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Calm an angry customer with only the offer you're allowed to make
Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're Jordan, the account rep for Brightline Dental. Rita Okafor, their office manager, is furious after your scheduling software went down for two days. Your manager approved exactly one make-good: a one-month service credit on her next invoice (no refund, and not the 25% discount a former rep once floated). Reply by email in under 110 words, plain text, apologizing once without blaming anyone or promising it will never happen again, and end by offering a 15-minute call this Thursday or Friday. Write a prompt that gets that reply.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Saying "reply to this customer". The AI doesn't know what you're allowed to offer, so it guesses: a vague gesture, a promise to look into the refund, or the old 25% note. Try: State the offer: "Offer only a one-month service credit on her next invoice. No refund, no discount."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 110 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead, like "each line under 16 words," so the total lands well under 110.
- No clear next step. The AI ends with "please don't hesitate to reach out", which leaves an angry customer with nothing to do. Try: Say how it ends: "Last sentence: offer a 15-minute call this Thursday or Friday."
- Over-apologizing and over-explaining. AI apologizes three times, explains the technical cause, and promises it won't happen again. That sounds defensive and makes promises you can't keep. Try: Add: "Apologize exactly once. No excuses, don't name any vendor, and don't promise it won't happen again."
- Forgetting it's a plain email. AI sometimes bolds the offer or adds headings, which looks like a template, not a person. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, written like a person."
What a strong prompt includes
- Names the approved offer
- Rules out refunds and discounts
- Says how it ends
- Controls the apology
- Sets a word limit
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