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45) When making complex routine requests to company outsiders, you rarely need to explain
how responding to the request will benefit the reader.
46) It is not necessary to ask someone’s permission before listing his or her name as a job
reference.
47) Due to potential legal problems, many companies have a policy that prevents employees
from providing recommendation letters.
48) Because requests for recommendations are persuasive messages, you should use the indirect
approach.
49) If you are writing to someone to request a recommendation letter for a job or scholarship,
you should include a stamped, preaddressed envelope for mailing.
50) When making a claim or requesting an adjustment from a company, you should document
your initial complaint and every correspondence after that.
51) When writing a claim letter, you should assume that you will receive a fair adjustment.
52) When responding to claim letters, companies usually accept the customer’s explanation of
the problem.
53) It’s best to back up all claims and requests for adjustments with invoices, sales receipts, and
so on and to send copies to the company and keep the originals.
54) The best opening for a positive message includes the single most important information you
need to give the audience.
55) A routine positive message should never include negative information.
56) When sending a positive message to a customer, it is a good idea to reassure the customer
that he or she has made a wise purchase.
57) To preserve your company’s reputation, messages granting customer requests for adjustment
should always imply that the customer was at fault.
58) Even when you grant a dissatisfied customer’s request for adjustment, he or she will most
likely not return to your business.
59) When replying to a customer’s complaint when your company is at fault, be sure to list the
names of all employees who were involved in the error.
60) In a letter agreeing to make an adjustment even though the buyer technically was at fault, a
courteous tone is less important.
61) When a third party is at fault in a claim, the best approach is always to refer the customer to
that party to resolve the problem.
62) Recommendation letters have created so many legal problems that many companies no
longer allow employees to write them.
63) In positive recommendation letters, it’s important to back up your general points with
specific examples of the candidate’s fitness for the job.
64) When asked to write a letter of recommendation for a poorly performing employee, you
should never refuse to do so.
65) Employers cannot sue you for omitting negative information from a recommendation letter,
even if they can prove that you were aware of that information.
66) Because informative messages such as meeting announcements and reminder notices are
generally neutral, it is not necessary to worry too much about the reader’s attitude toward the
information.
67) Goodwill messages were once common in business, but are now mostly regarded as a waste
of time.
68) A new co-worker recently won a prestigious award for her work on green technologies.
Since you do not know her well, you should not send a note to congratulate her on the
achievement.
69) A message of appreciation can become an important part of someone’s personnel file.
70) When writing a condolence message about a loss, you should always use comforting poetic
expressions such as “life is for the living.”
71) In a routine request, the ________ of the message should contain an explanation of what you
are asking the audience to do.
72) Most routine requests in business should be organized using the ________ approach, with
the main idea at the beginning of the message.
73) You may need to obtain a letter of recommendation for a new job, a promotion, a
scholarship, or ________ from a bank.
74) Customers who are dissatisfied with a company’s product or service make a(n) ________, or
formal complaint.
75) Dissatisfied customers can request a(n) ________, or claim settlement.
76) If your routine message must convey some mildly disappointing information, put the
negative portion into as ________ a context as possible.
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77) The body of a positive message is a good place to use ________, assuring the customer of
the wisdom of his or her purchase selection.
78) Businesses often receive requests for claims and adjustments when a ________ ________ is
at fault, and neither the company nor the customer is to blame.
79) Writing letters of recommendation can lead to serious legal problems, including charges of
________ against employers who share negative information about candidates.
80) A(n) ________ ________ is a specialized document used to share relevant information with
the local or national news media.
81) Unlike a traditional press release, a(n) ________ ________ release emphasizes bullet-point
content over narrative paragraphs so that bloggers and others can assemble their own stories.
82) Thanks to the Internet and social media, many companies now rely on ________ news
releases, in which they communicate directly with customers and other audiences instead of
going through the media.
83) Friendly notes with no direct business purpose, such as those conveying congratulations or
thanks, are called ________ messages.
84) Messages of ________ recognize the contributions of employees or business associates.
85) Messages of ________ need not be poetic to express sympathy.
86) List four guidelines to follow in preparing the opening of a routine request in the direct
format.
87) In emailing a vendor for an update on the ship date of your order, what elements should you
include in the closing of your request?
88) List the three major categories of common routine requests.
89) Describe the three-step strategy for requesting information and action.
90) You’re preparing an internal blog posting providing information on this year’s annual
company picnic. The message is generally positive, but you need to say that—unlike past picnics-
-the event will not be catered. What approach is best for conveying mildly disappointing
information such as this in the context of a positive message?
91) What three goals should you have when answering routine requests and a potential sale is
involved?
92) In responding favorably to a claim even though the customer was at fault, what should you
try to accomplish in the body of your message?
93) Briefly explain how the Internet and social media have changed the nature of the news
release.
94) What potential legal problem can result from writing a critical recommendation letter?
95) List at least three guidelines to follow when writing condolence messages.
96) Many routine requests have several parts. What guidelines should you keep in mind when
your request contains a series of questions?
97) Explain what you should do when replying to a claim when the customer is at fault.
98) Explain what you should include in an effective recommendation letter.
99) Explain why goodwill messages are important, then describe at least two characteristics of
effective goodwill messages.
100) Why are appreciation messages important? What should they include?