Complaint reply four-part prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when an unhappy customer writes in and you want a calm, accurate draft rather than a rushed one. It follows the four parts that make a first prompt work: a role, the context, a task and a format. You attach or paste the customer's email, and the prompt asks the AI to flag anything that needs your decision, such as a refund, instead of promising it.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are the office manager at [BUSINESS], and you write warm, professional customer emails. Context: A customer named [CUSTOMER] has written the attached email about [PROBLEM]. Our policy: [POLICY]. What we can do and when: [WHAT WE CAN DO]. Task: Write a reply that acknowledges the problem, explains what we will do and when, and does not promise anything outside what I listed. Also list the things I should check or decide before sending, including any request in the email that I have not approved, such as a refund. Format: A subject line, then an email of under [WORD LIMIT] words. Then a short checklist titled "Before you send".
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[CUSTOMER]- The customer's name.
[PROBLEM]- What went wrong, in a few words.
[POLICY]- The warranty or policy that applies.
[WHAT WE CAN DO]- The fix you can offer and the date it can happen.
[WORD LIMIT]- A number, such as 150.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Your First Chat with Claude: Models, Files and a Great First Prompt. In the Claude first chat lesson, you run the office at Bright Path Landscaping, a made-up business, and a customer named Linda Carver has emailed about her new patio. The email is attached as a PDF.
Role: You are the office manager at Bright Path Landscaping, and you write warm, professional customer emails. Context: A customer named Linda Carver has written the attached email about her new patio. Our policy: the patio work is covered by our warranty. What we can do and when: send a crew to look at it next week. Task: Write a reply that acknowledges the problem, explains what we will do and when, and does not promise anything outside what I listed. Also list the things I should check or decide before sending, including any request in the email that I have not approved, such as a refund. Format: A subject line, then an email of under 150 words. Then a short checklist titled "Before you send".
What a good answer looks like
- The reply says a crew will come next week and promises nothing else.
- The refund request is flagged in Before you send, not answered.
- The email is under 150 words, warm and has a subject line.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Read the reply before you use it. The lesson says always read it.
- Decide the refund question yourself, then use a follow-up to add the answer.
- Ask for a shorter version or two options to pick from.
- Do not paste customer details into an account your company has not approved.
Practice it in the free lesson
Your First Chat with Claude: Models, Files and a Great First Prompt: Pick a model, attach a customer's complaint email with the + menu, write a four-part prompt, read Claude's reply, ask a follow-up, then pin and rename the chat. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Claude, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
Related prompts
- Customer complaint reply prompt: A four-part ChatGPT prompt for answering an upset customer: one real apology, every complaint answered, and only the fixes you…
- Refund request reply prompt: A ChatGPT prompt for answering a refund request with your real decision: what you will refund, what you won't and why, the exact…
- Fix reply tone prompt: A ChatGPT prompt that fixes the tone of a draft (too stiff, too defensive, too long) while keeping every fact, number and "we…
More customer emails prompts
- Consultation booking confirmation prompt: Confirm a booked consultation in one clear email: date, time and how to join, what to bring, what it costs, and how to…
- Coverage question reply prompt: Answer a client's "am I covered?" email honestly: what the declarations page lists, who decides, and how to start a claim. It…
- Customer welcome email prompt: A ChatGPT prompt for a new-customer welcome email: what they signed up for, first steps in order, how to reach a person, and no…