Intercultural communication teamwork and leadership/Negative and crisis communications/Learning challenge tasks

Negative News Letter Tasks

• Complete the last two Chapter 17.1 exercises, which invite you to practise writing negative news and constructive feedback messages (recommended if you plan to seek formal credit at end of this course).
• Use guidance from Table 17.1: Negative News Message Sample Script in your text to write a negative news letter in your learning journal based on the customer complaint scenario provided below. Be sure to read the final paragraph of this scenario so you understand the restrictions on what you can write. Those restrictions have been incorporated to maximize the learning potential of your efforts.
• Once you finish your letter, self-assess how well you have met the criteria in the Negative Message Checklist in Chapter 17.1.
• Share a link to your negative news letter in the course topic forum. Also answer the following reflective questions (100-150 words):
  • What did you find easy in completing this challenge?
  • What was the most difficult part of this challenge?
  • What areas of this challenge would you like fellow learners to give you feedback back on?

Customer Complaint: On April 4, 2011, customer Maud Bennett telephoned your store, The Merchant’s Secret, claiming that, on March 8, 2011, she used her Merchant’s Secret department store credit card to purchase a produce scale for $54.50. However, her credit card billing statement indicates that she was charged for two other purchases from your store on that same day: one for $8.95 and another for $4.95. She does not have the receipt for the produce scale because by the time she got her statement she’d used the scale, had no intention of returning it, and so she had thrown out the receipt. However, she notes that since the statement shows the three purchases, that should be sufficient proof that she was charged for items she did not purchase. Moreover, she points out that her card had not been lost or stolen during that time. Mrs. Bennett wants you to credit her account the funds she claims she was wrongly charged. Business Investigation: You investigate Mrs. Bennett’s claim and discover that two additional purchases were indeed charged to her card on March 8, 2011. A Reuben sandwich combo was purchased for $8.95 from the store’s lunch counter and a birthday card for $4.95 was purchased from the gifts department. However, the records of the charges indicated that each purchase was made at a different time: the produce scale was purchased at 10:00 a.m., the sandwich combo at 1:30 p.m., and the birthday card at 2:15 p.m. You check the maintenance records of your cash register and credit card scanner to make sure they were functioning properly during the time frame of the purchases and find nothing was amiss. Letter Requirements: Write a letter to Mrs. Bennett that explains why you will not be crediting back to her account the charges from the extra purchases. The letter should include the fact that the cash registers and card scanners used by The Merchant’s Secret do not allow employees to retain any credit card information. It should also clearly reflect your desire to retain Mrs. Bennett as a customer. Use only the details provided in this scenario to develop your letter. Do not add other facts, although you can discuss realistic circumstances which might have produced the situation, such as another member of Mrs. Bennett’s family using the card and/or that Mrs. Bennett may have forgotten that she returned to the store for lunch and/or that the birthday card was an unplanned purchase she made on her way out after lunch.