Topics for Week 7

1. Topics for Week 7 • Assignment 4 Discussion • Routine Letters • Goodwill Messages • Negative News • Quiz • Due Next Week: Team Project Report • Due in Two Weeks: Excel, PowerPoint Assignment 5

2. Persuasive Letter Discussion • “I” Domination (page 409) • What are a dean’s interests? • Focus on reader; not writer • Persuasive letter is asking a favor • Letter versus e-mail or memo • Mixed or open punctuation (page A-3) • Phone number and e-mail address location • Creative verbs and adverbs or mainly the facts • Aggressive, forceful, “I” and “you” or third person

3. Persuasive Letter Discussion (2) • Punctuation • Numbers one through ten • Percentage • Oregonian • Dates as May 8, not May 8th • There and their • P. O. Box

4. Persuasive Letter Discussion (3) • General Writing Protocol • Do not use first name when you use title and last name • Can use an acronym in business letter, report, e-mail or memo but must spell out first, for example, School of Business Administration (SBA)

5. Routine Letters and Goodwill Messages

6. When to Write Goodwill Messages • Thanks • Recognition • Sympathy

7. Hints for Goodwill Messages • Send the goodwill message promptly • Focus solely on the receiver • Be specific • Be sincere • Be spontaneous • Make it short

8. Routine Claim Letters

9. When to Write Direct Routine Messages • Direct request for information or action • Direct claims • Replies to information or requests • Adjustment letters • Letters of recommendation

10. The Direct Pattern • Frontload in the opening • Explain in the body • Be specific and courteous in the closing

11. Opening A3 • State purpose. Immediately describe desired action. • When the remedy is obvious, state it briefly. Please send 12 copies of Model Memos to replace the copies of Business Proposals sent in error. • When the remedy is less obvious, explain your goal. Please clarify your policy regarding reservations and late arrivals.

12. Body ROC • Clarify the problem and justify your request. • Provide details objectively and concisely. • Be organized and coherent. • Avoid becoming angry or trying to fix blame. • Include names of individuals and dates of previous actions. • Consider highlighting information.

13. Closing • End courteously with a tone that promotes goodwill. • Request specific action, including end date, if appropriate. Note: Act promptly in making claims, and keep a copy of your message.

14. Activity In pairs. . . . Write to Kinko’s about your dissatisfaction with their service, using the information in the scenario below: • Your company, Fabulous Foods Inc., has outsourced their printing to Kinko’s for the last 6 months and been satisfied with the business. • Fabulous Foods Inc. is planning a large June 1 conference to which they have invited 50 vendors to attend. • You ordered 55 brochures to be sent to you three days before the conference. Kevin, at Kinko’s, took your order and confirmed the order. • When the brochures arrived, you noticed that the print was smudged on ten of them and another five had crease marks on the back page of the brochure.

15. Granting Claims and Making Adjustments

16. Opening • When approving a customer’s claim, announce the good news immediately. • Avoid sounding grudging or reluctant.

17. Body • Strive to win back the customer’s confidence; consider explaining what went wrong (if you know). • Concentrate on how diligently your organization works to avoid disappointing customers. • Be careful about admitting responsibility; check with your boss for legal counsel first.

18. Body • Avoid negative language (trouble, neglect, fault). • Don’t blame customers, even if they are at fault. • Don’t blame individuals or departments in your organization. • Don’t make unrealistic promises.

19. Closing • Show appreciation that the customer wrote. • Extend thanks for past business. • Refer to your desire to be of service.

20. Common Weaknesses in Letters • Failure to open directly by identifying the main idea • Failure to group like items together • Language is too wordy

21. Activity In teams of no more than 3 people. . . . Write an adjustment letter in response to the claim made in the scenario below: You are the Customer Affairs Coordinator at Kinko’s and have received a claim from Fabulous Foods, Inc. about the poor quality of their printed brochures. Your job is to write an adjustment letter to Fabulous Foods, Inc. The following has transpired: • Kinko’s has been the vendor of choice for Fabulous Foods, Inc.’s printed documents for the last 6 months. • Fabulous Foods, Inc. just sent Kinko’s a claim letter about poor quality printing in their brochures that they ordered for a conference. They claimed that the print was smudged on ten of the brochures and that there were crease marks on the back page of five other brochures. • The address of Fabulous Foods is 1230 N.W. First Street, Portland, Oregon 97231

22. Follow-up Activity Pass your letter to another group and ask them to critique it for the following: • Reveals the good news in the opening • Explains the adjustment in a positive way • Regains the confidence of the customer • Uses sensitive language • Closes in a positive way • Is written with concise and clear sentences Review the group’s revisions and discuss.

23. Negative News

24. Goals in Communicating Bad News • Maintain goodwill • Make the reader understand and accept the bad news • Promote and maintain a good image of the writer and the writer’s business/organization • Make the message so clear that additional correspondence is unnecessary • Avoid legal liability

25. Avoiding Three Causes of Legal Problems • Abusive language • “Good-guy” syndrome • Careless language

26. Careless Language unsafe • Avoid making statements potentially damaging or misinterpreted • Avoid giving too much information • Recognize even deleted e-mails or IMs can be recovered and subpoenaed slippery floors faulty equipment managers get preferential treatment always taking a break

27. Sending Bad News to Customers

28. Direct vs. Indirect Pattern • When is the direct pattern appropriate to use? • When is it best to use the indirect pattern?

29. The Indirect Pattern Buffer Reasons Bad News Close

30. Buffer • Express appreciation for the customer’s patronage or for his or her writing (e.g. compliment). • Show agreement on some point, review the facts, or show understanding.

31. Ms. Cheryl Neal MIKE Program PO Box 263 North Plains, OR 97133 Dear Ms. Neal: Thank you for the information you provided in conjunction with your request for a contribution from The Standard.

