I enclose a folder giving the latest statement of the resources of the bank and something about the organization. Will you not drop in some time and at least permit us to become acquainted?
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) R. T. Newell,
President.
Trust companies and national banks are very generally extending their services to cover the administration of decedents' estates, to advise upon investments, to care for property, and to offer expert tax services. In most cases, these services are set out in booklets and the letter either encloses the booklet or is phrased to have the recipient ask for the booklet.
Letter proffering general services:
GRIGGS NATIONAL BANK
28 FIFTH AVE.
NEW YORK
November 16, 1921.
Mr. Henry Larkin,
3428 Cathedral Parkway,
New York.
Dear Sir:
We are writing to call your attention to several services which this bank has at your command and which we should be happy to have you avail yourself of:
(1) The Bond Department can give you expert and disinterested advice on investments and can in addition offer you a selection of well-chosen season bonds of whatever character a discussion of your affairs may disclose as being best suited to your needs.
(2) Our safe deposit vaults will care for your securities and valuable papers at an annual cost which is almost nominal.
(3) We have arrangements by which we can issue letters of credit that will be honored anywhere in the world, foreign drafts, and travellers' checks.
(4) If you expect to be away through any considerable period or do not care to manage your own investments, our Trust Department will manage them for you and render periodical accounts at a very small cost. This service is especially valuable because so frequently a busy man fails to keep track of conversion privileges and rights to new issues and other matters incident to the owning of securities.
(5) We will advise you, if you like, on the disposition of your property by will, and we have experienced and expert facilities for the administration of trusts and estates.
I hope that we may have the opportunity of demonstrating the value of some or all of these services to you; it would be a privilege to have you call and become acquainted with the officers in charge of these various departments.
I am
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Lucius Clark,
President.
A letter offering to act as executor
GRIGGS NATIONAL BANK
28 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK
June 25, 1923.
Mr. Lawrence Loring,
11 River Avenue,
Yonkers, N. Y.
Dear Sir:
May I call to your attention the question which every man of property must at some time gravely consider, and that is the disposition of his estate after death?
I presume that as a prudent man you have duly executed a last will and testament, and I presume that it has been drawn with competent legal advice. But the execution of the will is only the beginning. After your death will come the administration of the estate, and it is being more and more recognized that it is not the part of wisdom to leave the administration of an estate in the hands of an individual.
It used to be thought that an executor could be qualified by friendship or relationship, but unfortunately it has been proved through the sad experience of many estates that good intentions and integrity do not alone make a good executor. Skill and experience also are needed.
This company maintains a trust department, under the supervision of Mr. Thomas G. Shelling, our trust officer, who has had many years of experience in the administration of estates. Associated with him is a force of specialists who can care for any situation, usual or unusual, that may arise. The services of these men can be placed at your disposal. I can offer to you not only their expert services but also the continuity of a great institution.
Individuals die. Institutions do not die. If you will turn over in your mind what may be the situation thirty years hence of any individual whom you might presently think of as an executor, I believe you will be impressed with the necessity for the continuity of service that can be offered only by a corporation. In many cases there are personal matters in the estate which a testator may believe can best be handled only by some of his friends. In such a case it is usual to join the individual executors with a corporate executor.
It would be a privilege to be able to discuss these matters with you.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Lucius Clark,
President.
P.S. Wills are quite frequently lost or mislaid and sometimes months elapse before they are discovered. It is needless to point out the expense and inconvenience which may be entailed. We are happy to keep wills free of charge.
A letter offering tax services
INTERVALE NATIONAL BANK
INTERVALE, N. Y.
June 1, 1923.
Mr. Michael Graham,
Intervale, N. Y.
Dear Sir:
This bank is prepared to advise you in the preparation of your income and other tax returns. It is a service that is yours for the asking, and we hope that you will avail yourself of it.
The department is open during banking hours, but if these hours are not convenient to you, special appointments can be made.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Samuel Drake,
President.
A letter giving the record of the bank
INTERVALE NATIONAL BANK
INTERVALE, N. Y.
July 6, 1923.
Mr. Donald West,
Intervale, N. Y.
Dear Sir:
As a depositor you will be interested in the enclosed booklet which records what the officers and directors think is a notable showing for the bank during the past year. I hope that you will also find it inspiring and will pass it on to a friend who is not a depositor with us.
