Essentials of Business Communication 8th Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey

Exercise 26

Jeanine H. was new to her job as administrative assistant at the Aqualina Resort Spa in Sunny Isles, Florida. Alone in the office one morning, she answered a phone call from Don, who said he was the resort's copier contractor. "Hey, look, Babydoll," Don purred, "the price on the toner you use is about to go way up. I can offer you a great price on this toner if you order right now." Jeanine knew that the copy machine regularly needed toner, and she thought she should probably go ahead and place the order to save the resort some money. Ten days later two bottles of toner arrived, and Jeanine was pleased at the perfect timing; the copy machine needed it right away. Three weeks later Helen, the bookkeeper, called to report a bill from Copyco Supplies for $960.43 for two bottles of toner. "What's going on here?" said Helen. "We don't purchase supplies from this company, and this price is totally off the charts!"
Jeanine spoke to the manager, Javier Natali, who immediately knew what had happened. He blamed himself for not training Jeanine. "Never, never order anything from a telephone solicitor, no matter how fast-talking or smooth he sounds," warned Javier. He outlined an office policy for future supplies purchases. Only certain people can authorize or finalize a purchase, and purchases require a confirmed price including shipping costs settled in advance. However, what to do about this $960.43 bill? The resort had already begun to use the toner, although the current copies were looking faint and streaked.
Your Task. As Javier Natali, decide how to respond to this obvious scam. Should you pay the bill? Should you return the unused bottle? Write a persuasive claim to Copyco Supplies, 8548 NW 88th Street, Miami, FL 33135. Supply any details necessary.