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Individual project 5: Sensitive Letters

 

Two letters, meeting these stipulations:

  • Length of between 200 and 250 words for each (excluding to, date, signature, etc.)

  • On company letterhead you design, formatted as instructed for business letters in either of our texts (from template is fine)

  • Complete one Audience and Use Profile Sheet linked here for each letter (leave blank any lines that don't apply).

  • Be mindful that you need your audience to think well of you and your company after reading your letter.

Letter 1: Compose an adjustment letter following this scenario (recall that an adjustment letter indicates how you aim to satisfy the recipient for a mistake or problem for which you or your organization is responsible):

You work for Lowcountry Clockworks, Incorporated, a parts distributor based in Summerville, SC, and you have received a complaint from an irate customer who ordered a Hermle Clock Movement model 451 unit, but by an error in your shipping department, he received a Hermle model 261, which doesn't fit the clock the customer is repairing. The customer, John D. Philips, is not a professional clock repair technician, but a retired U.S. Army colonel who is repairing a grandfather clock inherited from his mother. His letter of complaint expressed significant frustration, as not only was the wrong part sent, it took two weeks for delivery, despite an advertised promise of three-day delivery. Col. Philips lives at 4145 St. Croix Dr., Dallas TX 75229.

Letter 2: Compose a "bad news" letter (following the guidelines laid out in our Professional and Business Writing text) addressing this scenario:

You work for Ted's Excellent Home Appliances, in Waxhaw, NC and you have received a complaint from a Mr. Alfred G. Newman about a vacuum cleaner he purchased two months ago, requesting warranty replacement or free repair of the vacuum that quit working after he poured gasoline into its filter housing. The gasoline ruined the mesh filter material, allowing debris to enter the suction chamber of the device and making it permanently inoperable. (This is not included in Mr. Newman's letter, but if you are curious, I happen to know that he tried to vacuum up moist dog poop.) The one-year warranty indicates expressly that Ted's is not responsible for damage caused by failure to clean all three filters, after each use, with a soft towel or brush and lukewarm water. You are rejecting Mr. Newman's request for replacement or repair, but you should do all you can to keep him thinking favorably of Ted's Excellent Home Appliances and your product line. Mr. Newman's address is 2507 Savannah Hwy, Charleston SC 29414.


Submit both letters (each with its Audience and Use Profile) in PDF form to the Individual project 5 dropbox in D2L.