7.2 Claim Denial: No New Droid for You Following is a letter to a customer who d

Question

7.2 Claim Denial: No New Droid for You

Following is a letter to a customer who demanded a brand-new replacement Droid smartphone under her wireless phone protection

plan.

Your Task. Analyze the message. List its weaknesses, and then outline an appropriate writing plan. If your instructor directs, revise the

message. A copy of this message is provided at www.meguffey.com for revision online.

Current date

Ms. Lynda Brownsmith

2402 Prytania Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

Dear Ms. Brownsmith:

This letter is being sent to you to inform you that warranty repairs or replacements are not available for damage caused by operator

fault. The dot inside your smartphone indicates in bright red that the device suffered prolonged exposure to liquid. The phone also

shows signs of heavy external abuse—quite rightly excluded from coverage under your protection plan.

Your phone retailer, Premier Wireless, at 901 Saint Charles Avenue, forwarded your device to us. Our service technician made an inspec-
tion. That’s when he discovered that your Droid had not been treated with proper caution and care. He said he had never seen such a

gunky phone interior, and that without a doubt the gadget was subjected to blunt force on top of that! You are lucky that the touch

screen did not crack or break and that you didn’t lose all your data irretrievably since you apparently didn’t bother to arrange for a

backup. Today’s smartphones are sophisticated high-tech devices. They must be handled with utmost respect. You wouldn’t believe

how many users accidentally drop their phones into the toilet.

Our Peace of Mind Plan gets rave reviews from users. They love the protection their expensive equipment enjoys at a low monthly cost

of $5.99. However, the manufacturer’s warranty on your Droid covers only this one thing: manufacturing defects. Your warranty has

expired by now, but it wouldn’t cover neglect and abuse anyway. Your Peace of Mind Plan is in effect but only covers you for theft, loss,

and malfunction. It explicitly excludes liquid and physical damage. In any case, there is always a deductible of $89. We can’t replace

the Droid at no charge. But we could sell you a remanufactured model, at a cost of $49 plus tax. Your other option is to purchase a

new device at full retail cost. Furthermore, since you have a two-year contract, you will be eligible for an upgrade as you are nearing

month 20.

Let us know what you want to do. We pride ourselves on our unparalleled customer service.

Sincerely,

1. List at least five weaknesses in this letter.

Explanation / Answer

Letter weaknesses:

1. The tone used in the letter is not appropriate for customer service. A customer service agent cannot blatantly tell the customer you didn’t respect you r device. The tone should be mellowed down a bit.

2. Language is not formal. Use of words and phrases like ‘gunky’, “you are lucky”, etc. can be avoided.

3. Mentioning the instance of other consumer dropping their phone in toilets was not needed.

4. The letter mentions what worse could have happened to the customer’s phone. That should be avoided as it is making the product look much less durable.

5. The damage inspection method is described in too much detail. The customer doesn’t need to know who said what, and how the company inspected the device, the customer should know what the outcome was, and if she asks for inspection method particularly, only then it should be communicated to her.

Writing plan:

14 July ‘16

Ms. Lynda Brownsmith

2402 Prytania Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

Dear Ms. Brownsmith:

We received your request for a new replacement Droid Smartphone in place of your current device. We are sorry to know that your phone got damaged. We received the Smartphone form your retailer, Premier Wireless, at 901 Saint Charles Avenue, and have inspected it thoroughly. Unfortunately, we have found signs of prolonged liquid exposure and external mistreatment in our inspection.

Your manufacturer’s warranty covers manufacturing defects only, but has already expired. Our Peace of Mind plan with us covers your device from theft, loss and malfunction, but not from damage caused by physical damage caused at the user’s end. Hence, we would like to inform you that we cannot replace your device without any charges, but we can offer you a remanufactured model at $49 plus tax. Also, if you may like, you can purchase a new device at the retail cost of the phone.

We would like to let you know that we feel privileged to be of your service, and hope we were able to help you with your concern. Your two year contract with us is eligible for an upgrade; kindly inform us if you are interested in the upgrade.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any other queries.

Sincerely,

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