Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 10
7.9 Claim Denial: Going Ape After Botched Gorilla Party
To: Paul Littleton <plittleton@outlook.com>
From: Your Name <your e-mail address>
Subject: Gorilla Costume Inquiry
Cc:
Bcc:
Dear Mr. Littleton:
Thank you for telling us of the late arrival of your Gorilla Blinky Eye With Chest costume. Like
you, we are disappointed that it did not arrive in time for your Halloween party.
In checking our records, we note that your order arrived five days before Halloween. This is the
busiest time of the year for us, and our staff grows from 60 core employees to over 300 during
this season. We were, nevertheless, able to ship your order the next day, which is our promise to
We are dedicated to providing the best possible service to our customers. If you need a costume
by a specific date, please call our Customer Care Department (800-123-4567) to see if it’s
possible for us to deliver it in time. We invite you to visit our online catalog at buycostumes.com
to see the exciting new costumes we are receiving daily.
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 11
7.10 Claim Denial: Raising a Stink About a Charge for Smoking
in the Room
Current date
Mr. Trevor H. Taylor
580 Lottie Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Dear Mr. Taylor:
Metropol Grand Hotel is committed to providing an attractive setting and comfortable
surroundings for every guest’s visit. We realize that our guests have high expectations, and to
meet or exceed those expectations we recently completed a two-year plan to refurbish many
rooms with new carpets, upholstery, finishes, and draperies.
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 12
7.11 Customer Bad News: Putting the Brakes on Bakery Deliveries
Current date
Mr. Emil Broussard
Café Broussard
2013 West Lee Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70820
Dear Mr. Broussard:
We appreciate that you have been a loyal La Boulangerie customer since we opened our bakery
almost ten years ago. It has been a pleasure dealing with you and your staff at Café Broussard.
To ensure that your customers receive only the best products, we import high-quality ingredients
from around the world. The increasing costs of wheat, sugar, and other ingredients have meant
that many of our suppliers have had to increase their prices. As a result, our production costs
have grown over 20 percent in the last six months.
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 13
7.12 Customer Bad News: Blunder in Scheduling Fairytale
Cottage Wedding
In a memo students should outline a course of action, such as the following:
• Call each bride-to-be, describe the problem, and apologize.
• Explain why the problem occurred, what you are doing to resolve it, and how you will
prevent it from happening again.
Dear Ms. Brehm:
Please accept our sincere apology for the disruption of your wedding plans here at Sea Island.
We realize how distressing it is to change plans for such an important event in your life.
Normally, I personally schedule all Sea Island weddings. However, while I was gone for two
weeks last fall, two weddings were inadvertently scheduled for June 14. I can assure you that this
will not happen again as I have installed a new scheduling app that prevents double booking.
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 14
7.13 Customer Bad News: Which Elliptical for Commercial Gym?
To: Rudy Cardenas <rcardenas@24hourfitness.com>
From: Your Name <your e-mail address>
Subject: Your Order for 24-Hour Fitness Equipment
Cc:
Bcc:
Dear Mr. Cardenas:
Thank you for your order! Your new Olympic Benches, Stamina Power Towers, and Premier
Dumbbells have been shipped and should arrive on May 17 via UPS.
The Titanic 20 Elliptical, which you ordered, is a favorite of many of our home customers. It
offers an enjoyable aerobic workout without the harmful impact of running or walking.
However, most fitness centers purchase our Titanic 90 because it is larger, safer, and specifically
designed for the heavy use and varying needs of fitness customers.
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 15
7.14 Employee Bad News: Rising Tuition? You’re on Your Own
To: Sabrina Sparks <ssparks@firstfederalbank.com>
From: Your Name <your e-mail address>
Subject: Your Inquiry Regarding Tuition Reimbursement
Cc:
Bcc:
Sabrina,
We appreciate your thoughtful message requesting that First Federal Bank establish a program to
reimburse the costs of college expenses such as tuition and books.
You’re smart, Sabrina, in striving to further your education by returning to school to take
additional courses that improve your career skills. Thriving companies are able to offer tuition
reimbursement to selected employees when they return to school. These programs are expensive
to organizations because they involve not only the actual cost of tuition and books but also the
cost of program administration.
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 16
7.15 Employee Bad News: Only Employees Can Play
To: Staff Members
From: Your Name <your e-mail address>
Subject: Nonemployees on Intramural Sports Teams
Cc:
Bcc:
Several employees recently requested that friends and family members be invited to participate
in Portland Paper Company sports teams. Our intramural sports teams are a popular employee
social activity that we hope to continue.
Currently, our intramural teams are open to all employees of Portland. The company has eight
volleyball, tennis, and softball teams, with over 100 employees participating. Because most team
rosters are currently full, adding participants to the teams would require changing the team
Solutions – Chapter 7 ⚫ 17
7.16 Employee Bad News: Nixing Facebook at Work
To: Staff Members
From: Darcy M. Diamond <dmdiamond@marketingmatters.com>
Subject: Avoiding the Perils of Facebook
Cc:
Bcc:
Most of us would probably agree that sharing information on Facebook can lead to professional
networking opportunities. Social media and Web-based collaboration tools such as wikis can
increase productivity and create digitally savvy workers. However, by now most workers know
that overexposure or inappropriate behavior online can lead to privacy breaches and have very
negative consequences, including job loss.
Despite the obvious advantages and even fun aspects of social media such as Facebook, we are
highly concerned about the risk of confidential or privileged information leaking via social
networking sites. This concern has led us to formulate a detailed social networking policy, which
is available on our intranet. Although the use of Facebook and Twitter on company time is