Adjustment: Responding to Short Door for Tall Player
As Michael Medina, operations manager, American Custom Wood, you have a problem. Your firm manufactures quality precut and custom-built doors and frames. You have received a letter from Erica Adams (described in Activity 8.18), an interior designer. Her letter explained that the custom mahogany door ("Provence") she received was cut to the wrong dimensions. She ordered an oversized door measuring 12 feet 2 inches. The door that arrived was 11 feet 10 inches.
Ms. Adams kept the door because her client, an NBA basketball player, insisted that the front of the house be closed up. Therefore, she had her carpenter resize the opening. He charged $940.50 for this cor- rective work. She claims that you should reimburse her for this amount, since your company was responsible for the error. You check her May 17 order and find that the order was filled correctly. In a telephone order, Ms. Adams requested the Provence double-entry door measur- ing 11 feet 10 inches, and that is what you sent. Now she says that the doors should have been 12 feet 2 inches.
Your policy forbids refunds or returns on custom orders. Yet, you remember that around May 15 you had two new people working the phones taking orders. It is possible that they did not hear or record the measurements correctly. You don't know whether to grant this claim or refuse it. But you do know that you must look into the training of telephone order takers and be sure that they verify all custom order measurements. It might also be a good idea to have your craftspeople call a second time to confirm custom measurements.
Ms. Adams is a successful interior designer who has provided American Custom Wood with a number of orders. You value her busi- ness but aren't sure how to respond. You would like to remind her that American Custom Wood has earned a reputation as a premier manu- facturer of wood doors and frames. Your doors feature prime woods, meticulous craftsmanship, and award-winning designs. What's more, the engineering is ingenious. You also have a wide range of classic designs.
Your Task. After much deliberation, you decide to grant this claim. Respond to Erica Adams, Contempo Interiors, 2304 River Ridge Road, Indianapolis, IN 46031. You might mention that you have a new line of greenhouse windows that are available in three sizes. Include a bro- chure describing these windows.