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This assignment asks you to write a response to an unhappy customer. The letter will be a combination of good news and bad news, since you will be able to meet some, but not all, of the customer's demands. Here is the situation:
You are a customer relations manager for a large Internet Service Provider (CosmicNet). The customer is unhappy with the service he received from your telephone helpdesk; the situation has escalated and been passed up to you. The customer is asking for a refund of the service fee (which you are authorized to grant), but he is also asking for other remunerations, including that the helpdesk employee who originally handled the problem be fired (which you have no authority to do).
The letter which you receive is as follows:
Dear service manager,
Beginning in May of 2008, I experienced a number of service outages ranging from a few minutes to several hours. I use the Internet to telecommute, and these outages forced me to drive into Alexandria to conduct my business at the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, where I am a junior partner.
Such outages do happen occasionally; I realize that. But these service outages caused me some hardship (both time and money). I called your helpdesk on three different occasions, at first merely to inquire about the expected length of the service interruption. I was kept on hold for nearly 10 minutes! And the helpdesk employee who answered (he said his name was Chris) said he didn't know how long the outage might last. In fact, I don't think he even knew about it!
The next day (Sunday May 25), service was interrupted again, this time for two hours. I called Chris again (or someone who sounded like him), and asked if he knew service was out in my area. He did not, but suggested that I check my computer connection., as if this was my fault. I didn't appreciate his accusatory attitude, but service resumed later that day and I thought no more about it.
Then a week later, service went out for two whole days, and I had to drive into my office to complete some important paperwork. I was quite angry when I called your helpdesk on Thursday June 5. Luckily, I got Chris again, and I informed him that I wanted this problem fixed, and I wanted reimbursed for my time driving to an from my office (at a rate of $50/hour). Chris told me I was crazy to expect CosmicNet to pay for my travel expenses! He actually laughed at me!!
This is no way to treat a paying customer! I rely on your service for my work, but I promise you, I will find another ISP unless you refund my service fee for one month of unreliable service ($49), plus one hour of travel ($50). I also demand that "Chris" be fired from the helpdesk. I expect a check for $99 and a copy of Chris' pink slip by close of business Friday.
Thank you for your attention to this matter,
George Navelgazer, Esq.
You have been authorized to refund Mr Navelgazer $49 for lost service, but you cannot reimburse his travel expenses. Nor do you have authority to fire Chris (your helpdesk personnel are outsourced, and many of them use the name "Chris" when dealing with customers); even if you could fire him, legally you could not send a copy of a dismissal notice to a third party. You can only reimburse Mr Navelgazer $49. You are not authorized to offer him anything else.
Mr. Navelgazer's address is
10987 Starr Court
Annandale VA 22031
Your company's address is
CosmicNet, Inc.
109 Main Street, Suite 2A
Fairfax VA 22033
The letter should be at least 3 paragraphs (one to two pages), single-spaced, block format.
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.