{"id":"ops-late-delivery-email-no-threats","audience":"procurement","category":"operations-work","track":"operations","technique":"constraints","level":"beginner","title":"Email a vendor about a late shipment without threats or penalties","free":false,"task":"A carton delivery is late and your line is running low. Write a prompt for a short email to the vendor rep, Lena Brandt. It starts with a subject line, states the facts, and asks for a confirmed delivery date by 3 p.m. today. Stay calm and professional: do not mention late fees, penalties or switching vendors, even though your team has talked about them. Plain text, under 90 words.","materialLabel":"Your material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"PO 7731 - Harbor Valley Packaging - 4,000 shipping cartons\nPromised delivery: Tuesday Mar 4\nToday: Friday Mar 7\nTracking: scanned at the carrier hub on Mar 5, no movement since.\nOur stock: 1,500 cartons on hand, usage about 500 per day, so we run out on Mon Mar 10 at end of day.\nVendor contact: Lena Brandt, account manager. She has been responsive on past orders.\n\nInternal chatter from the team: \"honestly I'd switch vendors after this\" and \"the contract has a 2% late fee clause, we should invoke it.\" Nobody has decided anything. Procurement lead (Sam) wants a calm email today.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":90}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Asks for a subject line","patterns":["subject"]},{"label":"Gives the facts to include","patterns":["mar 4","tracking","mar 10","run out"]},{"label":"Sets the deadline","patterns":["3 p\\.?m","by 3","today"]},{"label":"Bans penalties","patterns":["do not mention","late fee","penalt","switch"]},{"label":"Asks for plain text","patterns":["plain","no bold","no markdown","no formatting","no headings"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Raising fees or alternatives","why":"The AI adds a firm line about the late fee or looking at other vendors.","fix":"Say: \"Do not mention late fees, penalties or switching vendors.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Skipping the facts","why":"The AI writes a vague 'where is my order' note.","fix":"Add: \"Include the promised date, the tracking status and our stock-out date.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No subject line","why":"The AI starts with Dear Lena.","fix":"Say: \"First line: Subject: with the PO number.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Getting markdown back","why":"AI adds bold, headings and bullets by default, which show up as stray symbols where this is pasted.","fix":"Say \"plain text, no bold, no headings, no asterisks\".","checks":["plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague \"keep it short\" lands over the limit.","fix":"Cap each part instead of the total, for example \"each line under 15 words\".","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"Start with the subject line, give the three dates, name the deadline and say what to leave out.","mission":"Get Lena Brandt to confirm the carton delivery date by 3 p.m.","musts":["Facts only, stay calm","No fees or penalties","No threat to switch"],"rubricLabels":["The first line starts with \"Subject:\" and the subject mentions PO 7731","The body states the promised date of Mar 4, that tracking shows no movement since the Mar 5 carrier hub scan, and that cartons run out Monday Mar 10","It asks for a confirmed delivery date by 3 p.m. today and does not mention late fees, penalties, the contract clause or switching vendors"]}