You publish your Warm-Up 4s as comments to this blog post.
The In-Tray Exam is based on the idea that you work for a temporary agency (like Manpower) and have been sent in to cover the work of one of the people employed by one of the companies on this course. An in-tray is the plastic or metal tray on your desk into which all the paperwork you have to deal with is placed. When you've dealt with it, it's transferred to your 'out-tray' to be sent off or filed.
The exam itself will be posted on the course web site on Friday, 25th April (when I activate the link on the 'exam' page of the Module 4 section of the site). It's a .pdf document which you can either download or read directly from the screen. When you read it, you'll notice that there are four writing tasks to complete, but you're given three complete sets of tasks to choose between, one for each of the companies in the course materials.
You don't have to stick to the same company for all four tasks - you can switch from one company to another, or you can stay with the same company all the way through.
You submit your In-Tray Exam to David Richardson as a Word document by e-mail. (If you're using Microsoft Works, rather than Word or an equivalent, remember to save the document as an .rtf - Rich Text Format - document, or David won't be able to open it). Open Office documents (.odt format) will also work.
When the exam's been received, David will print it on paper, mark it manually, write a mark and commentary for each task, and, finally, add your In-Tray Exam marks to the marks you've received for your Warm-Ups and Send-Ins. When the total exceeds 60 marks, you've passed, and when the total exceeds 80 marks, you've got a 'VG'. Your marks are reported on LADOK, the Swedish national university computer, more or less the same day the exam's marked.
When everything's finished, David puts your exam, the commentary and a statement of your total marks into an envelope and posts it to whatever address we have for you (if you've recently moved, or haven't given us your address, please let us know your current address as soon as possible). He'll also send you a mail straightaway with your final result.
At the end of the final mail is a link to the on-line course evaluation. This is totally anonymous - and, besides, you've already got your mark, so you can say what you like! Feedback from you is very valuable to us (even if you don't get any direct benefit from it!) and all of us on the course team greatly appreciate hearing what you've thought of the course.
Good luck with the exam! The due date is 1st June … but, as usual, we'll be understanding if you're a little late.
My best experiences in successfel complaining is to be kind and very friendly. I think it depends on the recipient how formal you need to be. I often use phrases like "kind reminder" "It would be extremely awesome, if" and "I would highly appreciate". In my culture it's often good to be a bit exaggerated friendly in a written text, so the recipient understand that I am really annoyed with the situation. Katja Flittner
ReplyDeleteAccording to my experience, the best way of complaining is to try to stay formal and friendly instead of "going crazy", scolding the receiver and using coarse language. This way, the receiver will hopefully look at your complaint and opinions in a serious way, and not discard the letter as something from a mad person
ReplyDeleteWhen apologising, I believe that the most important thing (apart from trying to solve the situation) is to actually admit that something went wrong and take the blame. There are many examples from the media where people have tried to disclaim their responsibility, resulting in accusations of lying and insincerity. Probably, the situation would have been better if they had been telling the truth from the start.
Elin Hultgren
My experiences are mainly from my work. My tasks include both complaining and apologising from time to time. We have customers in a lot of countries and we use English as our company language. Very often, regardless of the level of English skills, the communication works out just fine. We always come to an understanding in a way or another – until I talk to colleagues from UK. All of a sudden the UK colleagues don’t seem to understand anything of what I say. I experience that they are more focusing on my language skills than on what I am trying to say. It’s really annoying. I can communicate with people from around the world but I cannot communicate with people from UK! Any tips and tricks on how to communicate with particularly engineers from UK…?
ReplyDeleteDear Richard
ReplyDeleteI am pleased to send my informal advises of how to deal with upset customers.
The target group for this presentation is young employees working with customer service.
How to handle an upset customer?
For many years ago I worked at an information desk on a ferry trafficking between Sweden and Finland. As I sometimes met angry, annoyed and disappointed passengers, I learnt a lot about how to deal with disappointed customers.
When communicating with an indignant customer, you must be able to control your own feelings and hide your irritation. The customer must always be treated on respectful manner. Listen what the customer wants to say. Don't try to defend our company or try to give explanations. You don't either need to promise any compensation; that can be done later. Just show that you listen and understand the customer's disappointment. By treating the customers with respect, you considerable increase the chances to have a further constructive discussion with them.
Mervi S
Firstly, never write a complaint while you are still angry! Doing so may cause you to lose track of your arguments, and aggressive language might make the receiver less inclined to meet your requests. Take a deep breath before you start, and then make a list of what you want to complain about and what kind of compensation you would like. This will make it easier for you to argue for your sake, and it will make it easier for the receiver to understand.
ReplyDeleteWhen apologising for something you need to start by listening to what the person complaining have to say. Sometimes just getting a problem off their chest can make people calm down, and when you are calm you are more rational and easier to talk to. So let them talk, and then apologise. Try to make it as sincere as you can, and let them know that you take them seriously. If possible, give them a solution to their problem. If you don’t know how to solve the problem right there and then, ask if you can get back to them, and then do!
Ida Ryberg
My tip for complaining is to always start with the facts. Make it as complete as possible, but to the point. Use language that allows for the problem to have been due to a misunderstanding. Leave a way out, for, as Sun-Tzu says, always leave a way out for your enemy, unless you want him desperate.
ReplyDeleteProvide possible solutions in your complaint, so that the other party knows how to make up for the error or misunderstanding.
Before you start complaining, be sure you know what your own goals are in this communication. Are you looking for a fight or a solution? If you are looking for a solution, try to avoid statements that do not contribute towards the solution. Losing face might only be a familiar concept in Chinese culture, but there are ways to argue that have as its only goal to destroy your opponent. Keep it solution-oriented!
