Case: You are the owner of YumRunner, a food delivery servicethat allows customers to order food from their favouriterestaurants and have it delivered to their homes through your app.Your company has been in operation for five years, and you servicethe Mississauga area only. YumRunner is a locally-owned andoperated business. You’re eco-friendly in that your deliverypersons ride bicycles and motorized scooters (as opposed to drivingcars). You pay your delivery persons competitive wages andemphasize the importance of excellent customer service. As aresult, YumRunner regularly receives positive online reviews, andhas built up a steady clientele over the past five years. When youstarted YumRunner in 2015, you charged restaurants a 20% commissionfor each delivery order that was placed through your service (e.g.if a customer ordered a $10 meal from a restaurant through yourapp, YumRunner would earn $2 on it). Now, due to inflation andrising costs in labour, you have decided to raise your commissionrate to 23%. This higher rate is in line with what many other fooddelivery services charge. You must now write to all of therestaurants who use your company’s delivery service to let themknow of your commission rate increase. Your task: Write an indirectnegative news letter to Jerry Capra, manager of Jerry’s Pizzeria,in which you explain your need to raise your commission rate. Yourletter should clearly explain the reasons why your commission rateis increasing, while highlighting any alternatives or other readerbenefits that you can. It is important that your letter maintainsgoodwill, as Jerry’s Pizzeria is a big client. You will need toinvent an address both for Jerry’s Pizzeria and for YumRunner’sheadquarters. Your letter should be between ¾ page and one pagelong, and follow all the proper formatting for an indirect businessletter. Use formal writing style, and include a formal greetingwhich includes the receiver’s honorific title and last name, aswell as a formal sign-off. Include all elements of a businessletter (see p. 217 of your textbook for a sample). Use graphichighlighting to emphasize key information. Your message should beclear and well-written, and promote goodwill on behalf of yourorganization. Before you begin, consult the marking rubric on p. 2.*Tips: Do not copy the wording from this case; it would not beappropriate in your letter. You will need to invent several detailsto make the scenario more realistic, and to give your reader allthe information he needs in order to understand why you are raisingyour commission rate (and to prevent him from cutting ties withYumRunner altogether). You wish to avoid having him email you withfollow up questions (this wastes time), so be thorough in yourletter! Remember the GOALS of a negative letter: • Help your readerunderstand and accept the bad news by making your message clear andfair. • Project a positive, professional image of you and yourorganization. • Convey empathy and sensitivity. Don’t soundaccusatory! • Maintain goodwill.
