Compliments slip

Compliments slip

A compliments slip (or with compliments slip) is a slip of paper that contains the same name and address information that would be on a letterhead of formal letter stationery, the pre-printed salutation "with compliments" or "with our/my compliments", and space afterwards for a short handwritten message to be added.[1][2][3][4] It is used in correspondence, as an enclosure for other material.[3]

Compliments slips, which are informal, can sometimes substitute for more formal letters of reply.[3] For example, the response to a request for a product catalogue or a price list may simply be the price list or catalogue, with a compliments slip attached, rather than with a formal letter of reply.[4][5] The inclusion of compliments slips in responses to such routine requests is often seen by businesses as a necessary step in maintaining good public relations.[3]

There is no fixed size for compliments slips. They may vary in size from the size of a business or visiting card, from which compliments slips originally evolved, to the size of a whole sheet of letter writing paper.[3] Eric Bain recommends that they be of a size suitable for placing inside an envelope without more than one fold, and large enough to be noticed when included in a parcel.[6] (Standard letter stationery outside the U.S. often requires folding twice in order to be placed inside envelopes.[7]) To this end he recommends that compliments slips be size A6 paper.[6] Miller recommends size A5 for stationery that doubles up as both compliments slip and headed letter paper.[8]

Since they are informal, compliments slips are not substitutes in those cases where a formal letter is required for legal reasons. In building contract work, for example, a drawing or a copy letter sent to a contractor with a compliments slip attached is not a formal instruction to perform the work on the drawing or letter. It is at most an invitation to perform that work, at no charge to the employer. A valid instruction would be a formal letter of instruction, or an instruction provided on a printed "Architect's Instruction" form (signed by the architect).[9]

Falconer states that a compliments slip should never be sent instead of a personal letter, and that it is better to send a personal letter in response to a customer enquiry, because it provides a personal touch.[10] Hailey recommends an alternative strategy for providing a personal touch: removing the salutation from compliments slips, thus forcing the entire note to be hand-written.[11]

References

  1. ^ David Whitbread (2001). The design manual. UNSW Press. pp. 73. ISBN 0868406589. 
  2. ^ Mark Slim (2003). Explore Essential English. A.D.R. London Limited. pp. 461. ISBN 1901197123. 
  3. ^ a b c d e Maurice Rickards, Michael Twyman, Sally De Beaumont and Amoret Tanner (2000). "compliments slip". The encyclopedia of ephemera. Routledge. pp. 103. ISBN 0415926483. 
  4. ^ a b Diane Canwell, Jonathan Sutherland (2003). Edexcel leisure and tourism GCSE. Nelson Thornes. pp. 231. ISBN 0748780319. 
  5. ^ Shirley Taylor and Leonard Gartside (2004). Model business letters, e-mails & other business documents. Pearson Education. pp. 64. ISBN 0273675249. 
  6. ^ a b Eric K. Bain (1970). The theory and practice of typographic design. Hastings House. pp. 95. 
  7. ^ Graham Davis (2007). The Designer's Toolkit. Chronicle Books. pp. 88. ISBN 0811860515. 
  8. ^ Stephen Miller (2002). Starting and running a sandwich-coffee bar. How To Books Ltd. pp. 72. ISBN 1857038053. 
  9. ^ David Chappell, Vincent Powell-Smith, Derek Marshall, and Simon Cavender (2001). "Instructions". Building Contract Dictionary. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 219. ISBN 0632039647. 
  10. ^ Angus D. Falconer (2008). "Business latters and how to write them". Good English—How to Speak and Write It. READ BOOKS. pp. 376. ISBN 1443702900. 
  11. ^ Linda Hailey (2001). Kickstart Marketing. Allen & Unwin. pp. 234. ISBN 1865083879. 

Further reading

  • Alessandra Salvaggio and Gabriella Franchi (2006). "Risposte" (in Italian). Lettere commerciali in inglese. Milano: Edizioni FAG Srl. pp. 61–63. 

External links


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