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Rewrite a defensive reply to a 1-star review in a calm voice

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Getting the tone right
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You own a café and drafted an angry reply to a 1-star review. Rewrite it in a calm, warm voice. Don't argue about what happened in public, invite her to email hello@lindencafe.example, and offer nothing free in the public reply, since that invites more complaint reviews. Under 70 words, plain text, signed "Marta, owner".

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Keeping the arguments. The AI softens the words but keeps the wait-time numbers and the excuses. Try: Say: "Don't dispute what happened. No numbers or excuses."
  • No way to follow up. The AI ends with "hope to see you again" and nothing she can act on. Try: Add: "Invite her to email hello@lindencafe.example."
  • Keeping the free coffee. The AI sees a free coffee as a nice gesture and leaves it in. Try: Say: "Offer nothing free in public. Sign it Marta, owner."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague "keep it short" lands well over 70 words. Try: Cap each part instead of the total: "each line under 15 words".
  • Getting markdown back. AI adds bold and headings by default, which show up as stray symbols where this is pasted. Try: Say "plain text, no bold, no headings, no asterisks".

What a strong prompt includes

  • Sets the voice
  • Bans arguing
  • Gives the email
  • Bans freebies
  • Sets a word limit

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