We have two new casings wrapped and ready to ship, awaiting your instructions.
Yours very truly, 9. Adjustment should be fair to all concerned.— The letter just quoted is a good illustration of what constitutes an adjustment which is fair to all con cerned, tho the case was one in which it was difficult for the company to be fair to itself as well as to the customer. Competition is so lively in the rubber busi ness that a firm which is wide awake overlooks no op portunity to increase the good-will of its customers. On the other hand, dissatisfaction, due to the buyer's misuse of the goods, to carelessness and lack of cau tion, is common. The writer of adjustment letters in this business is exceptionally difficult, unless the com pany is willing to accept a great deal of loss. In any event, a policy such as that suggested by the well known statement, "The customer is always right," would not be in accordance with a practical definition of a satisfactory adjustment.
This is a nice question of policy: How much of the loss should a company be willing to bear when it is not entirely responsible for the trouble? Of course the answer will depend largely upon how much the company desires. the good-will of the complain ant. But even when that good-will is greatly desired, it is doubtful whether it is wise for the firm to agree to incur a greater loss than is actually justified by the facts in the case, in so far as the facts can be ascer tained. On the other hand, it is perhaps advisable in most cases to give the customer the benefit of any doubt.
In general, it might be said that the best adjust ment is the one that is the fairest to all parties con cerned. Few, if any, business houses can afford to practise absolutely the policy which is based upon the theory that the customer is always right. The spirit of this theory is admirable and has a significant rela tion to the kind of service that wins business, but to apply such a theory to all cases, without exception, would often mean unfairness to the customer as well as to the house. For instance, if this theory had been applied in the case just cited, and two new tires had been sent without cost, the addressee might have failed to make use of the educational information that the firm gave him. He might have been less inclined to believe what was said about the cause of his trouble.
and undoubtedly would have been much less inclined to respect the house.
Thus, the practice of the policy of fairness to all concerned would often make easier the task of writ ing an effective adjustment letter, altho it would sometimes make the task of adjusting the trouble more difficult. Most people are .reasonably fair and, if their demands are unreasonable, are willing to be shown in what the unreasonableness consists.
10. Building the adjustment letter.—It is neces sary, of course, that each case be handled with due regard for the particular circumstances, but there are a few practical points that will be of value to the cor respondent in answering nearly any complaint let ter, whether the subject be delayed shipment, goods damaged in transit, defective goods, goods different from those ordered, shortages, lost shipments, or any other kind of claim. Besides these points that have already been presented, the following are important.
It is essential to answer a complaint letter promptly, and to assure the complainant that his claim is re ceiving immediate attention. But this is not enough, for, after all, an immediate acknowledgment that gives the complainant nothing but the assurance that his claim has been received and will be adjusted as promptly as possible, is not as effective as a letter that is not sent so promptly, perhaps, but which con tains details in regard to the adjustment.
Then, in building the adjustment letter it is, as a rule, best to show at the beginning that the addressee's point of view is appreciated, and to say something which will assure him that he will get a fair adjust ment. It is always advisable to show fairness and a determination to satisfy a complainant. In this re spect the letter quoted in Section 8 might be im proved if, after the first sentence, a statement like this were added : "And it is against our policy to allow any one who uses our tires to be disappointed." This assurance of satisfaction—even stronger and more direct assurance might be given, provided it does not raise the addressee's hopes too high—would make the reader somewhat more willing to read on with strict attention until his big question was finally an swered. But he should first be given to underStand that under the conditions he cannot, in fairness, ex pect as liberal an adjustment as he had hoped for.