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Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.
—RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Letters of acknowledgment and letters of confirmation resemble each other. The letter of acknowledgment says, “I received your letter (telephone call, gift, materials).” The letter of confirmation says, “I received your letter (message, contract) and we agree about the matter”; this letter can serve as an informal contract.
Sometimes a letter of acknowledgment also serves as a thank you. Or it says you received the message or materials but will respond later, or that you passed them on to the appropriate person. Sometimes, too, acknowledgment letters are really sales letters that use the excuse of acknowledging something (an order, a payment) to present an additional sales message.
You always acknowledge expressions of condolence. You generally acknowledge anniversary or birthday greetings, congratulations, apologies, or divorce announcements.
• anniversary/birthday greetings
• apologies
• complaints
• condolences
• congratulations
• divorce announcements
• documents/reports/files/materials received
• gifts (thank-you note to follow)
• information received
• inquiries/requests (will respond as soon as possible)
• letters from constituents
• letters of introduction
• letters received (action underway, will let you know)
• mail in supervisor’s absence (assistant writes that message/letter has been received and will be dealt with later)
• manuscripts (under consideration, will give decision later)
• oral agreements, telephone discussions/agreements
• orders (see also ORDERS)
• payments
• proposals
• receipt of orders/merchandise (see also ORDERS)
• receipt of wedding gifts (see WEDDINGS)
• reports
• reservations, speaking dates, invitation times
• sympathy messages
• State precisely what you are acknowledging or confirming (reservation, amount, letter, order).
• Refer to the date and occasion of your last contact (telephone conversation, previous letter, in-person discussion).
• Describe what action, if any, is being taken.
• Tell when the reader will hear further from you or from someone else.
• If indicated, explain why you are not able to respond fully to the letter/ request/gift at the moment.
• Express appreciation for the previous contact, for the kindness of the person in writing you, or for the business.
• Close with a courtesy or forward-looking statement.
• Don’t belabor explanations; letters of acknowledgment and confirmation are brief.
• Avoid a negative tone (“thought I’d make sure we’re both talking about the same thing”). Repeat matter-of-factly the details of the items you’re acknowledging or confirming.
• Write promptly. Acknowledgments are, by their very nature, sent immediately. One exception is acknowledging expressions of sympathy. Because of the hardships involved, responses may be sent up to six weeks later. Or, a close relative of the bereaved may write the acknowledgment: “Mother asked me to tell you how much she appreciated the loving letter of sympathy and the memorial you sent for Dad. She will be in touch with you as soon as she is able to.”
• When a letterwriter asks about an issue better handled by someone else, acknowledge the letter and provide the name, address, and telephone number of the appropriate person. You can also forward the letter to the proper department and so notify your correspondent.
• Timely and regular business transactions need no acknowledgment: orders are received, merchandise is delivered, payments are sent. You would, however, acknowledge receipt in unusual situations. If the previous order went astray, you will want the sender to know that this one arrived. When you receive payment from someone to whom you’ve been sending collection letters, let the person know that payment has been received (and, by implication, that there will be no more collection letters). Acknowledge large or important payments, orders, and shipments—or those from first-time customers or suppliers. Acknowledge letters, requests, orders, manuscript submissions, or complaints that cannot be responded to immediately so that the person knows that action is being taken.
• Acknowledge mail that arrives in a supervisor’s or coworker’s absence. Mention the absence without offering apologies or explanations. Do not refer to the contents of the letter; an exception is made for the announcement of a death or serious illness. Express sympathy on behalf of the other person and say that a letter will follow as soon as possible.
• Organizations receiving memorial donations acknowledge receipt of the contribution and also notify the family so it can thank the donor personally.
• Domestic hotel and motel reservations are often made and confirmed entirely by phone. Occasionally, however, written confirmation is necessary because of special conditions or changes of plans. Include your requirements: date, length of stay, kind of accommodation, price, extras requested (crib in a room, for example), wheelchair accessibility, availability of pool, HBO, entertaining facilities. Request confirmation from foreign hotels or resorts. Include your e-mail address or fax number or, in some cases, an International Reply Coupon (IRC) for their response.
