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Condense a long ticket thread into a Tier 2 escalation note
Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're escalating a long support ticket to Tier 2, and their queue only shows a short note. You want exactly 3 lines labeled Issue:, Tried:, and Ask:, in that order, under 70 words in total, plain text. Use the customer's latest details (they corrected which device they're on), and leave out apologies and back-and-forth chatter. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the labels. The AI writes a paragraph recap, which Tier 2 has to reread to find the ask. Try: Add: "Exactly 3 lines labeled Issue:, Tried:, Ask:."
- Missing the device correction. The first message says iPhone, so the AI often keeps it. Try: Add: "Use the customer's latest details. She's on an iPad."
- Leaving out what was tried. Squeezed for space, the AI drops steps, so Tier 2 repeats them. Try: Add: "List every troubleshooting step already tried."
- Copying the friendly tone. The thread is full of 'so sorry', and the AI carries it into an internal note. Try: Add: "Internal note. No apologies, no chatter. Plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 12 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the labels
- Uses the latest details
- Lists what was tried
- Bans apologies
- Limits the sentences
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