thinkhard.SI

Prompt repository Customer support & success

Walk a customer through troubleshooting at their level

A customer has a technical problem and you need clear steps matched to how comfortable they are with technology.

Registry no.
SUP-022
Collection
Customer support & success
Laid out for
Any chat model
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
3
Added

Customer support & successAny chat

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when A customer has a technical problem and you need clear steps matched to how comfortable they are with technology.

  • {{customer_message}}
  • {{known_steps}}
  • {{setup}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Write a reply that walks the customer below through fixing their problem, for a support agent to check and send. The steps must work for this particular customer, so match the wording to their technical level as their message shows it.

The customer's message:
"""
{{customer_message}}
"""

Our troubleshooting steps for this issue, from the help center or internal notes:
"""
{{known_steps}}
"""

Their setup, if known (device, browser, app version, plan): {{setup}}

Write:
1. A reply that opens with one sentence acknowledging the problem, then gives numbered steps, one action per step, in the order to try them, and ends with what to send back if it still does not work, such as a screenshot or the exact error message.
2. Below the reply, a line starting "FOR THE AGENT:" that lists any step you simplified or left out, and why.

Use seven steps at most. For a customer who sounds new to the technology, say exactly where to click and what they should see after each step, without jargon; for an experienced customer, keep steps short and skip the basics they have already tried. For example, a step at a beginner's level: "In the top right corner, click your initials, then click Settings. You should see a page titled Account."

A good reply is one the customer can follow without writing back to ask what a step means. Use only the steps in our notes. Do not invent menu names, settings or fixes, and do not suggest anything that could lose their data, such as reinstalling or resetting, without a warning and a reason. Skip steps the customer says they have already tried.

If their setup is unknown and our steps differ by device or version, give only the steps that apply to every setup and ask which one they use before the rest. If our notes do not cover their setup at all, or their message is too vague to tell which issue it is, do not guess: write a short reply asking for the two or three details needed, and explain why in the agent line.

Variables

{{customer_message}}
The customer's message, including what they have already tried.
{{known_steps}}
Your documented troubleshooting steps for this issue.
{{setup}}
Device, browser, app version or plan, or "unknown".

Why it works

  • What good looks like. The same fix is written two ways, click by click for beginners and short for experienced users, judged from the customer's own message.
  • What to avoid. Only documented steps are allowed, with warnings before anything that could lose data, so the reply never invents a menu that does not exist.
  • If unsure. If the notes do not cover their setup, it asks for the missing details instead of guessing at a fix.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in variables and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/troubleshooting-steps-reply

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "troubleshooting-steps-reply"}, or just ask for it by name.