Complaint Letter Assignment: You are to write a complaint letter to Mark Smith, President of Shiny Clean, to address the following fact pattern. --This paper should be 3/4ths of a page in length. --It will be assessed on how well you use buffers and tactics learned in class to convey your message clearly and effectively. Mark Smith 404 Squeaky Lane Baltimore, MD 21287 You have used Clean Up soap products for over five years, and you have never had a negative reaction to any of them. Recently, you saw an advertisement on the television for a new Clean Up’s product, “The Exfoliator,” a facial cleanser. The advertisement states that “The Exfoliator” is a hypoallergenic formula that leaves you face clean and vibrant, eliminating blackheads and preventing acne. After seeing the advertisement, you went to your local store to buy a bar of “The Exfoliator” from your local Target store for $5. The night before you have a job interview, you opened the sealed box of “The Exfoliator” soap and washed your face according to the directions: lather on face and rinse with cold water. Then, you went to bed. The following morning, the morning of the interview, you awakened with your face tingling and slightly itchy. You went to you bathroom mirror to inspect your skin and noticed that your face was red and broken out with blemishes all over it. Not wanting to make a bad example at your interview, you called the company and rescheduled your interview for the following Monday. Then, you visited a dermatologist, who inspected you and informed you that you had an allergic reaction to the “The Exfoliator” soap. The bill for the emergency visit to the dermatologist was $100. Furthermore, he prescribed a crème to lessen the healing time of your rash so you would be presentable at your rescheduled interview. The crème cost you $25. Writing Negative Message WHAT’S THE PURPOSE? What’s the Purpose? Primary Objectives 1) To deliver the message 2) To make sure that the message is a) understood b) accepted 3) To maintain “good will”/ good faith  Secondary Objectives 1) To maintain a positive image of yourself as the author/ speaker 2) To maintain a good image of your company 3) To provide enough information that the reader/ listener knows what s/he is supposed to do so further correspondence is not needed 1) Deliver the message *Matrix style leadership *No one wants to be the one to give a negative message https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=zqjQDP9KX 6E&spfreload=10 2) To make sure that the message is a) A) understood b) B) accepted 3) To maintain “good will”/ good faith No one wants to deliver a negative message. Your job is to be as professional as possible Why? Secondary Objectives: 1) To Maintain a good image of yourself as the author YOU are your own advocate and best supporter. 2) To maintain a good image of your company No matter where you are in the company, you represent that company. 3) To provide enough information that the reader/ listener knows what s/he is supposed to do so further correspondence is not needed * Think of Comcast or Verizon The anti-headache clause Trip to a new amusement park Three hour trip to the beach Buffers NEGATE OR LIGHTEN THE IMPACT OF A NEGATIVE MESSAGE Passive Voice: Terms and definitions  The agent—what is performing the action of the sentence  The subject—the part of the sentence that determines the form the verb will take. Usually at the beginning of a sentence.  Active Voice—The agent and the subject are one and the same in a sentence  Passive voice—the agent of the sentence receives the verb Passive Voice  Active Voice  Passive Voice Agent → Action The subject performs the action of the verb Action → (Agent) The subject receives the action of the verb Ex. John hit the ball. Ex. The ball was hit by John. The Subject (ball) is NOT the agent and is receiving the action of the verb The Subject (John) is the agent performing the action of the verb Tense Versus Voice  Tense determines WHEN the action occurs    He watches television. (Present) He watched television. (Past) He will watch television. (Future)  Voice determines WHAT the subject is and the impact it creates     He watches television. (Active) The television is watched by him. (Passive) He watched television. (Active) The television was watched by him. (Passive) Points of Emphasis in Writing 1) Beginning 2) End • Think how good stories and good movies are told 3) Forced a) Power Words—three or more syllables • very pretty vs. beautiful • Very cheap vs. inexpensive • Very nice vs. excellent b) Change in structure or expectation • Breaking down parallels and patterns. • The knight was chivalrous, wealthy, and handsome vs. The knight was chivalrous, wealthy, and, most importantly, handsome. Buffers LIGHTEN OR NEGATE THE IMPACT OF THE NEGATIVE MESSAGE 1) Start Positive or Neutral Because there is a natural stress at the beginning and ending of a document, do not use overtly negative language in those parts. EXAMPLE ONE W E H AV E F I N A L LY R E V I E W E D Y O U R A P P L I C AT I O N F O R G R A D U AT E S T U D Y AT C O L O R A D O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y. D U E T O THE LARGE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS THIS YEAR, C O M P E T I T I O N WA S V E R Y T O U G H , B U T L U C K I LY, W E H AV E R E C O M M E N D E D Y O U F O R A C C E P TA N C E . A L S O , T O K E E P O U R S T U D E N T S H A P P Y, W E W E R E