22. Refusing a Retum and Refund: As a customer service representative for a major retailer, you have to refuse Lisa Hornung's request for a refund. Lisa used your website's Contact Us form to ask about returning a treadmill she purchased four months ago. She says the treadmill motor is much louder than she anticipated and that the noise disrupts her workouts. She ordered the treadmill online and had it shipped to her house, but she wants to know if she should return it to the nearest retail store or ship it back to you, and she wants you to remove the $879 charge from her credit card. The problem is that Ms. Hornung has waited too long to make this return. As your website clearly states, customers can return merchandise for any reason within 60 days of the purchase. After that, there is nothing you can do except recommend an authorized repair center. Any repairs would not be covered because the 60-day warranty has also expired, and she did not purchase the extended warranty that would have protected her for a full year. You have a good reason for your return policy. Many people buy fitness equipment thinking they will be motivated to work out but then quickly lose interest and regret their purchase. People will then say "it doesn't work" as an excuse to get a refund. Write to Ms. Hornung to give her the bad news. See if you can figure out how to keep her goodwill and her future business. You'l also need to resolve what to do about the loud motor. Write a letter as directed in the Lesson Instructions. Use good letter formatting. Add/make up any additional information you might need such as the name of your company and needed addresses. Use Case 22 at the end of the chapter in the Problem-Solving cases: Refusing a Return and Refund. In the instructor's hardcopy text it is on page 296. In this case, you will deny a request for a refund on fitness equipment without alienating the customer. (There are details in the case that need to appear in your letter. Be sure to find the right problem.) Finally, here are some notes that the text author offers on this problem: The first paragraph should begin with a buffer that gets the conversation started. This may include an acknowledgement of the request, appreciation for Ms. Hornung's business, or a statement about the company's willingness to be of assistance. It should not, however, mislead the reader into thinking the request will be granted and should not reveal yet that the adjustment request is being denied. It may open with something like "As always, we are willing to do as much as we reasonably can to make things right." The explanation that will follow should then justify why what was requested is not "reasonable." In this case Ms. Hornung is not entitled to a refund because, in violation of your stated return policy for defective items, she waited too long to make her claim. You can use two good strategies when telling her so. First, state the policy using impersonal language, not "you" and "your." For example, instead of saying "As your packing slip stated," say "We include a description of our return policy with each product we ship." Then you can say exactly what the policy statement said. Second, try to give a good reason for the policy. Perhaps it can start with "This policy has become standard in our industry because..." or perhaps it can be linked to keeping the prices of your fine products as low as possible for your customers. Be careful not to imply any bad motives on the part of the customer for returning the item. Instead of overtly stating the refusal, you can imply it cleatly by moving on to what you can do for Ms. Hornung. Listing some authorized repair shops in her area would be helpful. Assuring her that their work is guaranteed can also be a positive touch. Perhaps students can think of additional ways to help this customer. The closing paragraph should end on a positive note that is forward looking and acts as if the relationship between the two parties is still intact. It should not refer to the refusal again. If skilfully done, it may convey the message that the company's products are of high quality. thus restoring Ms. Hornung's confidence in this fact. Or it might thank Ms. Hornung for her business. Or students may think of, and evaluate, other closing strategies