Negative News letter
Assignment:
Case Study: Small Business Owner to Customer-You're Fired!
As the owner of WebTastic, a small business that designs and hosts Web sites, you value your clients and understand that the recession has affected everyone. But lately you've realized that some clients are sapping your business's already stretched resources. One of your first patrons—Minnie MacElroy of Minnie's Miniscule Miniatures—has been a demanding client from the get-go. She asked for changes to the site design she had already approved, forcing you to put in more hours than your quote covered. Once the site went live, Minnie consistently badgered you to make other changes so often that you did them without charge just to get her off your back. When her monthly hosting fee started becoming erratic, you agreed to let her slide until her business picked up. But now she's six months delinquent.
Despite repeated phone calls and several letters asking her to make a payment, you have received nothing. As a business owner, you understand how difficult it is to keep your doors open. You have had to lay off your best Web designer and are now doing your own bookkeeping instead of paying for that service. The contract MacElroy signed has a provision that if an account remains unpaid, WebTastic may opt to render the site nonfunctional. The contract also states that WebTastic retains the copyright on the design of any site it has created. While you are hesitant to lose any business in this economic climate, you have decided that some clients are more trouble than they are worth.
Assignment Instructions:
Write a 3-5 page negative news letter informing Minnie that you are closing down her site. Should you fully explain that she has been a difficult customer, or should you rely on her lack of payment as your reason for breaking the contract? Address your letter to Ms. Minnie MacElroy, 27694 Bay Point Lane, Bonita Springs, FL 34134.
Assignment derived from Dr. Guffey's Business Communication Newsletter
Assignment Expectations:
Write a negative letter (3-5 pages).
Write a (150 word) summary explaining why you used the principles you used in writing your letter.
Negative News letter
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Tutor:
Date:
Negative News letter
February 7, 2014
Ms. Minnie MacElroy
27694 Bay Point Lane, Bonita Springs, FL 34134.
RE: DECISION ON YOUR WEBSITE ACCOUNT
Dear Minnie MacElroy:
It is true that you have been a client to WebTastic for the last several years. Our business has been experiencing financial challenges ever since the start of the recession. Recently, WebTastic designed for you a Web site as per your description and you approved it. With this regard, the website was designed as required and you were charged for the service rendered. The fact that you approved the Web site gave as an impression that you are a trustworthy client to work with in the future in our business endeavors. However, later on, you demanded that some changes should be made on the design of your Web site. We value our clients and we always strive to retain them by prioritizing their requests. This is the main reason as to why WebTastic obliged to make changes on the site design accordingly. Note that these changes prompted the company to put in extra hours that than which was quoted, at no extra cost.
Despite the fact that the initial changes were made on your Website design, you made subsequent requests asking for further changes. A client who demands changes often could be probably indecisive or unsatisfied. We have already mentioned that WebTastic values requests from our clients are always prioritized. In the light of this, our company has been in a position to keep a good public image and thus attracting a large client base-including you. However, WebTastic has realized that you are too demanding. For instance, we regret the fact that the latest requests that you made were unnecessary. The contract clearly stipulates that once a client approves the website, any other changes which could be done on the site are chargeable. Thus, you could have paid for the subsequent changes that you requested to be made on your Web site. However, given that you demands were becoming too much, WebTastic decided to make changes on your site at no cost.
Besides, our company understands the current financial crisis that is facing our clients due to the global recession. We understand that prior to the global recession you have been paying your monthly hosting fee promptly. Prompt payment of our services is beneficial both to our business and the clients. For instance, given that WebTastic is a small-scale business, paying us promptly is crucial in facilitating our business to endure the current economic climate. At this economic climate, cash-flow is vital for business survival and we encourage our clients to pay promptly. Furthermore, prompt payment facilitates the establishment of best relationships with our customers. It also ensures that the customer avoids extra charges as interests for deferred payments apart from showing the trustworthy of the clients.
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