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Support response drafting

Drafts empathetic, technically accurate support replies for email or chat based on ticket context, customer tier, and issue severity — including a primary response, a de-escalation variant, next-step clarity, and…

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Purpose

Turn raw ticket context into a ready-to-send support reply that is empathetic, technically precise, and calibrated to the customer's tier and mood — so associates respond faster without sacrificing accuracy or tone. Solves the problem of blank-page drafting under queue pressure and inconsistent voice across a support team.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Draft an email or chat reply to a specific support ticket
  • Respond to an angry, frustrated, or churn-risk customer
  • Explain a technical fix, workaround, or bug status in plain language
  • Deliver bad news (no ETA, feature won't be built, refund declined) tactfully
  • Standardize tone and structure across a support queue
  • Turn a rough internal answer into a customer-ready reply

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Ticket context: The customer's message, error, or question — paste the ticket or summarize the issue
  • Channel: Email or live chat (affects length and formatting)
  • Customer tier: Free / Self-serve / Pro / Enterprise (affects tone, urgency, and escalation posture)
  • Issue type: Bug, how-to question, billing, feature request, outage, account/access, or complaint
  • Resolution status: Solved / workaround available / investigating / no fix planned / needs escalation
  • Customer mood: Neutral / frustrated / angry / churn-risk (if unclear, infer from the ticket)
  • Brand voice notes: Any tone constraints (formal, casual, use/avoid emoji, sign-off style)

If mood or brand voice is missing, infer mood from the ticket wording and default to a warm-professional voice with no emoji.

Instructions

Step 1: Read the Ticket and Classify

Before drafting, identify:

  • The actual ask vs. the surface complaint (customers often report a symptom, not the root request)
  • Emotional temperature — flag frustration signals: caps, exclamation points, "again," "still," "unacceptable," threats to cancel
  • Severity — is this blocking their work, costing them money, or a minor inconvenience?
  • Tier obligations — Enterprise expects named ownership and a timeline; Free tier gets helpful but lighter-touch handling

State a one-line internal read of the situation before writing the reply.

Step 2: Choose the Response Frame

Match the frame to issue type and status:

  • Solved: Acknowledge → confirm the fix → verify next step → invite follow-up
  • Workaround available: Acknowledge → give the workaround clearly → set expectation on the real fix → offer to update them
  • Investigating: Acknowledge → confirm it's real and being looked at → give an honest status (no fake ETAs) → commit to a specific next-touch
  • No fix planned / feature declined: Empathize genuinely → be honest without over-apologizing → offer the closest alternative → leave the door open
  • Billing/refund: Lead with clarity on policy → apply empathy without admitting fault where none exists → give the exact resolution path

Step 3: Apply the Empathy-Accuracy Balance

Every reply must do both:

  • Empathy first, not empathy-only: Open by acknowledging the specific impact ("being locked out mid-launch is exactly the wrong time") — not a generic "sorry for the inconvenience"
  • Accuracy without jargon: Explain the technical reality in plain terms; name the cause only if it builds trust and doesn't blame the customer
  • No hollow reassurance: Never promise timelines the team hasn't committed to; "I don't have an exact date, but here's what I can tell you" beats a fake ETA
  • One clear next step: End every reply with exactly one action — theirs or ours — so the customer is never left guessing

Step 4: Calibrate for Tier and Mood

  • Enterprise / churn-risk: Take named ownership ("I'm personally tracking this"), offer a call if warranted, and give a concrete next-touch commitment
  • Angry customer: Lead with validation, do not get defensive, avoid the word "but" after an apology, and give control back ("here are two options — which works for you?")
  • Free / self-serve: Stay warm and efficient; link to docs where genuinely helpful rather than retyping steps
  • Neutral how-to: Skip heavy empathy; get to the answer quickly with clear numbered steps

Step 5: Draft the Deliverable

Produce a primary response as the recommended send. Then produce a de-escalation variant — a softer, higher-touch version for use if the customer pushes back or the mood is worse than assessed. Add short internal notes the associate can use but not send.

Output Format

  • Structure: Internal read → Primary response → De-escalation variant → Internal notes
  • Length: Chat replies 40–90 words each; email replies 90–180 words each; internal notes under 60 words
  • Format: Send-ready reply text (correctly formatted for the chosen channel), clearly labeled sections
  • Sections: Situation read (1 line) → Primary Response → De-escalation Variant → Internal Notes (suggested tags, escalation flag, follow-up reminder)
  • Tone: Warm-professional, human, specific to this customer's situation — no corporate filler, no over-apologizing, calibrated to tier and mood

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] The opening acknowledges the specific impact, not a generic "sorry for the inconvenience"
  • [ ] The reply ends with exactly one clear next step (customer's or ours)
  • [ ] No timelines or promises appear that weren't provided in the inputs
  • [ ] Length fits the channel (chat = short, email = medium) and contains no bracket placeholders
  • [ ] The de-escalation variant is meaningfully softer/higher-touch than the primary — not a copy
  • [ ] Internal notes include an escalation flag and a follow-up reminder where relevant

Notes

  • The single most common failure in support replies is empathy-only responses that never actually answer the question — always pair acknowledgment with a concrete answer or next step
  • For angry customers, avoid "but" immediately after an apology; it erases the apology. Use "and here's what I can do" instead
  • Honest "I don't know yet, here's what I'll do to find out" outperforms confident wrong answers and protects long-term trust
  • When status is "no fix planned," do not fake enthusiasm — customers detect it; genuine honesty plus a real alternative retains more accounts than a soft dodge

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills