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Individual project 6: Sensitive Letters

 

Compose two letters, meeting these stipulations:

  • 200-250 words for each (excluding to, date, signature, etc.)

  • On company letterhead you design (it can be basic--or you can work from a template online), formatted in any reasonable business letter style from previous coursework or from our textbook.

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

  • Above all else be mindful that you want your audience to think well of you and your company after reading your letter. You want very much to retain their business.



Letter 1: Compose an adjustment letter following this scenario (note that adjustment letters indicate how you aim to satisfy the recipient for a mistake or problem for which 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 fixing up 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 guidance from pp. 354-55 in our textbook--or from previous PFWR coursework) 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, 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 the damaged filter he sent along with his complaint letter as "evidence" has tested positive for formerly-moist dog poop.)

The one-year warranty indicates expressly that Ted's Excellent is not responsible for damage caused by failure to clean properly all three filters after each use, with a soft towel or brush and lukewarm water only.

You are rejecting Mr. Newman's request for replacement or repair, but you must do all you can to keep him thinking favorably of Ted's Excellent Home Appliances and your product line. Ideally he'll remain a customer for years, right?

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 6 dropbox in D2L.