May I thank you for your patronage during the past year, and believe me
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) Samuel Drake,
President.
Order where the price of articles is known
North Conway, N. H.,
August 19, 1921.
Messrs. L. T. Banning,
488 Broadway,
New York, N. Y.
Gentlemen:
Please send me, at your earliest convenience, by United States Express, the following:
1 doz. linen handkerchiefs, tape edge, regular size $ 6.00
1 pr. Triumph garters, silk, black .75
4 white oxford tennis shirts, size 15½ @ $3.00 12.00
6 pr. white lisle socks, size 11 @ $.50 3.00
____________
Total $21.75
I am enclosing a money order for $21.75.
Yours very truly,
Oscar Trent.
Enclosure
(Money Order)
Order where the price is not known
Flint, Michigan,
July 14, 1922.
The Rotunda,
581 State Street,
Chicago, Ill.
Gentlemen:
Please send as soon as possible the following:
2 prs. camel's hair sport stockings, wide-ribbed, size 9
1 blue flannel middy blouse, red decoration, size 16
1 "Dix make" housedress, white piqué, size 38
1 copy of "Main Street"
I enclose a money order for thirty dollars ($30.00) and will ask you to refund any balance in my favor after deducting for invoice and express charges.
Very truly yours,
Florence Kepp.
Encl. M. O.
Williamsport, Pa.,
March 10, 1921.
Carroll Bros.,
814 Chestnut St.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Gentlemen:
Please send me the following articles by parcels post as soon as possible:
2 doz. paper napkins, apple blossom or nasturtium design
1 "Century" cook book
1 pair "Luxury" blue felt bedroom slippers, leather sole
and heel
1 large bar imported Castile soap
1 pair elbow length white silk gloves, size 6-3/4
Enclosed is a money order for $15.00. Please refund any balance due me.
Yours truly,
Janet M. Bent
(Mrs. Elmer Bent)
Formal acknowledgments
It is still a formal custom to acknowledge some kinds of orders by a printed or an engraved form. Some of the older New York business houses use the engraved forms which arose in the days before typewriters and they are very effective.
General acknowledgment forms
THE GENERAL STORES CO.
CHICAGO, ILL.
April 18, 1923.
Mr. Walter Crump,
29 Adams Street,
Maple Centre, Ill.
Dear Sir:
We acknowledge with thanks your order No. ______ which will be entered for immediate shipment and handled under our No. ______ to which you will please refer if you have occasion to write about it.
If we are unable to ship promptly we will write you fully under separate cover.
Very truly yours,
The General Stores Co.
S.
THE GENERAL STORES CO.,
CHICAGO, ILL.
June 13, 1922.
Mr. Joseph Ward,
Wadsworth Hill, Ill.
Dear Sir:
We have received your order __________ requesting attention to __________ No. __________.
Unless special attention is demanded, the routine schedule is on a ten-day basis, and we therefore expect to ______ your instrument on or about __________.
In corresponding on this subject please refer to order No. ______.
Very truly yours,
The General Stores Co.
S.
In answer to a letter without sufficient data
THE GENERAL STORES CO.
CHICAGO, ILL.
September 8, 1922.
Mrs. Benjamin Brown,
Carr City, Ill.
Dear Madam:
We thank you for your order recently received for one shirt waist and two pairs of stockings.
We were unable to proceed with the order, as the size of the waist was not given. If you would be kind enough to state what size you wish, we shall gladly make immediate shipment.
Very truly yours,
The General Stores Co.
S.
Where the goods are not in hand
L. &. L. YOUNG
600 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, N. Y.
November 3, 1921.
Mrs. John Evans,
500 Park Avenue,
New York, N. Y.
Dear Madam:
We are out of size 5 B at present in the white kid shoes you desire, but we should be pleased to order a pair for you, if you wish, which would take two weeks. If this is not satisfactory to you, perhaps you will call and select another pair.
Kindly let us know what you wish done in this matter.
