Reply to a late fee waiver request without promising the waiver

About this exercise

A customer asks for a late fee to be waived. Write a prompt for a plain-text email under 90 words that starts with "Hi Tony," and ends with the line "Accounts Receivable". It has three lines starting "Invoice:", "Late fee:" and "Balance:" showing the math, says the waiver request has been passed to the AR manager for review, and asks for payment of the invoice by Nov 20. Never promise the waiver and don't mention the customer's comment about switching vendors. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Promising the waiver. The AI says it will do what it can to waive the fee. Try: Add: "No promise either way; say the request is with the AR manager."
• Responding to the threat. The AI mentions that the company values his business or other vendors. Try: Add: "Do not mention his comment about other vendors."
• No fee math. The AI says 'a small late fee applies'. Try: Add: "Show 1.5% x $2,000.00 = $30.00 and the total."
• 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
• Asks for the three lines
• Says the waiver is under review
• Bans promises and threats talk
• Caps length

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