022 Delivering Bad News
Dialogue 1
A: Bob, can I talk to you for a minute? There have been some developments for the Stewart case that I really need to talk to you about.
B: Yeah, what's the matter now? We've had so much trouble with this case already. Don't tell me there's more bad news.
A: Well, I'm afraid there is. I have some bad news for you about the results of the forensic tests....there won't be any results.
B: What? What does that mean? Why won't there be any results?
A: I hate to tell you this, but it seems that every shred of evidence that would help us to convict were destroyed in a laboratory fire. There's nothing left. I'm so sorry...
B: Oh, no, you can't be serious. I never expect anything like this would happened. What are we going to do?
A: There's nothing that can be done. Everything is gone. I wish I could tell you differently, but what has happened has happened. We will just have to figure out a way to move on.
Dialogue 2
A: I got an email from our supplier yesterday about this quarter's order.... It doesn't look so good. Here, take a look.
B: "Dear Mr. Hardy, I am sorry to inform you that your shipment will be delayed. Due to circumstances beyond our control, our warehouse has been temporarily closed. There has been a problem with fire hazard violations in our industry and government officials have closed several warehouses without warning." Wow, that's bummer.
A: So that means that we'll be late in getting our order....
B: Did they say how long we have to wait until the order is filled?
A: Keep reading....
B: "We deeply regret any inconvenience this has caused you. We apologize for this unexpected delay in the shipment of your order. We can assure you that this will not happen again. We expect normal shipment service to resume soon. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help in the meantime. Sincerely." Looks like they don't have a date for us when the order can be filled.
A: They say "soon", but who knows how soon "soon" will be.