Are you going to include feedback that will improve future performance?
If you complain in a way that makes your goals unclear and the receiver then responds in a way that is not satisfactory, you might have to continue complaining, which is neither good for your relationship, nor is it helpful for finding a solution. Make sure the reason isn’t that you were too vague in your first complaint – or were only looking for a conflict where it was unnecessary.
For apologizing, the same is true:
Always state the facts. If you are responsible, state what you are responsible for and apologise for this.
Depending on the culture, too much explaining can be seen as a way to give someone else the blame. Make sure one of the first statements is an admittance of clear responsibility. Promising a concrete action for improvement can be a good way to show that you have taken action to solve the problem.
If you are confronted with an oral complaint that takes you by surprise, a good way to start is to thank the person for bringing this problem to your attention. Ask for time to think on it.
Before you start apologizing, make sure you have identified the root cause of the problem. Take this opportunity to improve and strive for excellence. A good strategy to identify the root cause is to ask “the five whys”, i.e. asking why something happened and then asking why that happened and so on. Making a sincere apology means you take the complainer seriously and are prepared to make changes, if this is the solution.
Going into too much detail in the letter of apology is not a good idea, but presenting a viable solution, if you want to include it, is a good strategy, especially if you want to continue a working business relationship.
Hello Charlotte,
DeleteI only wanted to write to say thank you for your post. It gave me a clear insight and I have learnt a lot from it!
Good writing!
Kind Regards
Anna T
The best strategy when you have to tell someone they been doing wrong is to try to communicate in a professional way. You must show them or explain why they have been wrong. If you are in the position of being that person’s boss, it is very important to show that you are the authority in the situation. This should be done in a pedagogic way and without being too harsh. Just yelling at someone normally doesn’t work.
ReplyDeleteIf there is one thing that I have learned during my life as a traveler, it is that direct translations from one language to another can be tricky. Sometimes they work perfectly fine but sometimes they can become rude. A classic example is jokes, they can be very misunderstood. This is quite common when you talk with someone from another culture. So what I want to have said with this is that it is important to do a little bit of research before you travel somewhere.
One example of when a well-written letter did the trick for me is when I worked as School Manager during Sweden’s biggest event, Gothia Cup. Before the tournament I sent out personal letters to all the coaches that were coming to stay at the school I was responsible for. When all the teams arrived, many of the coaches approached me and thanked very much for the “lovely letter”. Even the people responsible for the whole tournament thanked me personally for the very warm service.
How to complain is first to inform own situation or what happened, and second to tell how I suffered or got damage in that situation, finally I propose the way of solution to damages. What is important is to be polite and to use formal language, however we should claim clearly and in detail what I would like to tell. occasionally we need to show opponent strength of our will and complain so in my opinion we don't need to be kind and friendly. In the end the best thing is that both side is convinced of each assertion and the way of solution.
ReplyDeleteBetween apologize and complaint is a relationship, apologize is the receiver and complaint is the sender. Regarding apologize, at first we have to listen to what the sender assert carefully and admit what is wrong. The most important tips are to be polite and to use formal language. We must not get them angry and dissatisfied. To try to settle the problem quickly and properly makes the customer convinced and satisfied.
Warm-up 4 - By: Cassandra Gustafsson
ReplyDeleteWhen you have to either complain or apologise it is important maintain a formal language. It is also important to make sure that you are clear and concise. This avoids misunderstandings. There are however some things that you have to think about when writing a letter of complaint, the most important being not to be overly aggressive even if there is something that bothers you, you simply say what has happened and not how you feel about it. When you apologise you also focus on what has happened but you also need to make clear that you understand the inconvenience and irritation this has caused. Make sure to apologise, this is very important. Also give options when it comes to how you can compensate the client.
Warm up 4. (R. Jarl)
ReplyDeleteIt is important to be very clear in your meaning when writing a letter of complaining or apologizing. This will minimize the risk for misunderstandings. Also, if you are really upset and want to contact someone to complain, maybe it is best to wait until you have calmed down and can write a letter in a good tone. I strongly believe that you will be taken more seriously if you use a good tone and a formal language.
When you are writing a complaint I believe it is very important to explain the background to this complaint to the receiver. A tip is to connect the problem with a feeling, in that way it is easier for the receiver to relate to the feeling and understand the situation better. I believe being formal and complaint is the best way to be taken seriously. You should not start the letter by “yelling”.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are writing an apologizing letter I believe it is significant to show that you are truly sorry for what has happened. Good to think about is using positive word and sentences and not use words that might be misunderstood or perceived as negative. By writing apologizing letters I have learned that positive words often makes the receiver more satisfied.
In summary, my advice is always to be formal and explain the situation carefully. Start by what you are apologizing for or why you are complaining. Put in facts to back up you letter and end it with a solution/improvement to the problem.
Kristin Karlsson
From Catalina de Obieta
ReplyDeleteAt work everyone has to deal daily with many complaints from customers. Sometimes it can be tricky to deal with angry customers. From my personal experience the best way to deal with an angry client is to be nice and understandable.
It is difficult not to get irritated when a customer is mad, but the best thing to do is to keep calm. There are many things to have in mind when approaching this kind of situations, however the best thing is to be polite and respectful, the customer is always right, therefore these two things are crucial. Be understandable. Normally the reason of what the customer is complaining for has nothing to do with you. That is the reason why you have to be understand them and make them fell that you care about their problem.
When doing a good approach normally the result is satisfactory, however the customer is also looking for suitable responses and facts. The important thing here is to do whatever is in your hand to solve the problem.
If you are polite, respectful and nice with a customer, the chances of being successful are higher.