surprised that no one has thought of doing this before!
I will be sending out a memo today to all employees letting them know that brainstorming meetings will begin at 8 a.m. Monday. Since these meetings are your idea, I would like you to organize and led them.
Keep the ideas coming!
Regards,
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[tab name=’Example 8′]
Example 8: Replying positively to suggestion
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Tammy,
Thank you for the thought and work you have put into your report on rectifying mistakes in customer order entry. From now on, all our customer service representatives will offer the following as appropriate compensation for customers:
• Immediate call-in of orders rather than computer entry
• Free 2nd day or overnight air freight
• Delivery of merchandise by an available customer representatives for local companies
• 10 percent discount on next order for severe mistakes
Naturally, we hope as few mistakes as possible occur, but we agree with your position that our representatives must be able to handle the situation appropriately. You have given them the means to do so, and are to be commended for it.
Yours truly,
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[tab name=’Example 9′]
Example 9: Suggestion letters
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Mr. Kellogg:
The committee has reviewed your telemarketing sales plan for a new line of software. Obviously, your previous experience as a telemarketer has allowed you to prepare an effective approach. Because of this we are pleased to inform you that we intend to have our telemarketers follow all six of the steps you have outlined.
We would like to discuss the possibility of you hosting a presentation for each telemarketing shift. The presentation should coach telemarketers on how to use the steps effectively, and how to deal with resistant potential customers.
We feel that the telemarketers, and indeed, the whole company, will benefit from your proposal. Congratulations are in order.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 10′]
Example 10: Letter for accept suggestion
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Mr. McPhee:
We are pleased to inform you that we have accepted your proposal for a company newsletter, with you in charge of the project. After we examined the choices you presented for formatting, we feel that the third example would best suit our needs.
We appreciate the foresight you have shown in gathering enough topics of interest to cover the first three newsletters. We also value the time you took in locating persons who would be interested in being contributors . We will be approaching each of the individuals you mentioned, as well as distributing a memo asking for volunteers to proofread.
Would a staff meeting on Friday afternoon be acceptable to you? That will allow you to enlist enough people to begin having newsletter planning sessions, and for you to distribute various assignments.
We look forward to your first publication.
Regards,
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