13 May 2008

Enclosures: Should I use a Paperclip or Staple it?

Every day I check my Statcounter and that is how I find out what people searched to get on my blog. Someone recently queried whether they should use a staple or paperclip on correspondence when they are enclosing documents.

I spoke to a few assistants and we all agreed. Business correspondence with more than one page should be stapled. The enclosures should be paperclipped or clamped to the correspondence, not stapled to it. The only time I will staple it is when the attachments are cheques (1). It is important that the cheques stay with the correspondence.

If my enclosures are large bound documents with a clear cover, I will slip the correspondence behind the clear cover. Occasionally, I have received a box of documents and the correspondence is in an envelope taped to the outside of the box. I don't like this method because you are never sure if there is anything in the envelope or if it was just used for addressing purposes. 9 times out of 10 I have opened the envelope and it was empty. A large label would have been better to address the box and avoid the receiving assistant wondering if there was anything in it. I do however always look in the envelope, just in case.

(1) For my American friends, cheques is the Canadian spelling of 'checks'.

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