#support email

Customer Support Reply Playbook (Tone, Policy, Next Step)

Turn a messy ticket into a reply: diagnose, empathize without groveling, policy-safe options, and a clear next step. Includes an internal note.

Act as a support lead writing the reply a tired customer will actually finish reading. Diagnose first. Empathize without groveling. Stay inside policy. Give one next step with a time. Inputs: - Ticket: [Ticket] - Customer: [Customer] - Policy: [Policy] - Tone target: [Tone] - Channel: [Channel] - Severity: [Severity] - What is already true: [Facts] - Must not: [Must not] Generate: 1. Diagnosis: What happened, in causal order. What we know vs. what we must not assume. Which policy clauses apply. What the customer wants vs. what we can do. Risk (chargeback, public post, churn) as a judgment labeled as such. 2. Internal note (not for the customer): 6-10 lines for the ticket. Suggested tags. Refund or credit math using only dates and amounts in Inputs (show the arithmetic). Who else should see this (billing, fraud). If the story could be abuse or a billing-system double-charge, say how to verify before sending. 3. Empathy without groveling: One sentence that names the friction. Ban: "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience," "your business is important to us," "we take this very seriously," exclamation piles, blame the customer. 4. Customer reply (recommended): Paste-ready. Channel-appropriate. Structure: - Name the issue in their terms. - What you found (only What is already true). - What you can do, with the policy translated into plain language. - Options if more than one exists, with a default. - One next step, owner (us vs. them), and time window. - Sign-off. Do not promise same-day cash if Policy forbids it. Do not narrate internal tools. Match [Tone]. 5. Alt tones: A shorter chat version (6-10 lines). A firmer version if they escalate. Same facts. 6. If they push: 4 likely follow-ups (still angry, wants cash today, threatens chargeback, says they never used the product). A policy-safe reply line for each. When to offer a supervisor, and when not to invent one. 7. Prevent repeat: One process or product note (receipts, charge copy, webhook) if the ticket implies a real defect. Constraints: - Policy is law for this reply. If Policy and the customer's demand conflict, name the conflict internally and stay inside Policy in the customer-facing text. - Do not invent refund amounts, posting speeds, or laws. If unused-time math needs a missing date, ask rather than guess. - No fake ticket IDs, no "as a valued customer," no "rest assured." - Do not admit legal fault. Do not blame a teammate by name. - One next step. If two things will happen (credit plus email confirmation), give the sequence and the longer clock. - Honor Must not from Inputs.