Name Gagan Sharma

Email Address Pgp12gagans@iimrohtak.ac.in

Student Number PGP12116

Workshop in Communication Skills

(Duration: 30 minutes)
Read instructions carefully. When you are done, please submit it to our course shell.
Email submissions will NOT BE ACCEPTED! Save file as DOC, DOCX or PDF
only.

NEGATIVE EMAIL

Background

Your company, Ergolab, manufactures and sells ergonomic, sustainably designed, made-
in-Canada modular office furniture. One of the things that sets your company apart is its
generous 90-day return policy. As long as the components are undamaged and returned in
their original packaging, a full refund and coverage of return shipping costs are
guaranteed. A few days ago, in your role as social media manager and manager of
customer service for your small company, customer Joseph Heywood initiated a live chat
through your company’s customer service software. From the few details he shared, you
understand he purchased five standing desks and a suite of conference room furniture for
his tech startup five months ago and now claims the price was too high and wants to
return the items even though he has discarded the packaging. Before you could resolve
the issue, Joseph ended the chat but immediately took his complaint to Twitter, where he
wrote that your products were “ridiculously expensive” and that returns are “a
nightmare.” “If you want a deal, shop somewhere else,” he tweeted. You will attempt to
redirect the conversation to private e-mail, where you hope to resolve the matter;
however, Joseph was more than two months’ late initiating the return and your company
policy regarding refunds after the deadline, as noted on all receipts and your company
website, is firm. According to your understanding, the quality of the Ergolab furniture he
purchased was not the reason for his wanting to return it. Your company will
automatically replace any defective item and send its troubleshooting team onsite to
problem-solve setup and configuration issues. Your products are manufactured in
Canada, not overseas, to LEED-certified standards superior to those of your closest
competitors and your company has won numerous awards for sustainable design, which
accounts for the difference in price.

Task
The task of service recovery and the resolution of Joseph’s claim will involve two steps:

a) Respond to Joseph’s tweet to redirect the conversation to private e-mail.

b) Write to Joseph via your company e-mail and refuse his claim while managing the
potential threat of negative word of mouth and repair the relationship with the
customer to keep the door open to future business.

1
Do not rely on the wording of this assignment for your own text. Make sure your
final version is professional looking and free from spelling mistakes, scratches, and
other insertions of words or sentences. It may help to write up a draft version.
When you are done, please submit it to our course shell. EMAIL SUBMISSIONS
WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED! Save file as DOC, DOCX or PDF only.

Answers:

(a)

We're sorry to hear about the inconvenience in which you received your order. Please
send us a DM with your order number and the article number of the damaged product so
that we can see what we can do to help. We hope to hear from you soon!

(b)

Greetings, Joseph

I hope everything is going well for you!! I saw your live chat and absolutely understand
what you're saying. I recognize that the furniture you purchased from us has some flaws,
but I hate to inform you that your request for a refund will not be granted. Our customer
care team is available to assist you. If we fully comprehend the situation, we stand out in
our ability to resolve the customer's inquiry through our services.
Our corporate policy allows for a 90-day return period, and your return request is two
months late, thus we will not issue a refund. We never compromise on product quality, and
we produce our items in Canada to meet the needs of our clients.

I hope you understand our point and let us know the problems faced with the furniture, if
any damage has been made our team is there to help out with our services.