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name: email-customer description: Draft a polite-but-firm reply to a tricky customer email — refund request, scope creep, complaint, billing dispute. Use when the user pastes a customer email and asks for a reply, mentions "how do I respond", "user is asking for a refund", "they want a discount", or any awkward customer-facing communication.

Email Customer / 客户邮件回复

When to use

• The dev is replying to a real customer (paying or potential).
• The reply needs to be polite, firm, and short — not corporate, not groveling.
• The situation is awkward: refund, dispute, scope creep, deadline push, complaint.

When NOT to use

• A routine inquiry ("what's the price?") — answer directly, no skill needed.
• An abusive or harassing message — those need a moderation policy, not a charming reply. Suggest: don't engage; if needed, refund and ban.
• A legal threat — stop. Don't reply via skill. Suggest the user consult a lawyer first.

Principles

A good solo-founder reply has four properties:

1. Acknowledge the specific concern (not "I understand your frustration").
2. State the decision plainly in one sentence, near the top.
3. Give one reason, no more. (Listing reasons reads as defensive.)
4. Offer a concrete next step — a workaround, a partial refund, a deadline, a closing line.

Avoid:

• "I'm sorry you feel that way" — not an apology, reads as dismissive.
• "Per our policy" — bureaucratic, hides the human behind procedure.
• Hedging multiple times in one email ("we might be able to possibly consider…").
• More than ~120 words. If it needs more, it's a phone call or a doc.

Output format

Always produce:

1. Subject: (one short line, no "Re: Re:")
2. Body: (≤120 words, plain text, no signature)
3. Internal note: (one line for the dev — what they should do operationally after sending, e.g. "issue partial refund of $19", "add to email block list")

Worked examples

Example 1: Refund request after 60 days, policy is 30

Customer:

"I bought the annual plan 60 days ago and barely used it. Can I get a refund?"

Output:

Subject: Refund on your annual plan

Body:

Hi <name>,

Refunds on annual plans are limited to the first 30 days, so a full refund isn't something I can offer here.

What I can do: switch you to month-to-month and refund the unused months as account credit, or process a 50% refund on the remaining time. Either is fine — let me know which you'd prefer.

— <you>

Internal note: If they pick option 2, refund $X via Stripe. If option 1, downgrade plan in admin and credit their balance.

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Example 2: Scope creep on a fixed-price contract

Customer:

"Now that the dashboard is built, can you also add a CSV export and email reports? Should be quick."

Output:

Subject: Scope on the dashboard work

Body:

Hi <name>,

CSV export and scheduled email reports are both straightforward, but they're outside the original scope. Two paths:

1. Add them as a small follow-up at $X (≈Y days of work).
2. Hand off the codebase as-is and your team adds them later — happy to do a 30-min walkthrough either way.

Let me know which fits better.

— <you>

Internal note: If they pick option 1, send a 1-page change order before starting.

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Anti-patterns

• Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault. "Sorry the API was down" is fine; "Sorry you don't like our pricing" is not.
• Don't promise a fix without a timeline. Either commit ("by Friday") or say "I don't have an ETA yet."
• Don't BCC yourself for "records." Use a CRM or a notes file. BCC reads weird if the customer ever sees it.

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中文版

何时使用

• 在回复真实客户（付费的或潜在的）。
• 回复需要礼貌、坚定、简短——不官腔，也不卑躬屈膝。
• 场景棘手：退款、争执、范围蔓延、延期、投诉。

何时不使用

• 日常咨询（"多少钱？"）——直接回答，不需要这个技能。
• 辱骂或骚扰邮件——需要的是封禁政策，不是回复技巧。建议：不回应；必要时退款 + 拉黑。
• 法律威胁——停。先咨询律师，再考虑回复。

原则

好的回复有四个特征：

1. 承认具体的问题（不是泛泛的"我理解您的沮丧"）。
2. 靠前一句说清决定。
3. 给一个理由，不要列三个（列多反而显得心虚）。
4. 给一个具体的下一步——补偿方案、截止时间、收尾语。

避免：

• "对您的感受感到抱歉"——不是道歉，听起来像甩锅。
• "依据我们的政策"——官腔，把人藏在流程后面。
• 一封邮件里反复犹豫（"我们或许可以考虑…"）。
• 超过 ~120 字。再多就该改电话或长文档。

输出

1. 主题：（一行短句）
2. 正文：（≤120 字，纯文本，不加签名）
3. 内部备注：（给开发者的操作指引——发完邮件还要做什么，比如"在 Stripe 退 $19"、"加入邮件黑名单"）

反模式

• 不要为不是自己的过错道歉。
• 不要给不带时间的承诺。 要么"周五前"，要么"暂时没 ETA"。
• 不要 BCC 自己留底。 用 CRM 或笔记，BCC 万一被客户看到很尴尬。