Warm-Up 4 doesn't give you any marks (!), but it is, perhaps, a way for you to see the collective wisdom of the group about two key areas in the In-Tray exam: complaining and apologising. Since you don't get any marks for it, you don't have to do it either - but I'm sure that your contributions will be gratefully received by everyone else, if you do!
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, 26th November (via 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).
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 20th December … but, as usual, we'll be understanding if you're a little late.
I have three tips of what I been thinking of over the yearswhen it comes to apologizing at work.
ReplyDelete1st. Apologize if and only if you really did something wrong. Do not apologize just because someone tells you to, it might as well be a way for customers to get a little leverage against you in future business.
2nd. Remember not to make excuses at work to something personal. It is the professional role and work you should apologize for, not yourself as a person.
3rd. If you have not done anything wrong, do not apologize, but then explain what the problem was. Not apologizing when it is expected of you by a customer you need to have plenty of good arguments why you should not apologize.
When it comes to complaining at work it is important to focus on what gone wrong and not who did wrong, this makes it easier for the person that made the mistake.
Tips on the language used when complaining or apologizing are to always focus on being polite, do not over use exclamation or question marks and keep to the subject.
Hope those tips can help someone, just as they helped me ;D
ReplyDeleteComplaining
1. Explain your complaint clearly and briefly (avoid expressing emotions, such as anger).
2. Describe the facts that caused the problem (here you can describe with more details in order to have convincing arguments).
3. State what compensation you demand.
4. Do not make threats, it will not help you to get what you want. Being polite is always the best way to go.
5. Try to conclude the letter saying you believe that a solution that fits everyone’s interests will be reached.
Apologising
1. Be honest, and not arrogant.
2. Do not blame others for your mistakes.
3. Do not exaggerate when making excuses. You should only explain what actually happened and reasons for that.
4. Show that you are willing to compensate the mistake, and suggest some way to do that.
5. If you are “defending” your business try to make sure the person understands that this is not a common occurrence, that your company has high standards on this regard.
Personal Experience
I got a reimbursement of almost 600 euros after sending a letter of complaint to an airline company that gave me misleading informations, that consequently resulted in a series of damages to myself.
This is just an example that those tips might work. ;D
Hope that no one will need to use it for personal purpose.
I’ve learned not to apologize if it’s not necessary. If you apologize too often, people may start to see you as an individual with low self confidence. If you need to apologize, do it as honest as possible, everyone will see you as a more serious person and listen to what you have to say. One of the most important things when apologizing is to not blame someone else for your mistakes. In business you sometimes need to take responsibility for something that maybe someone else caused, but since “the costumer always is right” it could be the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI believe it’s the same thing with complaining. Don’t complain just for fun, when something is really wrong – say it! When complaining it’s always wise to have an idea about how the problem could be solved or straighten out. The best thing is to state what compensation you want instead of allowing the one that have done wrong, suggests the compensation. In this case you are likely to get less compensation than if you request a sum that you think would compensate for the pain and suffer you have sustained.
Advice for complaining and apologising
ReplyDeleteComplaining
Write in a neutral and objective tone.
State the problem, loss or damage clearly and concisely in the opening line of the letter.
Don’t insult the reader or the company, but give evidence to show they are at fault.
Assume that the error was inadvertent presumably this was not a personal attack).
Give them a clear, specific explanation of what you want them to do about the problem.
Apologising
Express the apology in the beginning of the letter.
Put yourself in the customer´s shoes - how would you feel?
Don’t blame producers, systems or staff, do not use excuses.
Be solution oriented – emphasize what you can do for the customer.
Sign off respectfully with a hint that you would like to continue to work with the customer.
Isabelle T.G
Here are some of my thoughts on complaining or apologising in a working environment:
ReplyDeleteWhen complaining, I find that if you keep to the point without exaggerating the problem and keep a polite tone you will get further than if you ‘rant and rave’. In my experience people will always be more interested in trying to help if they feel that you are genuine.
If and when I need to apologise at work, I will admit my responsibility and ‘hold my hands up’. Then try to work on a solution to the problem that I have caused and -hopefully, I will have learned something for the future.
1. When you need to complain about something try to keep calm and professionell instead of being angry and inpolite.
ReplyDelete2. When it comes to appologising always admit that you have done wrong and try to make up for what you have done.
3. One time I bought a small bag of candy and inside I found a big piece of plaster in the same shape as the rest of the candy. I sent a letter to the company with the piece of plaster and explainted how dangerous it would have been if a child hade mistaken it for candy änd eaten it. The company then sent me a letter appoligising for their mistake, thanked me for letting them know about it and several gift certificates. I think this is a good way of making up for a mistake.
Warm-up 4 by Sofia Malmer
ReplyDeleteComplaining and apologising –my best tips..
When I need to really complain I always try to get in to by “business roll”. I have had to make some complaining and apologising at work so I’ve had my share of practice!
When I say I get into my “business roll” I mean that I believe it is important to stay focused, professional and objective. One could still sound demanding.
I think that I tend to use more power-words like “unacceptable”, “crucial”, and so on.
If I’m not to upset, I also think through the conversation a bit before calling – it’s usually a company I call when complaining – what have they done wrong? What might they say in their defence? What can I say against their arguing?
It is of course also always important to stay polite, e.g. no use of bad language. If the other person should use impolite language, I feel that they have lost the arguing. No need to sink to their level!
My favourite ending would be “If you have any further questions, you can contact my lawyer”. This sentence totally ends any discussion! This only happens in my fantasy though…
Apologising is also important to think through because an apology should not be something one just says. For example, if there has been a mistake at work, it is a bit difficult to both explain why and still not sound like I’m trying to throw the blame on someone else.
The best apology to a customer is probably to just say what happened and to say I’m sorry about this” or “I really apologise”. I also think an apology benefits from being short and objective.