• If someone announces a divorce, avoid expressing either congratulations or sympathy (unless you know which is called for); in most cases, simply acknowledge the information.
• An apology is acknowledged to let the other person know that you have received it (and accepted it, if that is the case).
• If you cannot respond to a proposal, report, or manuscript right away, acknowledge its receipt to the sender and assure the person that you will communicate further as soon as you have evaluated it. People spend time writing reports, proposals, and manuscripts and are naturally eager for results. They will wait more patiently if their mailing has been acknowledged.
• When you cannot make an immediate decision among job applicants, acknowledge receipt of their applications or résumés or thank them for their interviews. Tell them you will let them know as soon as a decision has been made. (If you have an idea of when this will be, say so.) Thank them for their interest in your organization.
• Routine acknowledgments and confirmations (receipt of applications, manuscripts, requests, payments) can be handled by e-mail, preprinted cards, or simple form letters. Note the item received and the date of receipt.
• For numerous wedding gifts or expressions of sympathy, send printed acknowledgment cards indicating that you’ll respond soon. In the case of a public figure whose death inspires many messages of sympathy from people unknown to the family or deceased, printed or engraved cards or foldovers are sent (with no personal follow-up).
• Use e-mail for routine acknowledgments and confirmations. For business records, keep back-up file copies of all transactions.
• For complicated business acknowledgments or confirmations, use letterhead stationery or memo paper.
• Personal acknowledgments and confirmations are handwritten on informal personal stationery; e-mail can be used for casual situations.
WORDS
PHRASES
SENTENCES
I enjoyed speaking with you this afternoon and look forward to our meeting next Thursday at 2:30 at your office.
Just a note to let you know that the printer ribbons arrived.
Thank you for remembering my ten-year anniversary with Lamb and Company.
Thank you for the wallpaper samples, which arrived this morning.
Thank you for writing me with your views on socialized medicine.
Thank you for your order, which we received yesterday; it will be shipped to you this week.
The family of Annis Gething gratefully acknowledges your kind and comforting expressions of sympathy.
The members of the Board of Directors and I appreciated your presentation yesterday and want you to know that we are taking your concerns under serious advisement.
This is to acknowledge receipt of the rerouted shipment of Doncastle tennis rackets, catalog number AE-78573.
This is to confirm our recent conversation about the identification and removal of several underground storage tanks on my property.
This will acknowledge receipt of your report on current voter attitudes.
This will confirm our revised delivery date of November 6.
We are proceeding with the work as requested by Jerome Searing in his May 3, 2010, telephone call.
We hereby acknowledge that an inspection of the storm drain and street construction installed by the Bagshaw Company in the Rockingham subdivision has been completed.
PARAGRAPHS
Your letter of July 16 has been referred for review and appropriate action. We value you as a customer and ask your patience while a response is being prepared.
Thank you for the update on the preparation of the Price-Stables contract. I appreciate knowing what progress you’re making.
Thank you for your workshop proposal, which we have just received. Ms. Bramber is out of the office for the next two weeks but will contact you soon after she returns.
Thanks for the samples. As soon as we’ve had a chance to get them under the microscope and run some tests, we’ll let you know what we find.
I’ve received your kind invitation to join the Friends of the Library committee. I need to review other commitments to be sure that I can devote as much time to the Friends as I’d like. I’ll let you know next week. In the meantime, thanks for thinking of me.
The information you sent was exactly what I needed. It will take several weeks to reach a decision, but I’ll call as soon as I do. In the meantime, thanks for your promptness.
Thanks for the call this morning, Janet. I’ll see you on May 23 at 10:00 a.m. and will bring the spring lists with me.
I wanted you to know that I received your letter this morning, but as I’m leaving for Dallas later today I won’t have time to look into the billing problem with the contractor for another week or so. If you need action sooner than that, give Agnes Laiter a call.
