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Reply to a patient's complaint about a long wait

Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

A patient complained online about waiting 75 minutes past her appointment time. As the patient experience coordinator, write a reply under 90 words, plain text: name the 75-minute wait in the first sentence, say the two changes the clinic is making, and invite her to call you directly. Don't blame or name any staff member, don't mention her health or why the doctor ran late, and don't offer anything not in your notes. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 90 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "5 sentences, each under 18 words."
  • Opening with a generic apology. The AI starts "We're sorry for any inconvenience" without naming what happened. Try: Add: "First sentence: name the 75-minute wait on Oct 30."
  • Being vague about changes. "We're reviewing our processes" tells her nothing. Try: Add: "Name both changes: updates every 20 minutes, and a text if 30+ minutes late."
  • Explaining or blaming. The AI explains the emergency delivery or mentions the receptionist, both of which overshare. Try: Add: "Don't name staff or explain why the doctor was late. Offer nothing extra."
  • Ignoring where it will be pasted. AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the reply. Try: Name the place and the format: "For the reply. Plain text, no bold or headings."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the wait first
  • Names the changes
  • Protects staff and privacy
  • Rules out extra offers
  • Sets a word limit

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