32. Reasons • Justify the bad news with objective and specific reasons. • Explain company policy, but avoid blaming the customer or hiding behind company policy. • Look for reader benefits, using positive language.

33. Bad News • Use the passive voice • NOT “We cannot ship your complete order at this time.” but “Your order cannot be shipped at this time.“ • Revise. . .We do not cover car rental insurance for large SUVs. • Revise. . . We can no longer give tours of the factory. • Emphasize the positive aspect • Your order will be shipped May 1.

34. Bad News • Suggest a compromise or an alternative. • To inform customers of discontinued catalogs. . . • Although we no longer print a complete catalog, we now offer all of our catalog choices at our Web site, which is always current. • To inform smokers of a new regulation. . . • Even though smoking is not allowed within 5 feet of a state building, the college has set aside 16 outdoor smoking areas. • To inform customer of need to pay before goods are delivered. . . • We have your fresh fruit basket ready and will ship as soon as you call us with your credit card number.

35. Dear Ms. Neal: Thank you for the information you provided in conjunction with your request for a contribution from The Standard. A contribution to your organization cannot be made at this time. We continue to receive a growing number of requests for assistance from many very deserving organizations like yours. Requests for funding are far exceeding the limits of our resources. Choosing among the many requests we receive is always one of our most difficult decisions.

36. Close • Provide a resale or sales promotion. • Coupons • Discount • Upcoming sales offer • Look forward to future business, offer best wishes, refer to gifts. • Don’t mention the bad news.

37. Dear Ms. Neal: Thank you for the information you provided in conjunction with your request for a contribution from The Standard. A contribution to your organization cannot be made at this time. We continue to receive a growing number of requests for assistance from many very deserving organizations like yours. Requests for funding are far exceeding the limits of our resources. Choosing among the many requests we receive is always one of our most difficult decisions. The Standard salutes your efforts in our community and we send our best wishes for your organization's continued success. Sincerely, Ann Allen Community Relations Specialist

38. Common Weaknesses in Negative Messages • Failure to open with a buffer statement before communicating the bad news • Opening statement sounds insincere (We would love to be able to. . .) • Little effort is made to retain goodwill of customer • Failure to present alternatives in a way that promotes goodwill and future business

39. Ineffective Customer Refusal

40. Dear Mr. Waters: Unfortunately, we cannot allow you to apply the lease payments you’ve been making for the past ten months toward the purchase of your Sako 600 copier. Company policy does not allow such conversion. Have you ever wondered why we can offer such low leasing and purchase prices? Obviously, we couldn’t stay in business long if we agreed to proposals such as yours. You’ve had the Sako 600 copier for ten months now, Mr. Waters, and you say you like its versatility and reliability. Perhaps we could interest you in another Sako model – one that’s more within your price range. Do give us a call. Sincerely,

41. Critical Thinking Questions 1. What is the purpose of the letter? What goals should the sender have? 2. What prevents this letter from achieving those goals? 3. What pattern of development would work best for this letter? Has it been followed? 4. What idea could be used as a buffer to open an improved version of this letter? Write a buffer. 5. How could the bad news be subordinated? Write a statement that subordinates the bad news. 6. What friendly news could be used in the closing? Write a closing statement.

42. Improved Customer Refusal

43. Dear Mr. Waters: We’re happy to learn that you are enjoying the use of the Sako copier you’ve been leasing for the past ten months. Like our many other customers, you have discovered that Sako copiers offer remarkable versatility and reliability. One of the reasons we’re able to offer these outstanding copiers at such low leasing rates and equally low purchase prices is that we maintain a slim profit margin. If our program included a provision for applying lease payments toward the purchase price, our overall prices would have to be higher. Although lease payments cannot be credited toward purchase price, we can offer you other Sako models that are within your price range. The Sako 400 delivers the same reliability with nearly as many features as the Sako 600. Please let us demonstrate the Sako 400 to your staff in your office, Mr. Waters. Our representative, Tracy Wilson, will call you soon to arrange a time. Sincerely,

44. Activity: Part 1 In groups of 3. . . • Write a buffer for one of the following scenarios: • Exercise 8.4 in page 227 of in your textbook • Dell's recall of 4.1 million Sony-made laptop batteries sold between April 2004 and July 2006. The company plans to ship free battery replacements to customers but they will have to wait 20 business days for the delivery

45. Activity: Part 2 • Pass your document to another group. • Read the other group’s buffer and check for the following: • Does it express appreciation for the customer’s patronage? • Does it show agreement on some point, review the facts, or show understanding? • Is it well written?? • Make recommendations for corrections and return to the writers of the buffer. • Collect recommendations on your buffer and make necessary revisions.

46. Activity: Part 3 In the same groups of 3. . . • Write a reason and bad news for the same scenario. • Pass to another group. • Read the group’s reason and bad news and check for the following: • Does it justify the bad news with objective reasons? • Does it avoid blaming the customer or hiding behind company policy? • Does it state reader benefits? • Does it state the bad news objectively? • Is it well written? • Make recommendations for corrections and return to the writers. • Collect recommendations on your reason and bad news and make necessary revisions.

47. Activity: Part 3 In the same groups of 3. . . • Write a close for the same scenario. • Read the group’s close and check for the following: • Does it suggest an action or an alternative. • Does it look forward to future business, offer best wishes, refer to gifts. • Is it well written? • Revise your close. • Sign your group letter. • Read the letter to the class. • Turn in your signed assignment with names of your group on it.

48. Topics for Week 7 • Assignment 4 Discussion • Routine Letters • Goodwill Messages • Negative News • Quiz • Due Next Week: • Read Chapter 11 and Pages 355-360 • Submit Team Project Report • Due in Two Weeks: Excel, PowerPoint Assignment 5