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Business letter symbol question

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) » Business & Finance English

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Latest post Fri, Apr 3 2009 11:01 PM by Anonymous. 11 replies.
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Anonymous  +  684902 Mon, 09 Mar 09 07:54 PM
 Does anyone happen to know what"/s" means in a business letter? Does it have to do with a signature? It's at the bottom of the letter after the sender's initials so it looks like this "rq/s"  Thanks in advance!!
Anonymous
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Grammar Geek  +  684904 Mon, 09 Mar 09 08:15 PM

It most likely means the person whose name is on the letter as the sender didn't physically sign/send the letter him-/herself, but someone else did, with that person's permission. The person may have been out of the office, for example, but thought it was important for the letter to go out as soon as possible and not wait for his/her return.

 
Grammar Geek
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Anonymous, 260 days ago
Well the lady that typed the letter sent the letter to another person.  He claims he never got the letter, but the copy that I am looking at came from her.  It was mailed by her with no other person being involved.  This is a hypothetical scenario, but it's an assignment and I cannot find anyone who knows what the /s means in the letter.  The original letter was supposedly signed, but this copy has the sender's name typed then under that her initials followed by "/s".  I don't know what the /s means here.  
Clive  +  684936 Mon, 09 Mar 09 10:21 PM
Hi,
If Jane Smith is the boss and Mary Brown is her secretary and types her letters, it's common for the bottom left corner of such a letter to have
JS/MB, or I suppose lower case would not be unusual.
It means that Mary Brown (MB) typed it.

Perhaps in this case, the typist just put her first initial?

Best wishes, Clive
Clive
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Canada
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Anonymous, 260 days ago
 Hey I appreciate your help.  In this case the sender is the only person who typed the letter.  Her initials appear before the "/s".  There are only 2 people involved.  The sender and the receiver.  Can the "s" refer to a signature, because the letter is not signed.  Thanks for your help!!
Clive  +  684961 Mon, 09 Mar 09 11:05 PM
Hi again,
Hey I appreciate your help.  In this case the sender is the only person who typed the letter.  Her initials appear before the "/s".  There are only 2 people involved.  The sender and the receiver. 

Can the "s" refer to a signature, because the letter is not signed.  I'm not aware of any such convention. I doubt it very much.

It's not an email, right?

Clive
Clive
Anonymous, 260 days ago
 Right.  It is a typed letter that was mailed.
Clive  +  685030 Tue, 10 Mar 09 03:10 AM
Hi,

Can you copy the whole letter here, word for word? Or at least the last few lines and the bottom part?

Clive
Clive
Anonymous, 260 days ago
Sure here is what I got:

 

Roberta Quinlan

(address)

 

June 16, 2006

Brian Kane

(address)

 

Dear Brian:

 It was a pleasure to visit with you this afternoon, and I write to confirm our understanding.

You as the sole sharehold of Kane electronics, desire to dispose of your stock holdings in the company by way of an exchange of shares of a corporation with a good investment future.  If I arrange for such an exchange, which is acceptable to you, Kane electronics will pay me a calculated fee at between 3-5% of the closing value to you, dependent upon my time and effort necessary on your behalf.

If I do not hear from you, I will assume that this arrangement is acceptable to you.  I already have a prospect in mind and will be in touch with you in the near future.

Warm regards,

Roberta Quinlan

rq/s (here is what I'm trying to figure out...what does the /s mean?)

 

Hope this can help you help me.  Thank you for any help!!

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