{"id":"proc-decline-bid-letter-factual-reasons","audience":"procurement","category":"operations-work","track":"operations","technique":"tone","level":"intermediate","title":"Decline a losing bidder politely with only two factual reasons","free":false,"task":"Write a prompt for an email declining a bid from Ridgeway Industrial. The first line is exactly \"Subject: Your bid for warehouse shelving\". Give exactly two reasons, both factual, from the evaluation figures. Do not name the winner or its price, do not criticize the vendor's people or references, and do not promise future business. Thank them and say they are welcome to bid on future requests. Plain text, under 120 words.","materialLabel":"Your material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"BID RESULT NOTES - Warehouse shelving, 40 bays\n\nSelected bidder: Summit Storage Systems, $50,000, delivery in 4 weeks.\nRidgeway Industrial bid: $56,000, delivery in 6 weeks. Required delivery was 4 weeks or less.\n\nInternal evaluation comments (not for sharing): \"Ridgeway's references were mixed, two calls went unanswered.\" \"Their rep was pushy on the phone.\" \"Their install crew damaged a dock door at a past site, per a reference.\"\n\nContact at Ridgeway: Colin Marsh, sales manager.\nDebrief offer: procurement can give a short debrief call to any bidder who asks.\n\nSign-off: Procurement Team, Tidewell Logistics.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":120}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Asks for a subject and name","patterns":["subject","colin"]},{"label":"Limits to two factual reasons","patterns":["two reasons","exactly two","price","delivery"]},{"label":"Lists what to leave out","patterns":["do not name","do not mention","references"]},{"label":"Invites future bids","patterns":["future","welcome to bid","debrief"]},{"label":"Asks for plain text","patterns":["plain","no bold","no markdown","no formatting","no headings"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Sharing the internal comments","why":"The AI mentions weak references or the pushy rep.","fix":"Say: \"Do not mention references, the rep or past work.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Naming the winner","why":"The AI reveals Summit's name and price to be transparent.","fix":"Say: \"Do not name the winner or its price.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Vague reasons","why":"The AI says 'another bid better fit our needs'.","fix":"Say: \"Give exactly two reasons: the price gap and the delivery time.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No subject or greeting","why":"The AI skips the subject line.","fix":"Say: \"First line: Subject:\" and address Colin Marsh.","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Markdown extras and long output","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\" and cap each line, for example \"each line under 15 words\".","checks":["plainText","maxWords"]}],"hint":"Start with a subject, limit the reasons to two facts and list what must stay out.","mission":"Decline Ridgeway Industrial's shelving bid politely.","musts":["Exactly two factual reasons","Don't name winner or price","No future-business promise"],"rubricLabels":["The first line is exactly \"Subject: Your bid for warehouse shelving\" and the email is addressed to Colin Marsh","It gives exactly two reasons: Ridgeway's $56,000 price was higher than the selected bid and its 6-week delivery missed the 4-week requirement","It does not name Summit Storage or its $50,000 price, does not mention references, the rep or past damage, does not promise future business, and thanks them and invites future bids"]}