Very truly yours,
L. & L. Young.
The letter of complaint is purely a matter of stating exactly what the trouble is. The letter replying to the complaint is purely an affair of settling the trouble on a mutually satisfactory basis. The Marshall Field attitude that "the customer is always right" is the one that it pays to assume. The customer is by no means always right, but in the long run the goodwill engendered by this course is worth far more than the inevitable losses through unfair customers. The big Chicago mail order houses have been built up on the principle of returning money without question. Legalistic quibbles have no place in the answer to a complaint. The customer is rightly or wrongly dissatisfied; business is built only on satisfied customers. Therefore the question is not to prove who is right but to satisfy the customer. This doctrine has its limitations, but it is safer to err in the way of doing too much than in doing too little.
Claims for damaged goods
This letter is complete in that it states what the damage is.
420 Commonwealth Avenue,
Boston, Mass.,
February 8, 1922.
Messrs. Wells & Sons,
29 Summer Street,
Boston, Mass.
Gentlemen:
The furniture that I bought on February 3rd came to-day in good condition with the exception of one piece, the green enamel tea-wagon. That has a crack in the glass tray and the lower shelf is scratched. Will you kindly call for it and, if you have one like it in stock, send it to me to replace the damaged one?
Very truly yours,
Edna Joyce Link.
(Mrs. George Link)
830 Main Street,
Saltview, N. Y.,
May 2, 1921.
Acme Dishwasher Co.,
Syracuse, N. Y.
Gentlemen:
I regret to inform you that the Acme dishwasher which I purchased from your local dealer, I. Jacobs, on December 4, 1920, has failed to live up to your one-year guarantee. In fact, the dishwasher is now in such bad condition that I have not used it for three weeks.
I must therefore request that in accordance with the terms of your guarantee you refund the purchase price of ninety dollars ($90).
Very truly yours,
Eleanor Scott.
(Mrs. Lawrence Scott)
Complaint of poor service
Webster Corners, Mo.,
April 24, 1920.
Messrs. Peter Swann Co.,
Kansas City, Mo.
Gentlemen:
Attention Mr. Albert Brann.
On Tuesday last I bought at your store two boys' wash suits. This is Monday and the goods have not yet been delivered. The delay has caused me great inconvenience. If this were the first time that you had been careless in sending out orders I should feel less impatient, but three times within the last four weeks I have been similarly annoyed.
On March 3rd I sent back my bill for correction, goods returned not having been credited to my account. On March 15th the bill was again sent in its original form with a "please remit." I again wrote, making explanation, but to date have received no reply. If I must be constantly annoyed in this manner, I shall have to close my account.
Very truly yours,
Helena Young Tremp.
(Mrs. Kenneth Tremp)
Replies to letters of complaint
WELLS & SONS
29 SUMMER STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
August 12, 1922.
Mrs. Samuel Sloane,
Chelsea, Mass.
Dear Madam:
We have your letter of August 8th in regard to the damaged perambulator. We are very sorry indeed that it was damaged, evidently through improper crating, so that there does not seem to be any redress against the railway.
We shall be glad to make a reasonable allowance to cover the cost of repairs, or if you do not think the perambulator can be repaired, you may return it to us at our expense and we will give your account credit for it. We will send you a new one in exchange if you desire.
Very truly yours,
Wells & Sons.
WELLS & SONS
29 SUMMER STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
May 11, 1923.
Mrs. Julia Furniss,
29 Oak Street,
Somerville, Mass.
Dear Madam:
We have received your note of May 8th in regard to the bathroom scales on your bill of May 1st.
We do not send these scales already assembled as there is considerable danger of breakage, but we shall send a man out to you on Wednesday the twelfth to set them up for you. The missing height bar will be sent to you.
Very truly yours,
Wells & Sons.
THE STERLING SILVER CO.
2800 FIFTH AVE.
NEW YORK
December 17, 1923.
Mrs. Daniel Everett,
290 Washington Square,
New York.
Dear Madam:
We regret that it will be impossible to have your tea spoons marked as we promised. Marking orders were placed in such quantities before yours was received that the work cannot be executed before December 28th.
We are, therefore, holding the set for your further instructions and hope that this will not cause any disappointment.
Very truly yours,
The Sterling Silver Co.
REX TYPEWRITER CO.
20 SO. MICHIGAN AVE.
CHICAGO, ILL.
November 6, 1922.
Mr. John Harris,
Wayside, Ill.
Dear Sir:
We are in receipt of the damaged No. 806 typewriter which you returned, and have forwarded a new typewriter which was charged to your account.
