Reference no: EM133147889

Situation:

You are the operator and manager of one of FATHER FRANKS's food trucks, a popular San Francisco-based business. Currently the owner of the company has three trucks operating in the city, all of which are profitable trucks that serve a variety of exotic hot dogs. FATHER FRANK'S specializes in customizable gourmet hot dogs, including exotic meats such as elk, bison, ostrich, and other non-meat (vegan and veggie) options including tofu, tempeh, and pea-protein (tastes the closest to meat). 

Your Task:

Your goal is to try to convince Fritz Mueller, the owner of FATHER FRANK'S, to expand his business by adding additional food trucks; you also want him to consider promoting you to a larger management role that would eventually involve additional responsibilities, at a higher salary to be negotiated during a formal meeting.

(In formal letter format) to Fritz that will convince him to add new trucks to the fleet, and to consider you for a promotion to senior management at a later date. You must support all of your claims with logical reasoning and relevant information from the "Facts". Not all of the information below will be appropriate for your purposes, so choose your supporting information carefully.

Facts:

• FATHER FRANK'Shas been only been around for three years. It was SF's original gourmet hot dog truck and is currently the hottest place to get an exotic dog. You've been on staff for the last two and a half years and you have seen the growth of the business, but the demand is exceptionally high. You recently graduated with a BS in Business Administration: Concentration in Finance, and you minored in Business Management.
• The "gourmet food truck" trend began over two decade ago in the city, particularly in the Mission District, where most of the first trucks sold tacos and other Mexican food. FATHER FRANK'S was the first truck of its kind and is still the most popular gourmet hot dog truck today, although other food trucks have started offering copy-cat items which also sell well.
• All of FATHER FRANK'S trucks are profitable, but consistency and predictability of sales has been a challenge since the beginning. One truck is assigned to the Haight/Ashbury district, another is assigned to the Marina District, and your truck is assigned to the downtown/SOMA location.
• Fritz Mueller, the owner and creator of FATHER FRANK'S, served as founder and manager of the original truck. Once the third truck was launched, he had no choice but to relinquish his role as an on-truck manager and began to work from a small office, taking care of logistical problems such as ordering, scheduling, obtaining permits, and so on. Fritz often claims that he misses the "innovation and creativity of designing new menu items" and "handling a rush of hungry customers," and he would prefer to spend more time focusing on creating new menu items and less time "bookkeeping." Fritz is very "big picture" oriented and often brusque (he was born and raised in Berlin), and he prefers formality when attending to business matters, especially in writing. He has never mentioned further expansion of the business, but he has insisted many times that "critical thinking and taking calculated risks are the only ways to compete in SF's cut-throat food truck industry."
• Your truck regularly outperforms the other two in terms of daily revenue, but at times, the other trucks are exceptionally busy; especially during special events, concerts, and street festivals. Both of the managers from the other trucks have come to you and expressed their frustrations, and they often ask for your advice/expertise on how to respond to these challenges. While you have shared some of your tips and strategies with the other truck managers, they have indicated they often have trouble communicating with Fritz and find him "difficult to 'please"',"overly blunt", and "prone to outbursts and temper tantrums," despite paying them very competitive wages. While Fritz has openly expressed his general disappointment with the other trucks' performance during staff meetings, he has also initiated private conversations with you about very specific frustrations and complaints about the other managers, who he believes lack the ability to take initiative, demonstrate a strong work ethic, and think critically during stressful situations. He always apologizes to his staff when he crosses the line and acts unprofessionally, but employee morale has suffered.
• Each food truck must have several permits and licenses to operate, or it risks being shut down by the health department. The permits/licenses are expensive and difficult to obtain. The DMV also has strict licensing requirements for the trucks; the application/renewal process is lengthy and frustrating.
• By effectively managing your inventory and accurately predicting daily sales forecasts, your truck stays consistently busy for BOTH lunch and dinner throughout the week, and customers are highly satisfied with the food quality and wait times. Other FATHER FRANK'S trucks often run out of food too quickly, have excessive wait times, or have customers complaints about the quality of the food. In fact, of all three trucks, the SOMA truck has a 4.5 star rating on Yelp!, while the other only two earn 3.5 stars.
• Food trucks remain popular in the city, but are no longer considered trendy or a new fad. They are a favorite meal option for students, tourists, professionals, and 'foodies' alike. In a recent interview with the SF Chronicle, Fritz claimed that his trucks' success is due to "offering truly unique menu that offers dogs for every kind of preference, and being better than the inferior competition."
• Local businesses have been complaining about traffic and parking problems caused by food trucks, and a local ballot initiative in an upcoming city election could make it much more difficult to acquire licenses and permits in the next calendar year. The measure is polling at around 80% support.

If the expansion occurs, you see yourself taking over even more of the managerial duties of the business in order to allow Fritz to focus more on the creative aspects of the menu and business model. You realize you are proposing a promotion for yourself, but you have thought carefully about the situation and feel that you are ready to take on more of a leadership role by allowing Fritz to return his focus to the menu, while you focus on the bookkeeping/management/marketing aspects once the expansion has taken place.

Make sure your proposal is organized correctly (either indirectly OR directly), addresses all three of the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos), is correctly formatted (as a persuasive formal letter), and is between 600-700 words. Be sure to proofread your work!