{"id":"ind-sup-preorder-delay-notice","audience":"customer-support","category":"writing-emails","technique":"grounding","title":"Tell preorder customers their order ships late","free":false,"task":"Your preorder customers need to hear their game console bundle will ship late. Write a subject line starting \"Subject:\" (under 8 words, naming the new date), then a body under 70 words, plain text, whose first sentence gives the new ship date (no thank-you or apology before it). Use the latest date, give the cancel-for-refund link, don't name or blame the supplier, and offer only the credit the notes approve. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.","materialLabel":"The ops thread (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"#preorders - Pixelharbor Games (fictional retailer) - Nov 4-6\n\nNov 4, Andre (Ops): Bundle preorders (Nova X console + 2 controllers) are delayed. Our supplier, Kintaro Logistics, missed the container. New ship date Dec 5.\nNov 4, Fatima (CX): How many customers?\nNov 4, Andre: 1,840 preorders.\nNov 5, Andre: Update: Kintaro now says the container clears customs later. New ship date is Dec 12, not Dec 5.\nNov 5, Fatima: Can we offer something?\nNov 5, Gail (CX Director): Approved: a $20 store credit for everyone who keeps their preorder. Added automatically when it ships.\nNov 5, Fatima: Should we offer free shipping too?\nNov 5, Gail: No, shipping was already free on preorders.\nNov 6, Andre: Customers can cancel for a full refund anytime before it ships at pixelharbor.example/cancel.\nNov 6, Fatima: Can we say \"due to supplier issues\"?\nNov 6, Gail: Just say \"a shipping delay.\" Never name partners in customer emails.\nNov 6, Andre: Also the holiday sale banner goes live Friday.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":85},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 85 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"body 4 sentences, each under 15 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Not asking for the subject line","why":"The AI writes only a body, or a long subject that gets cut off in an inbox.","fix":"Add: \"First line: Subject: under 8 words, with the new date.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Warming up first","why":"The AI opens with \"We wanted to reach out with an update\" before the date.","fix":"Add: \"Body sentence 1 gives the new ship date.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Using the first date or blaming the partner","why":"Dec 5 appears first in the thread and the supplier is named, so the AI may use both.","fix":"Add: \"Ship date is Dec 12. Don't name the supplier or mention customs.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Ignoring where it will be pasted","why":"AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email tool.","fix":"Name the place and the format: \"For the email tool. Plain text, no bold or headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Asks for a subject line","patterns":["subject"]},{"label":"Uses the latest date","patterns":["dec(ember)? 12","latest","updated","new (ship )?date"]},{"label":"Keeps the partner out","patterns":["supplier","kintaro","don'?t (name|blame)","partner"]},{"label":"Gives the cancel option","patterns":["cancel","refund","link"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Delay emails go wrong when the date is stale or the blame lands on a partner. Tell the AI which date is current, what to offer, and what to leave out.","rubricLabels":["The first line starts with 'Subject:', is under 8 words after that label, and names December 12 (or Dec 12)","The body's first sentence gives the new ship date, December 12, with no thank-you, greeting-plus-apology or 'we wanted to let you know' lead-in before it (a short 'Hi,' is fine)","Never uses Dec 5, includes the cancel link pixelharbor.example/cancel and the $20 store credit with no other perks, and doesn't name Kintaro Logistics or mention customs"]}