Adjustment Letter

Writing Assignment 2 – Adjustment Letter

Assume you work in customer service at North Face to help answer incoming letters. Although you are fairly new, your boss gives you a letter from an unhappy customer, Sean Bowen. This customer bought a pair of North Face hiking boots that had a “waterproof” tag on them, but the first time he wore them hiking, his feet got wet. He was very frustrated as he has been using North Face sports apparel for a long time and has always been very happy with the products’ durability and performance. He cannot say where the water came in, but the whole front of his foot got wet and cold. As a result, his 3-day hiking trip was ruined since these boots were the main footwear for the trip. Sean does a lot of outdoor activities, and particularly hiking. He would like to continue supporting North Face as he also appreciates North Face’s stand on environmental issues, but he doesn’t understand how such a reliable company can miss out on the quality control of these particular product. Not surprisingly, he is now skeptical of this brand for hiking footwear. Sean wrote to North Face asking for a refund as he hopes to be able to find new hiking boots for his next trip in two weeks. His last statement was “I don’t like to complain, and I’m disappointed to say that I don’t trust one of North Face products.”

Write a letter that shortly explains what might have happened and retains the customer’s business. The letter should be addressed to Sean Bowen, 222 West Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6G 2G6.

A Few Notes to Help You with the Assignment:

Read about The North Face at https://www.thenorthface.com/en_ca/about-us/our-story.html

A couple of quotes on North Face’s stand on environmental issues:

“To enjoy much of the outdoors, one needs the proper clothing and equipment, but those very products have their own environmental impact — from petroleum-based polyester to the shipping required to move products from factories to stores. To that end, The North Face says it is making headway on its sustainability goals, according to its most recent corporate responsibility report.” (https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2014/north-face-sustainability-report-environment-and-efficiency/42101)

“The North Face is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. From the solar installations at our facilities to the energy saving practices in our textile mills, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact. It is more than ‘doing the right thing’ – it is our brand heritage.”

– Conrad Anker, Alpinist and The North Face Athlete

See more instructions for the assignment on the next page.

Specifics on Writing Assignment 2

1. You are expected to do some research on The North Face company and shortly explain why their shoes would fail that quickly.

2. Your letter will be a hard-copy letter.

3. Your letter should be one page long. (marks deducted for a second page)

4. You must follow basic letter formatting rules. If you forgot, look at Chapter 5 and 6 as well as the powerpoints.

5. Your letter text must be in Times New Roman 12-point font.

6. Your letter must have letterhead, include your signature, your position and the company contact information for Vancouver (research The North Face company).

7. Your letter must use business writing techniques that increase readability and reflect the characteristics of a good adjustment letter.

8. Your assignment should not copy word-for-word any information from this handout, off of the Internet, or another letter unless is a direct quotation that is properly cited and referenced.

9. You letter should not resemble anyone else’s letter in format, wording or organization. A letter that is more than 20% similar to any other paper will be considered plagiarized.

10. Any plagiarized assignment will receive a zero.

First draft should be completed by next class.

Final Draft Due the week of November 4.

Hand it in (hard copy) at the beginning of class.