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Business Letter Etiquette Help..

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 Deeply Scared (original poster administrator #2) posted at 5:48 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

If you don't know the name of the person you're sending a letter to, how do you address them?

Dear....

Sirs...

To Whom It May Concern...

"Don't give up, the beginning is always the hardest." My Mom:)

My tolerance for stupid shit is getting less and less.

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simplydevastated ( member #25001) posted at 5:56 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

I've always used To Whom it May Concern.

Me - BS, 40 (I'm not old...I'm vintage)
Two Wonderful children - DS11, DD8
Getting my ducks in a row for divorce... finally (4+ D-Days too many - listed in profile.)

posts: 6121   ·   registered: Jul. 31st, 2009   ·   location: In the darkest depths of hell!
id 6567339
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suckstobeme ( member #30853) posted at 5:56 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

I always say "Dear Sir or Madam" and I frequently don't know the identity of the letter recipient.

BW - me
ExWH - "that one"
D - 2011
You get what you put in, and people get what they deserve.
Hard as it may be, try to never give the OP any of your power or head space.

posts: 4028   ·   registered: Jan. 17th, 2011
id 6567340
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GabyBaby ( member #26928) posted at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

I also like "Dear Sir or Madam".

For some reason, "To Whom It May Concern" always sounded weird and dismissive to me.

Me - late 40s
DD(27), DS(24, PDD-NOS)

WH#2 (SorryinSac)- Killed himself (May 2015) in our home 6 days after being served divorce docs.
XWH #1 - legally married 18yrs. 12+ OW (that I know of).

I edit often for clarity/typos.

posts: 10094   ·   registered: Dec. 26th, 2009   ·   location: Here and There
id 6567342
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Undefinabl3 ( member #36883) posted at 6:27 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

I think it depends on what you are sending the letter about.

If you are looking for a specfic person (IE the General Manager, the President, the Controller) but don't know if they are male or female, then Sir or Madame would be best.

If you do not even know who the letter would address within the company and you are not sure which department would handle the request, To Whom It May Concern would be appropriate.

Me: 35 MH
Him: 41 MH
New online find 6/19/14 - shit
Phone Find 11/21/14 - I can't even right now.
1/26/15 - Started IC for me, DH won't go.
1/10/18 - Again?!? Online EA's

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id 6567374
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TattoodChinaDoll ( member #34602) posted at 6:27 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Just remember that the proper punctuation after To Whom It May Concern is ":"

Me: 35
WH: 37 TimeToManUp
Married: 14 years, together 19 years
3 daughters: 12, 8, 6, and 2 angel babies (2013 and 2014)

D-Day: 12/21/2011
Confronted him: 12/22/2011

This is the most difficult thing I've ever done.

posts: 1841   ·   registered: Jan. 20th, 2012   ·   location: New Jersey
id 6567375
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Tred ( member #34086) posted at 6:33 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Wait, you mean it's not "Yo! Wassup!"? My bad...

Actually, I looked it up:

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/businessletters/a/business-letter-salutation-examples.htm

Definition: To Whom It May Concern is a letter salutation that is used in business correspondence when you don't have a specific person to whom you are writing.

It is appropriate to use To Whom It May Concern when making an inquiry, but you don't have a contact person to address your letter to.

When addressing a letter To Whom It May Concern, the entire phrase is typically capitalized, then followed by a colon:

To Whom It May Concern:

In addition

Business Letter Salutation Examples

Dear Mr. Smith

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Dear Ms. Jones

Dear Jane Doe

Dear First Name (if you know the person well)

Dear Dr. Haven

Dear Dr. and Mrs. Haven

Follow the salutation with a colon or comma, a space, and then start the first paragraph of your letter. For example:

Dear Mr. Smith:

First paragraph of letter.

When You Don't Have a Contact Person

If you don't have a contact person at the organization, you could either leave off the salatuation and start with the first paragraph of your letter or use a general salulation.

General Salutations for Business Letters

Dear Hiring Manager

To whom it may concern

Dear Human Resources Manager

Dear Sir or Madam

Married: 27 years (14 @JFO) D-Day: 11/09/11"Ohhhhh...shut up Tred!" - NOT the official SI motto (DS)

posts: 5890   ·   registered: Dec. 2nd, 2011
id 6567381
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simplydevastated ( member #25001) posted at 6:40 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Wait, you mean it's not "Yo! Wassup!"? My bad...

Me - BS, 40 (I'm not old...I'm vintage)
Two Wonderful children - DS11, DD8
Getting my ducks in a row for divorce... finally (4+ D-Days too many - listed in profile.)

posts: 6121   ·   registered: Jul. 31st, 2009   ·   location: In the darkest depths of hell!
id 6567392
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 Deeply Scared (original poster administrator #2) posted at 7:02 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Thanks everyone!!

I'm going to go with Dear Sir or Madame.

I appreciate all the feedback!

"Don't give up, the beginning is always the hardest." My Mom:)

My tolerance for stupid shit is getting less and less.

posts: 210060   ·   registered: May. 31st, 2002
id 6567412
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lynnm1947 ( member #15300) posted at 7:04 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Dear sir or madam:

Age: 64..ummmmmmm, no...............65....no...oh, hell born in 1947. You figure it out!

"I could have missed the pain, but I would have had to miss the dance." Garth Brooks

posts: 8765   ·   registered: Jul. 11th, 2007   ·   location: Toronto, Canada
id 6567415
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tushnurse ( member #21101) posted at 7:37 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

I find that

Dear Tardbait, or Dear Fucknut work equally well. Oh wait we aren't sending this to the help line people that crahsed my system this week.

To whom it may concern is my go to.

Me: FBSHim: FWSKids: 23 & 27 Married for 32 years now, was 16 at the time.D-Day Sept 26 2008R'd in about 2 years. Old Vet now.

posts: 20380   ·   registered: Oct. 1st, 2008   ·   location: St. Louis
id 6567457
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Rebreather ( member #30817) posted at 7:41 PM on Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

I throw away everything that says TWIMC on it. It feels spammy.

I prefer Dear Title, or Dear Sir or Madam.

Me BS
Him WH
2 ddays in '07
Rec'd.
"The cure for the pain, is the pain." -Rumi

posts: 8016   ·   registered: Jan. 13th, 2011
id 6567470
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