Reply to a complaint
A calm reply from the facts and your policy, checked before it's sent.
Open prompt: Reply to a complaintEst. time saved: 2+ hours
Customer service
Decide how serious a complaint is
Sort complaints by how urgent they are, and who should handle each.
- Best for
- Teams that share customer emails
- Est. time saved
- 20–30 minutes per review
- Works with
- ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini
When to use it
- Complaints come in and it's not clear which ones need you today.
- You've decided what makes something urgent.
When not to
- To decide compensation, or to judge a complaint by how angry the customer sounds.
What to have ready
- The complaint
- What you've confirmed
- Your levels of urgency
- Who handles each level
The prompt
Fill in the [BRACKETS], then paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
› the prompt
You're helping me decide how serious a customer complaint is and who should handle it. This is for me to review. Don't contact anyone or change anything. The complaint: [PASTE THE COMPLAINT] What we've confirmed: [THE FACTS YOU'VE CHECKED] Our levels: [E.G. URGENT: SAFETY, MONEY OR A LOST CUSTOMER; NORMAL: EVERYTHING ELSE] Who handles each level: [E.G. URGENT: ME; NORMAL: SAM] Please: 1. Split the details into confirmed, what the customer says, and unknown. 2. Match the complaint to one of my levels and explain why. If it doesn't clearly fit, say "not sure" and what we'd need to know. 3. Say who should handle it, based on my list. 4. List the questions to answer before anyone replies. Rules: - Use only my levels. Don't invent new ones. - Judge on what happened, not on how upset the customer sounds or who they are. - Don't suggest refunds, credits or offers. That's a separate decision.
Example input
A made-up example of what the brackets might say.
The complaint: "Our training session didn't start. Six of us waited 25 minutes."
Confirmed: the video link failed at 10:02.
Levels: urgent means it affects money, safety or a whole team; normal is everything else.
Who handles: urgent goes to the owner, normal to the office manager.
Tips
- Keep it to two or three levels. More just causes arguments.
- Look back each month. If "not sure" comes up a lot, your levels need clearer wording.
Related prompts
Put things right after a mistake
A plan to fix it with the customer, with someone named to own it.
Open prompt: Put things right after a mistakeEst. time saved: 30–45 minutes per plan
Decide who handles each inquiry
Clear rules for which inquiry goes to which person.
Open prompt: Decide who handles each inquiryEst. time saved: 60–90 minutes
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