{"id":"off-vendor-invoice-email","audience":"office","category":"writing-emails","technique":"tone","title":"Write a calm, firm email about a wrong vendor invoice","free":false,"task":"Your office ordered 40 chairs from Brightline Office Supply, received 32, and was billed for 40. Write to their rep, Helen Park, as yourself (Sam Rivera, Office Manager). Open with the ask: a corrected invoice for the 32 chairs by Nov 14. Say you're holding payment until it arrives, without threatening to stop working with them. Stay calm and firm with no apologies or insults, include the PO and invoice numbers, and keep it under 90 words of plain text.","materialLabel":"Invoice, receipt and team chat (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"INVOICE INV-2291 - Brightline Office Supply\nDate: Oct 28\nBill to: Harborview Property Group, attn: Sam Rivera\nPO #4471\nItem: Ergo task chair, black - Qty 40 x $185.00 = $7,400.00\nPayment due: Nov 27\n\nDELIVERY RECEIPT (signed by front desk, Oct 30)\nPO #4471 - Ergo task chair, black - Qty delivered: 32\nDriver's note: \"Remaining 8 backordered, no date yet.\"\n\nSLACK - #office-ops\nDev: These guys are a joke. They've been late like 5 times this year. Tell them we're done with them!!\nMina: lol calm down. The delivery log only shows 2 late deliveries this year, I checked.\nDev: whatever, still annoying\nMina: Also we're keeping the other 8 on order, we still need them.\n\nBRIGHTLINE DELIVERY LOG 2026\nFeb 3 - late\nJun 18 - late\nAll other deliveries on time.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":90},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"At most 5 sentences, each under 15 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Letting the ask drift to the end","why":"The AI opens with context and pleasantries, so the request lands in the last paragraph.","fix":"Add: \"First sentence after the greeting: ask for a corrected invoice for 32 chairs by Nov 14.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Not saying what happens next","why":"The AI doesn't know you're holding payment, so the email has no teeth, or it borrows a coworker's threat.","fix":"Add: \"Say we're holding payment until the corrected invoice arrives. No threats to cancel.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Copying the angry tone or the rumor","why":"The AI picks up the coworker's anger and the 'late 5 times' claim, which the delivery log shows is wrong.","fix":"Add: \"Calm and firm, no apologies. Use only facts from the invoice, receipt and log.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Forgetting the format","why":"AI adds bold labels or placeholders like [Your Name] that you then have to fix.","fix":"Add: \"Plain text, signed Sam Rivera, Office Manager.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Puts the ask first","patterns":["first sentence","open with|lead with|start with","corrected invoice"]},{"label":"Sets a deadline","patterns":["nov(ember)?\\.?\\s*14"]},{"label":"Says payment is on hold","patterns":["(hold|withhold|pause).{0,20}payment","payment.{0,20}(hold|withheld|paused)"]},{"label":"Sets the tone","patterns":["firm","polite","calm","no apolog","professional"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"The AI will copy the mood of the chat unless you set the tone yourself. Say what goes first, what happens next and how it should sound.","rubricLabels":["Right after any greeting, the first sentence asks for a corrected invoice for the 32 chairs delivered, by Nov 14","Says payment on the invoice is on hold until the corrected invoice arrives, and makes no threat to stop working with Brightline","Calm and firm: no insults, sarcasm or apologies; mentions PO 4471 and invoice INV-2291; and if it mentions past late deliveries, it says 2 (not 5)"]}