9201UniversityCityBlvd.

Charlotte,NC28223
09/15/14

Forever21
8111ConcordMillsBlvd.#XQA
Concord,NC28027

DearManagement,

Ihaverecentlyhadanunfortunateexperienceatoneofyournearbylocations.Ihave
alwaysenjoyedshoppingatyourstores,yourclothingisaffordableandfitsmytaste.
Although,mylastexperiencewasverydisappointingandashoppingdealbreaker.Iwas
casuallybrowsingthroughthestorelookingtofindparticulardressforanevent.Unableto
findwhatIwaslookingfor,IapproachedanemployeetoaskforassistancetheresponseI
gotwasnottheoneIwasexpecting.Theemployeelookedupatmeanddidnoteven
bothertorespondtomyquestion.DonotgetmewrongIdonotexpecteveryemployeeto
knowexactlywhereeveryarticleofclothingis,butIdoexpecttheemployeetoeitherfind
someonewhocanassistmeorattempttohelpthemselves.Whentheemployeejust
shruggedhershouldersinsteadofpolitelysayingno,Iwasdisgusted.Thiswasthefirst
timeIdexperiencedthisbehavioranywhere.IwasquiteoffendedbecauseIaskedhermy
questionpolitelyandnotwithtoomuchexpectation.Ihaveworkedatrestaurantsin
environmentswherecustomershavebeenrude,butourpolicywastoalwaysrespondwith
asmileandintenttostillgivethemthebestexperiencepossible.Icanunderstandwhen
oneishavingabaddaybecause,letsfaceit,weveallbeenthere,buttoreflectthat
negativeenergybackatsomeonewhoscompletelyinnocentisunacceptable.
AsIwenttofindmyfriendandexplaintoherwhathappened,sheimmediatelytoldme
thatshehadasimilarexperiencewiththesameemployee.Now,notonlyhasthisemployee
dulledmydaybutmyfriendsaswell.ThisiswhyIhavedecidedtowritethisletterof
complaint.Icanhaveabadexperiencewithanemployeeandletitgo,butwhenitis
consistentwithothercustomersaswell,Icantbegintoquestionitsneedofnotability.IfI
haveanotherbadexperience,Iwillstopshoppingatyourstoresforgoodandtellmypeers
ofthisdissatisfaction.Ifyouremployeesarenotbeingtrainedtoassistcustomers
regardlessoftheirissues,thenyouarenottrainingthemaccordingly.Ihopethatthiscan
betakencareofassoonaspossible.

Sincerely,

RachelCox

ProfessorComments

Rachel,
Sinceyousubmittedyourletterasapdf,Imyresponseislimitedtothistextboxasopposedtoin
thedocumentitself.Ireallylikethetoneyourstrikeinyourcomplaintletter.youdoagoodjob
makingyourcomplaintclearandadoptingatoneofloyalbutdissatisfiedcustomer.Youanalysis
isenlightening,butIwasconfusedbyacoupleofthings.forone,yousayyouwantyour
audiencetofeellikea"minority".whatdoyoumeanbyminority(awordtypicallyreservedas
referencetoethnicity).Also,youhaveusedsomeexamplesinyouranalysistoexplainyour
process,butsomeofyouranalysisisabitambiguous,forexample:"Pathosisaveryintenseside
ofrhetoricbecause,frommyexperience,itisthemosteffectivebecauseitputsyouonthesame
planeasmanyotherpeople."Butidoreallylikehowyoudiscussstrategieslikecitingyour
friend'sexperienceasevidence.Goodworkhere.watchoutofvague,unclearlanguage.

RachelCox
AdamPadgett
UWRIT1101
09/16/17

RhetoricalAnalysis

Whenwritingmyletterofcomplaint,myaudiencewasthemanagementofForever21.It
isimportantthatIwritethislettertotherightpartybecauseifitwentsomewhereelse,myissue
wouldlesslikelyberesolved.Iaddressedthisaudienceatthebeginningofmyletterwithinthe

salutationaswellasshiftedthepapersattentiontowardsthemanagementdiscretelybysaying
thattheyneededtotraintheiremployeesbetter.Generally,themanagersaretheonestraining
oneononewiththeemployees.ImentionedthatatthepreviousjobsIupheld,themanagement
wasstrictontreatingcustomerswellundereverycircumstance.Bysayingthis,Ihopetoreach
themonalevelthatleavesthemquestioningtheirauthoritativeroleandhoweffectiveitis.Iwas
almosthopingthattheywouldfeelsomewhatlikeaminoritywhenIstatedthatIveneverhadan
experiencelikethisbeforeatanystore.Bynow,themanagersshouldrealizethatthisisnota
commonactandcustomersnotice.
Inmycomplaintletter,Ioptedtospeakinatonethatwasfirmbutequallyrelatable.For
example,Icanunderstandwhenoneishavingabaddaybecause,letsfaceit,weveallbeen
there.Withthisstatement,myintentionwastoarousesomekindofemotioninthereaderso
thattheywouldrealizethatIamalsounderstandingofsomeonesfeelings,butatthesametime
statingthatitisstillunacceptable.Here,Iwasusingtherhetoricalappealofpathos(emotion).
Pathosisaveryintensesideofrhetoricbecause,frommyexperience,itisthemosteffective
becauseitputsyouonthesameplaneasmanyotherpeople.Weallgetemotionalandcan
usuallybeunderstandingofeachothersfeelingsevenifitsnotonesweveexperienced.Inmy
letterItriedtoemphasizethatthereisatimeandplaceforeverything.
Ibegantouselogosbecausemyexpectationsforthisretailstorewereprettyreasonable
andlogical.DonotgetmewrongIdonotexpecteveryemployeetoknowexactlywhereevery
articleofclothingis,butIdoexpectclearlystatedwhatIwashopingtheemployeewould
assistmewithandevenanalternativebehavior,insteadIreceivedneither.Logosisimportant
becauselogicaldifferencescanonlyvaryslightlybyregion.Itisusuallynotsomethingyoucan

arguewith,itisjustsimplylogical.Bynow,themanagementshouldbeabletohaveanideaof
myintentofthecomplaintletterbutjustincasetheystillhadnt,Iwrote:ThisiswhyIhave
decidedtowritethisletterofcomplaintinthelastparagraph.Sometimesitisbettertojustcome
outandsayit.
Thepurposeofmycomplaintletteristoraiseawarenessaboutthebehaviorofan
employeeintheirstore,possiblyimprovetheirmanagement,andencouragethemtotraintheir
employeesinamorecustomerorientedmanner.Iexclaimedmydisappointmentaboutthe
improperbehavioroftheemployeeandemphasizedthefactthatshedidntjustactthatway
towardsmebuttoanothercustomeraswell.Inbetweenthelines,Ihintedtheimprovementof
theirmanagementbyespeciallydirectingthelettertowardsthemandnottheemployees.WhenI
mentionedthetrainingenforcedatmypreviousjobs,thatwasmeanttoencouragethemanagers
totraintheiremployeesaccordingly.IthinkthatwhatIvewrittenwillaccomplishthesegoals
becauseImademyfrustrationknownandexplainedtheareastheycouldimproveon.