Negative letter

M-Global Negative Letter: Explanation of Project Delay 5%

One important M-Global account is Midwest Media Systems, a company that owns and

operates a dozen radio and television stations throughout the Midwest. On one recent

project, M-Global engineers and technicians did the foundation investigation for, and

supervised construction of, a new transmitting tower for a television station in Toledo.

First, your staff members completed a foundation investigation, at which time they

examined the soils and rock below grade at the site. On the basis of what they learned,

M-Global ordered the tower and the guy wires that connect it to the ground. Once the

construction crew actually began excavating for the foundation, however, they found

mud that could not support the foundation for the tower. Although unfortunate, it

sometimes happens that actual soil conditions cannot be predicted by the preliminary

study. Because of this discovery of mud, the tower must be shifted to another location

on the site. As a result, the precut guy wires are the wrong length for the new site, so

M-Global must order wire extenders. The extenders will arrive in two weeks, and the

placement of the tower will be delayed by that much time. All other parts of the project

are on schedule, so far.

Your client, Ms. Sharon West of Midwest Media Systems in Cleveland, doesn’t

understand much about soil or foundation work, but she does understand what

construction delays mean to the profit margin of her company’s new television station

as it attempts to compete with larger stations in Toledo. You must begin by consoling

this important client. You should not begin your letter by immediately delivering bad

news. You may then deliver the bad news by informing your client about the details of

your findings. You’ll want to end by trying to offer whatever you can (something to

compensate your client for the two-week’s worth of profit loss) so that you can

hopefully maintain a positive relationship with your client.

You may create any kind of project delay (two weeks) that you’d like. If you do decide

to write about a different type of project being delayed, the goal is the same. Your

assignment is to begin your letter by consoling the person to whom you are writing,

then you will want to inform the person of your findings (all the details), all in an

attempt to, lastly, maintain that person as an M-Global client.