Due: Tuesday, February 17^th

Workplace Audience
Either your Complaint Letter or Recommendation Letter will be mailed to your audience. Since these will be professional letters, the letter you mail will need to have a grade of at least "B-" before you mail it. If your letter does not receive this high of a grade, you may have to revise a couple of times to raise the grade before sending it. To revise your letter, you must submit the revision along with the original version that has my comments on it.

Once you get feedback from the company you write to, bring in the response so we can examine these in class. Historically, the responses from companies have definitely been the most interesting part of this assignment. We can take a few minutes each class period that someone has something to share and discuss the response and analyze the construction of the company's letter. There may even be some grade incentive to share such responses... so you probably want to do this.

Complaint Letter
Think of the main aspects of a complaint letter:

• Problem—What problem has arisen that requires resolution? What is the magnitude of this problem? What related events are necessary to understand the impact of this problem?
• Audience—What understanding of the problem does your audience have? How can you fully explain the problem and its effects on you to your audience? What information is necessary to include?
• Desired Resolution—Why are you writing the letter? What resolution do you seek? Repair? Compensation? Contract termination? Be sure to keep this goal in mind when constructing your letter so all of the letter information relates to this goal.

Most often, a complaint expressed as a positive, constructive solution to the problem you encountered will command the most respect and earn you the most favorable response. Think about how you can express your displeasure in a manner that focuses on a positive outcome:

Example: Your MediaCom cable service continuously gets disconnected. Rather than demanding a refund and threatening to discontinue service, focus on the benefits of that service and reasons you would like to continue that service. While presenting the positive aspects of this service, show the effects of interruption in this service you appreciate. Once you have established interest in maintaining a business relationship with MediaCom, write in a way that shows you are willing to work together to arrive at a resolution; compensation for you may be a part of this. Present rationale for compensation in a clear, logical manner (possibly using a table or chart showing calculations and how you arrived at a certain settlement agreement).

Affecting Change in Your Audience
Remember your audience and remember your goal when writing your complaint letter. Despite your displeasure with a company and their good or service, your letter will not be effective if it does not bring about some sort of change. This change will only happen if you appeal properly to your audience. Consider tactful phrasing in every sentence of your letter:

• Diplomatic / Goal-Oriented—keeps your intended resolution in mind in all aspects of the letter, focusing on creating an understanding in your audience of your displeasure with a good or service, but desire to continue business with that company, pending resolution of the problem
• Confrontational / Demanding—accuses your audience of failing to meet your expectations of a good or service, simply venting frustration about a given problem without focusing on how this problem can be resolved