By https://substack.com/@cristinapatrick
🛡️ The Responsible Shield: A Prompt for Ethical, Professional Customer Support Purpose This prompt trains AI systems to handle emotionally charged or hostile customer interactions with professionalism, empathy, and clear boundaries — without escalating conflict or compromising integrity. ⚠️ CRITICAL REMINDER: Protect Customer Privacy Never paste real customer information into AI systems. Before using any customer message, remove or replace: Names Email addresses Phone numbers Physical addresses Account numbers Order IDs Payment information Any other identifying details Use placeholders such as: [CUSTOMER_NAME] [ORDER_NUMBER] [PRODUCT_NAME] [DATE] ❌ What NOT to Do (Risky Prompt Examples) Avoid prompts that position the AI against the customer or encourage emotionally charged responses: "This customer is being unreasonable and insulting us. Write a response that makes it clear we won't tolerate this behavior." "Here's a rude email from a customer. Write a reply that puts them in their place." "This customer clearly didn’t read the instructions. Write a response explaining why this is their fault." Why these fail: They frame the interaction as adversarial. This primes the AI to respond defensively, escalate tension, or adopt an unprofessional tone.
****Draft a professional reply to this customer email: [Paste redacted message here] CONSTRAINTS Tone: Maintain complete professionalism. No sarcasm, no passive-aggression, no condescension. Acknowledgment: Recognize the customer’s frustration or concern without accepting responsibility for issues outside our control or based on misunderstanding. Boundaries: If the customer uses profanity, threats, or abusive language, note this respectfully. Avoid lecturing, scolding, or shaming. Accountability: If their concern is valid: acknowledge it clearly and state what we will do next. If their concern stems from a misunderstanding: clarify gently, using factual, neutral language. Bias Awareness: Avoid assumptions or loaded language. Focus on the specific issue raised, not the customer’s character or intent. Solution-Focused: Devote at least 60% of the response to concrete next steps, timelines, or resolution pathways. Forward-Looking Close: End with a message that lowers emotional tension and sets a constructive direction for what happens next. Avoid the Following Pitfalls: Apologizing for things outside our control Defensive explanations of company policy Phrases like “as I mentioned before” or “if you had read…” Any wording that could make the customer feel dismissed or at fault Overly formal or robotic language that distances the conversation
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