Please mail us a freight bill properly noted, showing that the typewriter which you returned was received in a damaged condition, so that the cost of repairs can be collected from the transportation company and the proper credit placed to your account.
Very truly yours,
Rex Typewriter Co.
WELLS & SONS
29 SUMMER STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
September 25, 1922.
Mr. Louis Wright,
Quincy, Mass.
Dear Sir:
Our warehouse headquarters have just informed us in reply to our telegram, that your order No. 263 of September 6th was shipped on September 14th by express direct.
We regret the delay, and hope the goods have already reached you.
Very truly yours,
Wells & Sons.
WELLS & SONS
29 SUMMER STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
June 7, 1923.
Mrs. Ralph Curtis,
5928 Commonwealth Ave.,
Boston, Mass.
Dear Madam:
We are sorry to learn from your letter of June 5th that you found two buttons missing from your suit. We have no more buttons like the one you enclosed and cannot get any, as the suit is an import. But if you will let us know the number of buttons in the entire set, we will send you a complete set of buttons as nearly like the sample as possible.
I hope this will be a satisfactory solution.
Very truly yours,
Wells & Sons.
A routine letter of adjustment
HALL BROTHERS
500 FOURTH STREET
DAYTON, O.
January 28,1923.
Mr. Philip Drew,
480 Milk Street,
Boston, Mass.
Dear Sir:
We have received your letter of ______ and regret to learn that ______. We will carefully investigate the matter at once and within a day or two will write you fully.
Very truly yours,
Hall Brothers.
WELLS & SONS
29 SUMMER STREET
BOSTON, MASS
January 2, 1923.
Mr. George Larabee,
Sunnyside, Vt.
Dear Sir:
In compliance with your request of December 27th we shall mail our check to-morrow for $16.98 for the humidor which you returned. We regret very much the delay in this matter. Our only excuse for it is the holiday rush in our delivery department which prevented the delivery of the humidor in time for Christmas.
We hope you will overlook the delay and give as another opportunity to serve you.
Very truly yours,
Wells & Sons.
Business is done largely on credit, but comparatively few men in business seem to understand that in the letters concerning accounts lies a large opportunity for business building. The old-style credit man thinks that it is all important to avoid credit losses; he opens an account suspiciously and he chases delinquent accounts in the fashion that a dog goes after a cat.
Business is not an affair of simply not losing money: it is an affair of making money. Many a credit grantor with a perfect record with respect to losses may be a business killer; he may think that his sole function is to prevent losses. His real function is to promote business. The best credit men in the country are rarely those with the smallest percentage of losses, although it does happen that the man who regards every customer as an asset to be conserved in the end has very few losses.
Therefore, in credit granting, in credit refusing, and in collection, the form letter is not to be used without considerable discrimination. It is inadvisable to strike a personal note, and many firms have found it advantageous to get quite away from the letter in the first reminders of overdue accounts. They use printed cards so that the recipient will know that the request is formal and routine.
Another point to avoid is disingenuousness, such as "accounts are opened for the convenience of customers." That is an untrue statement. They are opened as a part of a method of doing business and that fact ought clearly to be recognized. It does not help for good feeling to take the "favoring" attitude. Every customer is an asset; every prospective customer is a potential asset. They form part of the good-will of the concern.
Tactless credit handling is the most effective way known to dissipate good-will.
To open a charge account
4601 Fourth Avenue,
New York,
May 3, 1922.
Hoyt & Jennings,
32 East Forty Eighth Street,
New York.
Gentlemen:
I desire to open a credit account with your company.
Will you let me know what information you desire?
Very truly yours,
Harold Grant.
or, according to the circumstances any of the following may be used:
I desire to open a line of credit _______________________________
I desire to open an account _______________________________
I desire to maintain an open account _______________________________
I desire to maintain a charge account _______________________________
Replies to application for credit
HOYT & JENNINGS
32 EAST 48TH ST.
NEW YORK
May 8, 1923.
Mr. Harold Grant,
48 Dey Street,
New York.
Dear Sir:
May we thank you for your letter of May 3rd in which you expressed a desire to have an account with us?
We enclose a copy of our usual form and trust that we shall have the privilege of serving you.