I’m glad we were able to reach an agreement on the telephone this morning. I’ll have the contracts retyped—inserting the new delivery date of March 16, 2011, and the new metric ton rate of $55—and sent to you by the end of the week.
Thank you for telling me about the divorce. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you. Can we get together sometime? How about breakfast Saturday morning? That used to work for us.
Thank you for your letter of June 9, describing the employee behavior you encountered on three different visits to our store. We are looking into the situation, and will let you know what we find. In the meantime, please accept our apologies for any embarrassment or unpleasantness you experienced.
Thank you for your letter of application and your résumé. We have received numerous responses to our advertisement, which means you may not hear from us immediately. Beginning March 1 we will call qualified applicants to arrange interviews.
We received your request for information on our stop-smoking plan and for a sample of the skin patch. Because of the enthusiastic response to our advertisement, we have temporarily exhausted our supplies of the skin patch. I’m enclosing the literature you requested, and will send the skin patch in approximately two weeks.
SAMPLE LETTERS
Dear Mr. Borkin:
To confirm our telephone conversation, Barry Studio Supplies will be happy to provide you with all your photographic needs. We make deliveries in the metropolitan area within twenty-four hours of receiving an order.
Enclosed is a copy of our current catalog, a pad of order forms, and my card. As your personal representative, I can answer any of your questions and help you with special orders.
Sincerely yours,
——
Dear William Beevor,
We have received the blueprints for the Brass Bottle Hotel. As soon as Mr. Ventimore and the staff have had time to look at them, I’ll call you to set up a meeting. Until then, Mr. Ventimore sends his regards.
Yours truly,
——
Dear Mrs. Beddows,
This is to acknowledge your kind expression of sympathy and the lovely floral arrangement you sent on the occasion of Mr. Holtby’s death. Mrs. Holtby will be writing you a personal note as soon as she can. In the meantime, she appreciates your friendship and concern.
Sincerely,
——
Dear Mrs. Cammysole,
Thank you for sending the lease for the apartment on Thackeray Street.
We are having our lawyer look at it tomorrow afternoon, and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible after that.
With best wishes,
——
Dear Edna Bunthorne:
This will acknowledge your letter of August 6 addressed to Francis Moulton. Mr. Moulton is on a six-month medical leave of absence, and his interim replacement has not yet been named.
I am enclosing materials that will answer some of your questions, and I will refer the others to the new director as soon as possible.
If the delay is unacceptable to you, you may want to contact Kate Croy at the Lowder Foundation.
Sincerely,
——
Dear Professor Erlin:
Thank you for your paper, “The Rise and the Fall of the Clown Trope,” which we received this week. Because of an overwhelming response to our call for symposium papers, our editorial staff will not be able to respond within the usual two to three weeks. It may be five to six weeks before you hear from us. Thanks for understanding.
Yours truly,
——
Dear Member,
Thank you for your order.
Unfortunately, we’re temporarily out of stock on the item below. We’ve reordered it and expect to have a new supply in a few weeks. We’ll ship it as soon as it arrives.
Sincerely,
——
Dear Dr. Breeve,
This is to confirm that you have permission to use the Great Organ of St. Luke’s Church for an organ recital March 30 at 7:30 p.m. As agreed, you will be responsible for the expense of any organ repairs necessary for the recital.
Please call me to arrange for an extra key when you need to begin practicing.
We’re delighted that someone of your talent will be using our wonderful old—but often forgotten—organ.
With best wishes,
——
Dear Geraldine Dabis:
We have received your loan application and will process it as quickly as possible. However, because of the complex nature of the application, it is being reviewed and evaluated by loan officers from two different divisions. This may delay our response somewhat.
If you have questions about the delay or about our process, please call me at 800-555-1216.
Yours truly,
——
See also: ACCEPTANCES, APPOINTMENTS, FOLLOW-UP, RESPONSES, SALES, THANK YOU, TRAVEL, WEDDINGS