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Explain a late-cancellation fee kindly without waiving it
- For Small business owners
- You practice Getting the tone right
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Beginner
About this exercise
You run Glow Studio. Reply to Priya in plain text, under 75 words. First line exactly "Hi Priya," and last line exactly "Glow Studio". Explain the $20 fee and why, say it is charged to the card on file, and include the placeholder [booking link] to rebook. Do not offer to waive it.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Waiving the fee. The owner's comment suggests waiving it for a regular. Try: Add: "Do not offer or hint at waiving it."
- No reason given. The AI says 'a fee applies' without the 24-hour rule. Try: Say: "Explain: within 24 hours of the appointment."
- Generic greeting and sign-off. The AI writes 'Dear Priya' and 'Best wishes'. Try: Give both lines exactly.
- 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".
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and usually runs long, so a vague "keep it short" lands well over the limit. Try: Cap each part instead of the total, for example "each line under 15 words".
What a strong prompt includes
- Asks for plain text
- Sets a length limit
- Gives the fee reason
- Bans a waiver
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