F O R T U N AT E E N O U G H T O B E A B L E T O O F F E R A T E A C H I N G A S S I S TA N T S H I P, WHEREBY YOU WOULD WORK 20 HOURS A WEEK. THIS A S S I S TA N T S H I P A L S O C O M E S W I T H A N O N - R E S I D E N T T U I T I O N WA I V E R F O R T H E F I R S T Y E A R . I F Y O U D O N ' T D O W E L L , T H O U G H , W E C A N N O T G I V E Y O U A N O T H E R A S S I S TA N T S H I P . EXAMPLE TWO T H A N K Y O U F O R Y O U R I N T E R E S T I N G R A D U AT E S T U D Y AT C O L O R A D O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y. Y O U H AV E B E E N A D M I T T E D TO OUR COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM BEGINNING W I T H T H E FA L L S E M E S T E R O F 2 0 0 0 . T H E P S Y C H O L O G Y D E PA R T M E N T W I L L P R O V I D E F U L L F I N A N C I A L S U P P O R T, I N C L U D I N G 2 0 H O U R S A W E E K A S A T E A C H I N G A S S I S TA N T. T H I S A S S I S TA N T S H I P C A R R I E S A STIPEND OF $1045 PER MONTH, AS WELL AS A NON -RESIDENT T U I T I O N WA I V E R . A S L O N G A S S AT I S FA C T O R Y A C A D E M I C P R O G R E S S I S M A D E , T H I S A S S I S TA N T S H I P W I L L C O N T I N U E T H R O U G H O U T Y O U R G R A D U AT E C A R E E R AT C S U … 2) Rely on a chronology of facts Rely heavily on logos in a negative message. Give the reader/listener reasons that led to the negative message so they 1) see it coming and 2) accept that negative message EXAMPLE ONE I R E G R E T T O I N F O R M Y O U T H AT Y O U R R E Q U E S T F O R T R AV E L F U N D S T O T R AV E L T O T H E S Y L L A B U S C O N F E R E N C E I N S A N TA C L A R A , C A L I F O R N I A , H A S BEEN DENIED. THE UNIVERSITY HAS LIMITED F U N D S AVA I L A B L E F O R T R AV E L T H I S Y E A R A N D A LT H O U G H I K N O W Y O U R E A L LY WA N T T O G O , I CAN'T AFFORD TO GIVE YOU THE $1500 YOU R E Q U E S T E D ( W H I C H B Y T H E WAY I S A L O T T O R E Q U E S T AT T H I S L AT E D AT E AT T H E C U R R E N T TIME OF THIS REQUEST)… EXAMPLE TWO T H A N K Y O U F O R Y O U R I N T E R E S T I N N E W, E M E R G I N G O N L I N E T E C H N O L O G I E S . T H E T R AV E L C O M M I T T E E R E V I E W E D Y O U R R E Q U E S T T O AT T E N D T H E S Y L L A B U S C O N F E R E N C E I N S A N TA C L A R A , C A L I F O R N I A I N J U LY. T H E U N I V E R S I T Y I N C R E A S E D I T S T R AV E L B U D G E T T H I S YEAR BY $5,000. HOWEVER, WITH THE INCREASE IN REQUESTS WE’VE RECEIVED AND BECAUSE WE ARE C L O S E T O T H E E N D O F A F I S C A L Y E A R , W E H AV E U S E D A L L O U R T R AV E L F U N D S F O R T H E Y E A R . A S M U C H A S W E W O U L D L I K E T O F U N D Y O U R R E Q U E S T, W E J U S T D O N O T H AV E T H E M O N E Y T O D O S O . R E M E M B E R , T H O U G H , T H AT I F Y O U H AV E D E PA R T M E N TA L F U N D S AVA I L A B L E , Y O U M AY U S E T H O S E . Y O U M AY A L S O WA N T T O C H E C K TO SEE IF ANY DIVISIONAL MONIES ARE STILL AVA I L A B L E . I D O H O P E Y O U W I L L B E A B L E T O AT T E N D THE CONFERENCE… 3) Use passive voice Use passive voice to remove blame: There is a difference between telling a group of people: *Some of you have been using company computers for online gambling and auctions. You cannot do this or you will be fired. And *Company computers have been used for online gambling and auctions. This behavior should be stopped. The second example removes blame and is less likely to make the reader defensive. HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN 1. SOMEONE BLAMES YOU FOR SOMETHING YOU DID NOT DO 2. SOMEONE CLAIMS YOU BROKE THE RULES THOUGH YOU DID NOT 4) Recast Recasting: transforming a negative message into a positive or persuasive message. Example: No: You have not done well enough at your job to get a promotion. Yes: If you complete three proposals this week you will be a strong candidate for the next promotion. 5) Use Humor Humor is a good way to add levity to a situation; however, the humor should not • Make light of a serious topic • Be at anyone’s expense • Be at least mildly amusing and not cheesy or crude * It should be noted here that I am not a fan of this buffer although it is listed in many books. I have seen it go wrong too many times.  1) Do not use “you” at all. Other Suggestions These are some other ways to write a negative message effectively. --if you must use “you”, then critique an aspect of someone’s work, not the person. No: You did a really bad job on this report. Yes: Your report could have been written more clearly.  Part of effective recasting means Other Suggestions Avoid all negative wording that you remove all negative wording. These include “no” and “not”, but also include many words with the prefixes “un”, “dis”, and “non”.  Avoid words with negative connotations (implied or emotional meanings) as well. WORDS THAT ARE NEGATIVE BY ASSOCIATION UNABLE TO UNFORTUNATELY TRY MAYBE SORRY REGRET REJECT FAIL MISTAKE IMPOSSIBLE CANNOT LOSS LITTLE VALUE NOT PROBLEM/ISSUE REFUSE STOP WORDS THAT ARE NEGATIVE BY POLITICAL HISTORY JUVENILE/DELINQUENT GHETTO/BARRIO/PROJECTS ECONOMICAL/LOWER CLASS/POVERTY LIBERAL CONSERVATIVE FEMININE/FEMINIST COLORED RACISM/IST ALTERNATIVE (FACT/RIGHT) VICTIM MINORITY LITTLE MIDGET RETARD(ED) SEGREGATE SUPERIOR/INFERIOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LEFT/RIGHT WING QUEER ACTIVIST DISCRIMINATING 
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