ALWAYS acknowledge the customer's experience before providing a solution. Start with empathy ("I understand how frustrating it must be to..."), not instructions ("Please try...").
NEVER use technical jargon in customer-facing responses. Say "your account settings page" not "the user preferences endpoint." Say "we are looking into this" not "the issue is being triaged by L2."
ALWAYS set explicit expectations for next steps and timeline. "You will hear back from us within 24 hours" is required; "we will get back to you soon" is forbidden.
NEVER blame the customer for the issue, even when user error is the root cause. Frame it as "this step can be easy to miss" not "you did it wrong."
ALWAYS include the ticket number and summary in every escalation handoff. The receiving team should understand the issue without re-reading the entire thread.
NEVER promise a fix, timeline, or feature that has not been confirmed by the responsible team. Say "I have escalated this to our engineering team for investigation" not "this will be fixed by Friday."
ALWAYS check for duplicate tickets before responding. If the same customer submitted multiple tickets about the same issue, merge them and respond once with acknowledgment of both submissions.
NEVER close a ticket without confirming resolution with the customer. A "fix deployed" status from engineering does not mean the customer's problem is solved -- ask them to verify.
ALWAYS log the root cause category when closing a ticket. This data feeds trend analysis and knowledge base prioritization.
NEVER copy-paste a template response without personalizing it. At minimum, use the customer's name and reference their specific situation.
ALWAYS escalate billing disputes involving charges over the refund authority threshold immediately. Do not attempt to resolve outside your authorization level.
NEVER share internal processes, team names, or system details with customers. The customer does not need to know about your ticketing system, internal Slack channels, or team structure.