Future teaching material

Today, for a moment, I wished I was still teaching. An excellent real-life example of the power of the written word showed up today in my mailbox.

In my short stint as a high school English teacher, I taught my students, as part of a persuasive writing unit, how to write letters of complaint to companies/businesses. Most of them just made up complaints to complete the assignment, but a few students actually had legitimate complaints, so I asked them to mail their letters. A couple of them heard back from the companies, and the students were shocked when it actually "worked."

A few weeks ago I talked with a customer service rep at Kitchen Aid about my Kitchen Aid attachment piece that was no longer working properly. I love my Kitchen Aid mixer, and I use it all the time, at least once a week, so when my slicer/shredder attachment piece broke, I was very sad. (You see, I've truly embraced my domestic side since becoming a wife/mom.) The lady I talked to told me my warranty had expired but that I could buy a new piece for $19.99 plus shipping. No, thank you very much. Not going to do that. I was a little miffed that this supposedly reliable company wasn't going to replace my faulty attachment piece that came in a box that said "designed for a lifetime of use."

So, I wrote my letter, explaining how much I appreciate Kitchen Aid products, how I received my mixer as a gift from my mom who used hers everyday when I was growing up and still uses it all these years later. I explained the issue at hand, made my case, asked them to please consider replacing my attachment piece, and thanked them kindly for their time and attention to this matter. It was a great, cheesy letter...and it worked! A little box with a new attachment piece arrived from Kitchen Aid today, and I'm so pleased. :)