Yours very truly,
(Handwritten) F. Burdick,
Credit Manager,
Hoyt & Jennings.
HOYT & JENNINGS
32 EAST 48TH STREET
NEW YORK
May 18, 1923.
Mr. Harold Grant,
48 Dey Street,
New York.
Dear Sir:
We are glad to notify you that, in accordance with your request, a charge account has been opened in your name.
At the beginning of our new business relations, we wish to assure you that we shall try to give satisfaction, both with our goods and with our service. Whenever you purchase an article, it is simply necessary that you inform the sales person waiting on you that you have a charge account—and then give your name and address.
As is customary in our business, a statement of purchases made during the preceding month will be rendered and will be due on the first of each month.
We are awaiting with pleasant anticipation the pleasure of serving you.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) F. Burdick,
Credit Manager,
Hoyt & Jennings.
Refusing credit
(This is one of the most difficult of all letters to write and one in which extreme care should be used for it may happen that the references have not replied accurately or that there may be somewhere an error. Many people entitled to credit have never asked for it and therefore have trouble in giving references. A brusque refusal will certainly destroy a potential customer and is always to be avoided. The best plan is to leave the matter open. Then, if the applicant for credit has really a standing, he will eventually prove it.)
HOYT & JENNINGS
32 EAST 48TH STREET
NEW YORK
Mr. Harold Grant,
48 Dey Street,
New York.
Dear Sir:
May we thank you for your letter of May 5th and for the names of those whom you were kind enough to give as references?
The information that we have received from them is unfortunately not quite complete enough for the purposes of our formal records. Would you care to furnish us with further references in order that the account may be properly opened? Or perhaps you would rather call in person.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) F. Burdick,
Credit Manager,
Hoyt & Jennings.
Where an order has been sent in by one who has not opened an account
GREGORY SUPPLY CO.
114 MAIN STREET
BALTIMORE, MD.
July 13, 1923.
J. K. Cramer & Brothers,
New Sussex, Md.
Gentlemen:
We write to thank you for your order of July 10th, amounting to $320 and we are anxious to make shipment quickly.
Our records do not show that we have previously been receiving your orders and hence unfortunately we have not the formal information desired by our credit department so that we can open the account that we should like to have in your name. For we trust that this will be only the first of many purchases.
Will you favor us by filling out the form enclosed and mailing it back as soon as convenient? The information, of course, will be held strictly confidential.
We are preparing the order for shipment and it will be ready to go out.
Yours truly,
(Handwritten) B. Allen,
Credit Manager
Gregory Supply Co.
To a bank (A bank will not give specific information)
GREGORY SUPPLY CO.
114 MAIN STREET
BALTIMORE, MD.
July 25, 1923.
Haines National Bank,
Baltimore, Md.
Gentlemen:
We have received a request from Mr. Cramer of New Sussex, Md., who informs us that he maintains an account with you for the extension of credit. He has given you as a reference.
Will you kindly advise us, in confidence and with whatever particularity you find convenient, what you consider his credit rating? Any other information that you may desire to give will be appreciated.
We trust that we may have the opportunity to reciprocate your courtesy.
Very truly yours,
(Handwritten) B. Allen,
Credit Manager,
Gregory Supply Co.
GREGORY SUPPLY CO.
114 MAIN STREET
BALTIMORE, MD.
July 25, 1923.
Bunce & Co.,
29 Vine Ave.,
Baltimore, Md.
Gentlemen:
We shall be much obliged to you if you will kindly inform us concerning your credit experience with Mr. J. K. Cramer of New Sussex, Md., who desires to open an account with us and who has referred us to you.
We shall be happy at any time to reciprocate the courtesy.
Yours truly,
(Handwritten) B. Allen,
Credit Manager
Gregory Supply Co.
Another letter of the same description in a printed form
(Name and address to be typewritten in)
GREGORY SUPPLY CO.
114 MAIN STREET
BALTIMORE, MD.
(Date to be typewritten in)
Gentlemen:
J. K. Cramer, of New Sussex, Md., desires to open an account with our store and has given your name as a reference.
Your courtesy in answering the questions given below will be appreciated. We shall be glad to reciprocate it at any time.
Yours truly,
Gregory Supply Co.
(Please fill out and return as soon as convenient.)