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General Training Task 1 — thank-you letter: Thanking a supermarket manager after an accident. This page gives the exam question and a band 9 model answer, with the tone, opening and closing lines that suit the letter. Aim for at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.
You recently had an accident in a supermarket. Write a letter to the supermarket manager.
In your letter:
• Describe what happened
• Explain how the staff helped you
• Suggest ways the supermarket could prevent similar accidents in the future
| Letter type | Thank-You |
| Tone | Formal |
| Opening | Dear Sir or Madam, |
| Closing | Yours faithfully, |
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for the exceptional care and professionalism demonstrated by your staff following an accident I experienced at your Riverside branch on Saturday afternoon. While walking through the fresh produce aisle, I slipped on a patch of water that had collected near the refrigeration units and fell quite heavily, injuring my wrist in the process.
I was particularly impressed by how quickly your employees responded. A member of staff immediately called for assistance, another brought a chair and offered me water, and the duty manager stayed with me until I felt well enough to leave. She also arranged for the area to be cleaned and cordoned off while I was still being attended to, which I appreciated greatly.
Although I am grateful for the staff's response, I would suggest installing more prominent wet-floor signage near refrigeration units and scheduling more frequent floor inspections during busy periods. These simple measures could help prevent similar accidents from occurring in future.
Yours faithfully,
Strategy
Unusual combination: thank-you + suggestion. Open with the incident briefly, spend more time on the gratitude (bullet 2) and
suggestions (bullet 3). Keep formal throughout.
Common trap
This is formal — you do NOT know the manager personally. Never use "Dear Manager" — use "Dear Sir or
Madam" followed by "Yours faithfully".
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