Group#3

“Making promises you can’t keep”

CHARACTERS

Dunder Mifflin Company

SIDE A: MISTAKE

Scene-1: 

Customer 1: Mr. Manager, I want to place an order with Dunder Mifflin for 25000 units. I will
need the order delivered within a week. 

Manager: Yes! It would be our pleasure to work with your company. We assure you the best
quality, responsive customer support and fast deliveries from our side. So, you can place the
order today by paying the advance and we’ll get it delivered to you by this week itself.

Customer 1: Great! This is an urgent order, so do keep the timeline in mind.

Manager: Sure Ma’am, will do! Thank you for choosing us.

(On non-delivery of order)

Customer 1: The deadline was 2 days ago! Why did you assure us of delivery within a week
if you were not sure. I had already told you that the order was extremely critical. If you had
told us beforehand we could have looked for alternatives. You have put us in a false
position.  

Manager: Ma’am, please calm down, I PROMISE that we have been working tirelessly for
completing your order and since you are a valuable customer we have made it our top
priority.

Customer 1: Had you been giving us the top priority, we would not have been incessantly
calling to check on the status of our order. This delay is unacceptable and has broken the
mutual trust and confidence we shared.

Manager: Ma’am please accept my apologies for the inconvenience caused and as a show
of good faith, we will not charge you any shipping for your order. 

Customer 1: Alright! But make sure that we receive the order by Saturday, latest. Don’t
expect any further extension or else you’ll have to pay us back our advance. 

Scene-2: 

Manager: Just got off the call with Customer 1, she was really angry with the delay in this
order. You all will have to hold all other orders for the time being, put in some extra hours
and focus solely on this one so we can ship it by Friday. This is an important order for us
from a big client and we can’t delay it any further now. 

Employee-1: But we are already running behind schedule on Customer 2’s order. There
have been many delays and manufacturing problems in his order and I do not think that he
will consider any more explanations for the delay. 

Manager: You, E-2 & E-3 are all going to work on this order now, find a way to manage both
of them, it is a matter of just one week!

Employee-2: Sir, I was supposed to visit my mother this week. She is very sick. I had
mentioned her condition to you last week and you had approved my leave application too. I
have already made all the necessary arrangements. I have been a very diligent worker
throughout. I haven’t availed a single leave in the past one year. Please do understand the
urgency of the situation. And, it’s a matter of just a few days. 

Manager: You can take your leave after Saturday. We need all hands on deck now.Worker-
3, since you’ve been working with this customer since Day1, you’ll be the one in charge.

Employee-3: I am already working 60 hours a week, solely for this order. I had mentioned in
my initial report too that it’s practically not possible to achieve such a short lead time with our
resources. We have been misleading not only our customers but ourselves too. We will
either end up compromising on quality, lead time or both. The added pressure on the
workforce is too much. I’ll not be able to continue this way. Given the way things are shaping
up, I am left with no choice but to resign.

Scene-3: 

Manager- I had a talk with you yesterday about the bulk order for packaging. I have an
urgent order to fulfil and I need more packaging material. Double the order amount and
deliver it by tomorrow. 

Supplier: Although I can understand your urgency but you must be aware of our policies. An
order that big has to be placed in advance. If you want it delivered tomorrow, you will have to
pay accordingly as the order will have a serious drain on our inventory.

Manager: Okay, I have no other choice so, just deliver it positively by tomorrow. We will pay
whatever extra costs you charge.

Scene-4:

Employee 1: Sir, I am extremely sorry to inform you that we will have to delay your order by
a week due to some logistical problems.

Customer 2: What?! There have already been delays from your end on top of all the
manufacturing problems encountered in the past few orders. I have let those errors slide
many times owing to the good confidence between us, but now things have started
escalating beyond my tolerance. Why did you promise first hand to do the delivery without
even checking if you had the capacity to execute my order within the stipulated deadline or
not? I am no longer interested in working with such a highly unprofessional company like
Dunder Mifflin. Consider my order cancelled. 
Employee 1: Sir, please. If there is anything we can do, we can give you a discount...and..
and…

Customer 2: No, I am extremely disappointed with the service and no amount of freebies can
make up for it. I have a business to run, and relying on your services is costing me badly. I
expect my advance payment to be refunded within two days.

Scene-5:

Senior Manager: What are these reports? We’re incurring huge costs in terms of
compensation, shipping and paying extra to the supplier. And now you’re telling me that one
of our workers has quit! And we’ve lost a client?!  With one of our biggest customers
cancelling an almost completed order, can you fathom the amount of losses? How are you
going to pay the suppliers? You should have known the capacity of the firm to fulfill orders
and scheduled them accordingly but instead you made promises you couldn't keep and now
we’ve lost valuable customers, employees and capital. Do you realise the impact of all this
on the company? How can you be so rash with your decisions? Looks like you have become
incompetent in carrying out your responsibilities efficiently. You have put the reputation of
our company at stake, and this is highly disappointing!

SIDE B - NO MISTAKE

Scene-1:

Customer 1: Mr. Manager, I wanted to place an order with Dunder Mifflin for 25000 units. I
will need the order delivered within a week. 

Manager: Thank you for showing your interest in availing the services of Dunder Mifflin. This
is a large order requiring an expedited timeline. Can I get back to you regarding this?

Customer 1: Sure.

Scene-2:

Manager: I have received a request for a large order to be delivered within the week. E1, E2,
E3, where are we with our previous orders? Can we complete it on time to take on the large
expedited order?

E1: Sir, We have had some manufacturing troubles with Customer 2’s orders but we have
rectified them. In my opinion, it would be wise to first complete his order before taking on a
new one.

E2: Sir, I have also taken a pre-approved leave for 3 days this week, so I will not be
available and we need all hands on deck for an order this large.

E3: According to my report, it is not possible for us to take additional orders without clearing
our work in progress. And we have to negotiate for a longer duration to fulfil the large order
as well. We do not have the processing capacity.

Manager: I appreciate your inputs, guys. Thanks for letting me know.

Scene-3:
Manager: I received a big order and I will require 25000 units of packaging material within
the week. Will it be possible

Supplier: We do not have that kind of inventory. You will have to pay 1.5 times your usual
amount for the supply if you need it within the week.

Manager: Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I will get back to you soon.

Scene-4:

Manager: Customer1, we are more than willing to take your order but the magnitude of the
order is large. According to our current capacity, we can take on your order next week and
we can deliver it within 15 days at the earliest. With Dunder Mifflin, you’ll not only get the
best product but also the best service. We do not make promises we cannot keep and the
ones that we make, we deliver on.

Customer1: Alright! I am willing to go with your timeline. 

Scene-5:

Senior Manager: Congratulations on getting that big order, Manager! The revenue from the
order will be a great boost for the company. I hear all the problems from the last order have
also been resolved and the workers are also quite happy. I think you’re doing a good job.

END