Chapter 8: Case Problem numbers:

1.      

You are the franchised dealer for Starlight satellite TV. Last week you ran a four-room installation special in the local newspaper that offered free installation, one-month free service, and a free DVR or HD receiver. Martha Simon, a customer of yours who had the Starlight satellite system installed two years ago, sent an e-mail to you yesterday asking for a free upgrade on her DVR and one free month of service. She had read the special advertisement and thought it was unfair that new customers would get a better bargain than she did when her installation took place. She paid extra for her DVR with installation and did not receive any free service time. The company cannot afford the cost of opening the special offer to current customers. Write a response to Ms. Simon’s e-mail. Use effective content consistent with the indirect plan. Keep the language positive. Explain that the special applies to new customers only and that expanding the customer base may help reduce future service cost for all customers. Also, tell her that as a current customer she can receive a 20 percent discount on the cost of a DVR upgrade.

2.      

Seafood Specialties Restaurant offers a shrimp and lobster tail special each Friday evening.

You are manager of the restaurant. On Tuesday, you received a request from a customer,

Shipley Masters, who ate last Friday’s special. According to Mr. Masters, shortly thereafter, he had to go to the hospital emergency room and have his stomach pumped because of food poisoning. He believes his problem came from the Friday special at your restaurant and asks that you pay his hospital emergency room bill. He did not send a copy of the bill or any evidence of his illness. His letter stated the charges were $275. This is the only complaint that you have received; therefore, you have doubts that the illness came from your restaurant. Write a letter refusing the request unless documentation is provided, but make the letter positive to maintain Mr. Masters’ goodwill as a regular customer.

3.      

Wallenda Jorgenson is in the real estate market to buy a home. She has been attending open houses on her own and has found a house that she wants to buy. She has asked Daniel Thompson, a real estate agent in her town, to be her agent for the purchase. She applied for a loan with a local bank, but her loan was refused because her credit score is too low. She has phoned Mr. Thompson to ask him to help her purchase the house. Word an oral message for Mr. Thompson’s phone response that tells her that she will need to be preapproved for a loan before making a formal offer to buy the house. He will help her purchase a home as soon as she can be preapproved for a loan. Also, offer to contact her if a similar property comes on the market with an owner who is willing to carry the loan. In addition to wording the telephone response, write a brief paragraph explaining how your message follows a direct or an indirect plan and justify your selection.

4.      

You are the financial aid officer for Liston Community College. Mary Alverez applied for a Pell Grant but did not qualify. Develop the negative message about the loan application. Suggest that you will try to help Mary obtain support from a local organization. Add details as needed. This message will be given face-to-face. Write your oral message. Partner with another student to role play, taking turns for each to play the part of the financial aid officer and of Mary Alverez. Discuss your positive or negative feelings when you listened to the message in your role as Mary.

5.      

Write an e-mail canceling an appointment that you had scheduled this Thursday at 2 p.m. to meet with your production manager to discuss product goals for the next six weeks. Reschedule the meeting for next week on Thursday at the same time. Use the direct plan.

Writer’s workshop

The following items may be sentence fragments or contain errors in subject–verb agreement,

Pronoun antecedent agreement, comma and semicolon placement, number display, capitalization, spelling, word choice, possessives, modifier clarity and placement, or parallelism.

Rewrite the sentences to make them correct.

1.  The growth of career academies has been steady but very gradual during the first two decades of its inseption but since the 1990’s the growth in the number of academys have accelerated.

2. The 1st grade class visited a museum on March 5th.

3. You should do more for your customers then he or she expects.

4.  Options for retaining an employe with poor performance includes restoring effective performance; modify the position, and moving the employe to another position.

5.  Because of their high overhead costs, most of the customers for Overseas United hasswitched to another supplier.

6.  Representatives of Cummins high school headed by the varsity cheer leaders is encouraging support for their Wildcats in the state basketball tournament.

7.  Assignments for the class was to give an oral report; write a 2-page summary; and a final exam.

8. A good pair of binoculars are essential to bird watching.

9.  Soy candles burn cleaner, longer, and are highly scented, they support the American soybean farmer.

10.  School districts are reporting an increase in their teacher’s absenteeism; 5% in each of the past sixteen years.