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I thought "provisionally" was what I was looking for, as in:
"As a provisional measure, I'd like someone with Volkswagen Corporate to follow up with me next week."

What I really mean is:
"Just in case anything remains unresolved, I'd like someone to follow up."

But "just in case" sounds too informal.

By this I mean, "just in case all my car's issues aren't solved by then."

But when I looked up "provisional" in the dictionary, the closest I could find was these: - "accepted or adopted tentatively; conditional; probationary." - "providing or serving for the time being only;" - "existing only until permanently or properly replaced; temporary"

These make it sound like, unless something comes into conflict or I don't actually need them, then contact me, otherwise forget it.

What I'm trying to say is that "I want them to contact me no matter what because it might be that my issues are resolved, but I still want them to call me and that will not change." Maybe I would be better to say, "because of something uncertain that may turn out good or bad," I definitely want them to contact me to make sure everything is ok.

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6 Answers 6

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The "just in case" part of your question is written from your perspective. You want them to contact you "just in case". There is no need to risk confusing the person to whom you are communicating by addressing issues from your viewpoint. Instead, write in the language and world-view of the people to whom you are communicating.

Please have xyz contact me next week, to address any unresolved issues I may have.

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8

It's a fine distinction, but I think a slightly more "formal" phrasing would be...

Should anything remain unresolved, I'd like someone to follow up.

...but if you want to sound really formal/starchy, consider...

Lest any problems remain...

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  • But I want them to follow up no matter what because something might be unresolved.
    – orange80
    Commented Nov 1, 2011 at 4:09
  • 1
    Presumably you mean you want them to contact you because you don't trust them to decide whether the matter is fully resolved. I'm supposing that means you want to be told when they think they've fixed things, so you can check for yourself. In that case I don't really see why you need to mention anything being resolved at all - just say you'd like to be notified when they've done whatever they're going to do.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 1, 2011 at 4:20
  • Not that I don't trust them to decide, but I don't trust them to have adequate internal communication to be aware of the issues.
    – orange80
    Commented Nov 1, 2011 at 21:11
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    Well it's a rather strange context. Normally I'd expect a garage to deal with my car problem, not "Volkswagen Corporate". And normally I wouldn't bother asking an organisation of that size (I assume VC is a big outfit) to "get back to me", since I'd expect the chance of that happening to be about zero. Personally, I'd just say I'll contact you next week to check on progress.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 1, 2011 at 22:30
  • They totally will get back to you if you know how to talk to them. I have a 2-year/24k mi factory warranty extension to prove it.
    – orange80
    Commented Apr 10, 2013 at 5:39
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I'd like XYZ to call me next week in the event that there are unresolved issues...

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3

Why not call it what it really is?

Precaution

  1. An action taken in advance to protect against possible danger, failure, or injury; a safeguard: followed safety precautions when using heavy machinery.

  2. Caution practiced in advance; forethought or circumspection: a need for precaution when planning a vacation.

With this in mind, you may say something like this

As a precaution in case something happens, I'd like someone with Volkswagen Corporate to follow up with me next week.

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3

I'd probably say something like:

I request that someone from Volkswagen Corporate follow up with me next week to discuss any potentially unresolved issues.

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1

You can be very clear without the heavy verbiage that usually accompanies great formality by removing the word "just":

In case anything remains unresolved, I'd like someone to follow up.

The word "just" often weakens a sentence, inviting the other person to take you less seriously.

Even more clearly, if you want someone to do something for you, you can frame your sentence as a request:

Would you please contact me next week? Then we can check that everything has been resolved.

"Follow up" is pretty vague. The more specific you can be, the more likely the other person will understand what you want them to do.

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