| Course | BUSI 4004 Customer Relationship Management for Small Business |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 4 |
| Paper type | Complaint response and rationale |
| Length | About 720 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 4004 Week 4
Replying to a Saturday Complaint About a Silk Blouse With a Shine Mark Across the Collar: The Owner's Email, Sent Sunday Morning, and the Reasoning Behind Its Wording, Remedy and Timing
Student Name
Walden University
BUSI 4004: Customer Relationship Management for Small Business
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Replying to a Saturday Complaint About a Silk Blouse With a Shine Mark Across the Collar: The Owner's Email, Sent Sunday Morning, and the Reasoning Behind Its Wording, Remedy and Timing
The Complaint
On Saturday, September 18, 2027, at 4:40 p.m., a customer of Grand River Cleaners, a composite neighborhood dry cleaner in Lansing, Michigan, emailed the shop. She had picked up a cream silk blouse that afternoon and found a shiny mark across the collar that was not there before. She wrote that the blouse was her favorite, that she had been a customer for four years, and that she wanted to know "what you plan to do about it." The shop is closed Sundays, but the owner reads email.
The Reply
Subject: Your silk blouse, and what we will do
Dear Ms. Alvarez,
Thank you for writing to us right away, and for sending the photo. You are right: the shine across the collar was caused by our pressing. It happens when silk is pressed with too much heat and without a cloth between the iron and the fabric, and that should not have happened to your blouse. I am sorry.
Here is what we will do. Please bring the blouse in on Monday, or I can pick it up from you on my way home that evening. Our most experienced presser will try to lift the shine with steam and a soft brush, which works on some silks. We will not charge for it. If the mark is still visible when you see it on Wednesday, we will pay you the full cost of a comparable blouse, up to $180, with no deduction for its age, and you can keep the original.
I have also changed how we handle silk: from this week, every silk garment is pressed only by our lead presser, with a pressing cloth, and is checked before bagging.
You can reach me directly at 517-555-0142 if you would rather talk. Thank you for four years of trusting us with your clothes.
Owner, Grand River Cleaners
Why the Reply Is Written This Way
Timing. The reply went out Sunday at 9:15 a.m., less than seventeen hours after the complaint, even though the shop was closed. A customer who writes on a Saturday afternoon expects to wait until Monday; a Sunday reply shows the complaint was taken seriously.
Admitting fault plainly. The second sentence says the shop caused the damage and explains how, in one line. Tax et al. (1998) found that complaint handling is judged on result, procedure and personal treatment, and evasive language damages the last of these before any remedy is offered.
One apology, then action. "I am sorry" appears once. The rest of the email describes what will happen, which is what she asked.
A remedy with two steps and a date. Restoration is offered first because she said the blouse was her favorite, and many customers would rather have the garment than the money. The cash remedy is stated in the same paragraph, with an amount and a date, so she does not have to negotiate for it. Smith et al. (1999) found that recovery works best when compensation fits the type and size of the failure; a ruined favorite garment calls for both an attempt to save it and a full replacement if that fails.
No deduction for age. Many cleaners pay a depreciated value for damaged clothing. For a four-year customer and a $180 blouse, the difference is small compared with what her future orders are worth to the shop.
A change in process. The paragraph about silk tells her the failure will not repeat. Maxham and Netemeyer (2002) found that customers who experienced a second failure after a recovery became much less forgiving, which is why preventing a repeat matters as much as fixing this one.
A direct line. Giving the owner's own phone number offers a richer channel for a customer who may prefer to talk, and it signals that she is dealing with the person who decides.
What the Reply Avoids
It does not mention fabric care labels, does not suggest the blouse was fragile and does not ask her to fill out a claim form. Each of those is common, and each would shift the burden to the customer after the shop admitted the mistake.
