Part Five. Editing and Rewriting (Cont'd) Complaint Letter Reply: Business's Point of View Concept: Companies often get angry complaint letters from consumers. To retain customer goodwill, employees who reply to complaint letters should follow some guidelines. -Don't start with boring warm-up sentences. --Always be polite.. -Talk about what you can do first, and then explain why you can't do something the customer has asked for, if that's the case. -Do a bit more than you're asked for, if you can. -If the company is in the wrong, accept the responsibility. -Don't try to tell the customer how he or she thinks or feels to build a false sense of friendship. -Always use a sincere closing, not an impersonal, abrupt ending. Directions: Write a reply from the business's point of view to the consumer in the previous exercise. Here are some faulty ideas on what to say. Revise them according to the listed guidelines and then write the body of a brief reply. This letter is in reply to your missive of July 4 regarding your purchase of and sub- sequent misfortune with our Whizzo fan. • Man, you must be crazy if you think we're going to pay for your cat's psychologi- cal help. • The manufacturer we buy from has had problems, but we think the new shipment of fans is OK. • We know you'll be pleased to hear we're sending you another fine Whizzo fan. • Normally, we would also send a dissatisfied customer a $25 gift certificate, but that won't be possible in this case. • With customers like you, who needs enemies? • Have a nice day.
