Prompts for support replies that calm people down

The prompt that works

Write a reply to the angry customer message below. Rules: acknowledge the specific problem in the first sentence (no "sorry for any inconvenience"), take ownership without legal admissions, state exactly what I am doing about it and when they will hear back, and offer one concrete goodwill gesture. Under 120 words, human tone, no corporate phrases. They should finish reading feeling heard, not handled.

The prompt that works

Write a reply declining the refund request below, referencing our policy (also below). Structure: thank them genuinely, explain the specific reason this case falls outside the policy in plain words, offer the best alternative I can actually give (credit, discount, or help fixing their issue), and leave the door open to escalate. Firm but warm — never blame the customer. Under 130 words.

The prompt that works

Write a public response to the 1-star review below. Audience: not the reviewer — the hundreds of prospects who will read this. Acknowledge their specific experience, correct any factual error politely with evidence, state what changed because of this feedback, and invite them to continue privately. Under 100 words, zero defensiveness. It should make a stranger think "this company handles problems well".

The prompt that works

Write an incident email to customers about the outage described below. Structure: what happened in one plain-language sentence, exact impact window and who was affected, what we did, what we are changing so it does not repeat, and whether any action is needed from them. No excuses, no minimizing language ("brief", "minor"), no jargon. Under 150 words, from the founder.

The prompt that works

Reply to the feature request below, which we decided not to build. Thank them for the specific idea, explain the real reason in one honest sentence (focus, not "roadmap priorities"), suggest the closest workaround that exists today with steps, and tell them how they will find out if this ever changes. Under 110 words. They should still feel like their input matters — because it does.