References
Maxham, J. G., III, & Netemeyer, R. G. (2002). A longitudinal study of complaining customers' evaluations of multiple service failures and recovery efforts. Journal of Marketing, 66(4), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.66.4.57.18512
Smith, A. K., Bolton, R. N., & Wagner, J. (1999). A model of customer satisfaction with service encounters involving failure and recovery. Journal of Marketing Research, 36(3), 356-372. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379903600305
Tax, S. S., Brown, S. W., & Chandrashekaran, M. (1998). Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences: Implications for relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 62(2), 60-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299806200205
What the BUSI 4004 Week 4 instructions ask for
In Week 4 you answer one upset customer in writing and explain your choices. Read the complaint carefully and note what the customer actually asks for. Write the reply as it would be sent: acknowledge the problem, take responsibility where the business is at fault, state what will happen, when and at what cost to the customer, and say what will change so it does not happen again. Then write a short rationale explaining each choice in wording, remedy and timing, supported by research on complaint handling and service recovery. Note what the reply deliberately avoids. Most sections expect the email itself to be short and the rationale to run a page or two.
Inside the BUSI 4004 Week 4 example
The paper summarizes the complaint: a cream silk blouse, a shine mark on the collar, a four-year customer asking what the shop will do. The reply, sent Sunday at 9:15 a.m., thanks her, admits pressing caused the mark and explains how, apologizes once, offers a free restoration by the lead presser with pickup on Monday, promises up to $180 for a comparable blouse if the mark remains and describes a new silk rule. The rationale explains the timing, the plain admission, citing Tax and colleagues, the two-step remedy, citing Smith and colleagues, the decision not to depreciate, the process change, citing Maxham and Netemeyer, and the owner's direct number. A section lists what the reply avoids: care-label arguments, fragility claims and claim forms.
Reading the BUSI 4004 Week 4 rubric
Graders read the reply first, as the customer would. It should answer her question directly, admit fault where the business caused the problem and offer a concrete remedy with a date. Defensive language, multiple apologies with no action or a remedy the customer must negotiate for all lose marks. The rationale earns its credit by explaining specific choices with research, not by restating the email. Graders reward recognition that a repeat failure would undo the recovery, shown through a process change. Timing should be addressed, since speed is part of fairness. Noting what the reply avoids shows judgment about common mistakes. The strongest submissions match the size of the remedy to the size of the failure and the value of the relationship.
BUSI 4004 Week 4 help: mistakes that cost marks
Read the complaint twice and write down what the customer wants. Decide honestly whether the business is at fault. Draft the reply in this order: thanks, admission, one apology, what you will do and when, what changes, how to reach you. Make the remedy something the customer does not have to fight for. Then explain each choice in the rationale with a source. Weak replies hedge with phrases like "we're sorry you feel," blame the garment or the customer, offer a small credit for a serious loss or ask the customer to fill out forms. Others never mention a process fix. A model reply and rationale can be drafted from a real complaint and the options your business has.
Get a BUSI 4004 Week 4 example written to your instructions
Give the desk the complaint scenario from Week 4, with the prompt and rubric; reply plus rationale is returned within 24 to 48 hours, and the first is free. Your section may fix a remedy or a word limit for the reply; flag either and the draft keeps to it. Scenarios left open get a composite neighborhood business.
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BUSI 4004 Week 4 questions, answered
Where can I find a free BUSI 4004 Week 4 sample paper?
The owner's email about the silk blouse and the full rationale appear on this page, free to read.
What is the complaint in the BUSI 4004 Week 4 example?
A silk blouse returned from dry cleaning with a shine mark across the collar, reported by email on a Saturday afternoon.
What does the reply offer?
A free restoration attempt and, if the mark remains, the full cost of a comparable blouse up to $180 with no deduction for age.
Why was the reply sent on Sunday?
To answer within a day, even though the shop was closed, which shows the complaint was taken seriously.
What does the reply avoid?
Pointing to care labels, suggesting the blouse was fragile and asking the customer to complete a claim form.