Article writing homework help
Article writing homework help. Part C: Direct Strategy Message
As area manager of 15 stores in a chain of bicycle shops, you have on your desk a letter that disturbs you. The customer, Mr. Paul Foster, ordered a bike, model AS-3166, on August 3, 2019, from Artie’s Schwann Shop in Vancouver, British Columbia. The order was paid in full, the bike to be delivered on about September 30.
On October 2, Mr. Foster was helping push a stalled car on an incline. The car began to roll backward and those pushing it were unable to control it. The result was that Mr. Foster was caught between the rear of the car and a wall. Initially the paramedics thought he had a fractured pelvis, but x-rays showed he was less seriously hurt than was first feared because he managed to twist free of most of the car’s weight. He had a massive bruise and considerable back-muscle trauma, but no broken bones. Eight weeks of recuperation and physical therapy cause quite a bit of upset in a life. The Fosters weren’t thinking about the bike. They intended to phone about it, but it was actually December 10, 2020 before they revisited Artie’s Schwann Shop to pick up the bike they had bought.
Foster’s letter explained these circumstances, then continued,
When we went to Artie’s to pick up the bike we had bought, the store manager, Doug Ralston, told us the bike had been sent back to the warehouse after no one had come to get it by December 1. We weren’t surprised about that, of course—though we were a little surprised that the shop hadn’t called us at any time between September 30 and December 1st to see when it would be picked up. They just sent it back without inquiring.
We asked how soon the bike could be re-ordered. The manager seemed reluctant to re-order it. First he said he probably couldn’t get that model anymore. When we asked him to phone the warehouse, the inventory people said that the model was available. Then Ralston said we would have to pay a $65 re-stocking fee from when the store had to return the bike and would have to pay shipping costs a second time as well. He said he had to “make some calls about it and figure out what to do,” so we left the shop. It has been a week, and we haven’t heard from him.
Most people would agree that we have had quite a bit on our minds for the last four months. It seems to me that Doug Ralston’s position is unfair and unethical. When you consider that we have a lot of friends who ride bikes, it’s also bad business.
We ordered and paid for this bike in August of 2019. I have had to recuperate from injuries. Now I’d like to ride the bike. I don’t feel at all happy about a store manager who has to think about whether he’s going to deliver a product I’ve bought and paid for. He has my $550 and I have no bike.
Use block style format for this letter to Mr. Foster. His address is 3972 Sultana Drive, Hesperia, CA 92851. Create the name of the sender and the company’s address. You are going to have Mr. Ralston quickly re-order the bike. With expedited delivery, Foster can have it in two days.
Some considerations:
If Ralston keeps opposing this customer, the costs in ill will can result in a lot of damage, not just to the Hesperia store, but also to the Schwann brand name. What, if anything, do you need to say about the store manager’s action?
You will not permit Ralston to charge any re-stocking fee, and you should probably have him waive the shipping costs as well. When you add in the various costs to the store, Ralston’s store won’t gain any profit from this transaction. What, if any, of this does Mr. Foster need to hear?
Is there anything else you can do to leave a better impression with Mr. Foster? Remember that you can’t “give away the store.” But what CAN you do? (Length: 200 words maximum)
Use block letter format for writing the letter.