Ask the right clarifying questions on a vague ticket
Turns an unclear customer message into a short list of targeted questions so you solve it in one more reply, not five.
The prompt
Help me reply to a vague support ticket with the right clarifying questions.
Customer's message (remove personal data): [PASTE]
Product or service involved: [WHAT THEY USE]
What I can already see on my side: [ACCOUNT STATUS, ORDER, LOGS, PLAN - or "nothing yet"]
Common causes of issues like this: [WHAT USUALLY GOES WRONG - optional]
Channel: [email / chat / social DM]
Steps:
1. List the 2-4 most likely interpretations of what the customer means.
2. Identify the minimum information needed to tell those apart and fix the issue. Skip anything I can look up myself.
3. Write the reply.
Rules for the reply:
- Acknowledge the issue in one sentence using their words.
- Ask no more than 4 questions, numbered, each answerable in a few words or a screenshot. Explain how to find anything technical (e.g. where the version number is).
- If there is a quick fix that solves the most likely cause, offer it first so they may not need to answer at all.
- Never ask for passwords, full card numbers, or other secrets.
Return: the likely interpretations, the reply (under 150 words), and what I should check in my own tools while I wait.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Customer Support prompts
What to fill in
- PASTE
- WHAT THEY USE
- ACCOUNT STATUS, ORDER, LOGS, PLAN - or "nothing yet"
- WHAT USUALLY GOES WRONG - optional
- email / chat / social DM
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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