Explain a credit memo to a customer without internal blame

About this exercise

You're writing to a customer about a billing correction. Write a prompt for a plain-text email under 70 words that tells the customer what was wrong, the credit amount with the math, and when they will see it. Start with "Hi Carla," and end with "Billing Team". One short apology is fine. Don't mention internal causes or who made the error.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Revealing the root cause. The AI explains that sales ops keyed the wrong seats. Try: Add: "Do not mention internal causes, teams or people."
• No math or date. The AI says 'a credit will be applied' without amount, seats or date. Try: Say: "Show 12 seats x $18 = $216.00 and the Nov 30 invoice."
• Missing the greeting and sign-off. The AI uses 'Dear Customer' and signs with a name. Try: Add: 'Start with "Hi Carla," end with "Billing Team".'
• Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

• Names the reader
• Includes the math
• Says when credit appears
• Bans internal blame
• Caps length

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises

• Accrue goods received but not invoiced at PO price (Finance AI · Accountants)
• Age open requisitions as of today and flag the old ones (Finance AI · FP&A and financial analysts)
• Age reconciling items and escalate those over 60 days (Finance AI · Accountants)
• Allocate shared rent by headcount using the right roster (Finance AI · Accountants)
• Announce a team split with empathy and only the facts (Leadership AI · Managers and team leads)