Fig. 3. Requisition for Correspondence
Complaints and Changes of Address. In some lines of business, complaints and notices of change of addresses are quite numerous. An example is the business of publishing a weekly or monthly periodical. Many complaints are received from subscribers who claim that they do not receive the publication regularly. The great majority of these complaints can be traced to carelessness on the part of the subscriber in failing to notify of change of address.
In some businesses, the handling of complaints requires the services of a correspondent, and a clerk to trace the complaint and gather the information necessary before an adjustment can be made. In a smaller business, the work of looking up the information usually falls on the stenographer. But no matter who gathers the information, the correspondent never should attempt to answer or adjust a complaint until he has made a thorough investigation. Not until he understands all of the causes leading up to the complaint, can he correctly judge of its merits.
The policy of having all complaints handled by one man is in keeping with approved business practice. A man who makes a study of the subject soon learns to handle complaints to the ultimate satisfaction of all concerned. Being independent of the selfish interests of a particular department, he is much more likely to serve the best interests of the house than any other man in the organization. The sales manager, for instance, is not the best man to adjust complaints of customers; he is likely to be more liberal than is warranted, because of his fear of losing trade.
When a complaint has been investigated, everything possible should be done to remove the cause, and to guard against a similar complaint in the future. The seemingly little precautions count for much. In the matter of changes of address, for instance, it is a small matter for the one who makes the change to see that it is made not only on the ledger but on the sales list, the collection card, and in every place where the address is permanently recorded. Failure to make the change in one place may lead to endless confusion.
Stenographer's Reference Index. Here is a suggestion for the special benefit of the stenographer. Keep in your desk a reference index of names, addresses, and telephone numbers. There are certain persons and firms to whom your employer frequently writes letters. These are not in reply to letters, but are written in the usual course of business. The names of these persons should be on your index so that when you are told to write to Mr. Hunter or Mr. Roberts you will not be obliged to ask the address.
Probably your employer will not ask you to keep such an index, but surely will appreciate your knowing the addresses. When he finds that you always know the telephone numbers of the printer, the bank, and other local houses with whom he does business regularly, as well as the addresses of prominent out-of-town correspondents, he will at least not place it to your discredit.
But do not keep the addresses on sheets of paper that surely will soon become confusing on account of changes and additions which make an alphabetical arrangement impossible. Ask for a small card tray, holding 3"×5" cards, that will go in the drawer of your desk, a set of alphabetical indexes, and a supply of blank cards. Such an outfit can be bought at any first-class stationer's for a dollar or two. When you want to preserve an address, write it on a card, and file it alphabetically. If your employer will not supply the outfit, cut slips of paper and indexes to fit one of the small compartments in the desk drawer. Have the index, even if you must devise your own method of keeping it; you will at least have the satisfaction of saving many minutes of your time. And in the formation of a systematic habit you will be adding to your equipment.