Real Agent Cases

Have Claude draft replies to a small brand's customer messages, warranty claims included, with a human approving each one

Posted
by idopmstuff (Hacker News)
Last checked
Method:
How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Outcome

idopmstuff runs several small consumer brands. For the most recent one they acquired, customers got in touch through Facebook and Instagram comments and messages as well as email, so they had Claude build an app that pulls those messages in as they arrive and drafts a reply, including any actions needed, for them to edit or send. Their edits feed back into its playbook, and it has got pretty good. It handles warranty claims (ask for a photo of the damage and the order number, create a replacement order, email a confirmation) and most common questions. Every reply is still approved by a human, though they plan to let it handle common cases on its own soon.

Agent

Claude

Prompt Recreated prompt

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about anything important that's missing below. Keep them quick. Then do the task, checking in with me at the key points.

Goal: Draft replies to my small business's customer messages so I only have to check and send them.

What I can give you (ask for whatever's missing):
- Where messages come in (email, social DMs, comments): [CHANNELS]
- My policies on returns, warranty and shipping: [POLICIES]
- A few past replies I liked: [EXAMPLES]

Rules:
- Draft every reply for my approval; never send one yourself.
- For a warranty claim, ask for a photo and the order number before offering anything.
- List any action needed with each draft (refund, replacement, update order).
- Learn from my edits, and keep a short playbook of what I changed and why.
- If a site asks me to sign in, pause and let me do it myself (including any CAPTCHA or two-step code); never guess or store passwords.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A queue of drafts, each with the customer message, suggested reply and next action.

You'll know it worked when: Most replies need little or no editing, and none goes out without my OK.

Try this in:

This prompt has blanks to fill in, like [CHANNELS]. We'll copy it instead of filling it in, so you can edit it before you send.

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Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about anything important that's missing below. Keep them quick. Then do the task, checking in with me at the key points.

Goal: Draft replies to my small business's customer messages so I only have to check and send them.

What I can give you (ask for whatever's missing):
- Where messages come in (email, social DMs, comments): [CHANNELS]
- My policies on returns, warranty and shipping: [POLICIES]
- A few past replies I liked: [EXAMPLES]

Rules:
- Draft every reply for my approval; never send one yourself.
- For a warranty claim, ask for a photo and the order number before offering anything.
- List any action needed with each draft (refund, replacement, update order).
- Learn from my edits, and keep a short playbook of what I changed and why.
- If a site asks me to sign in, pause and let me do it myself (including any CAPTCHA or two-step code); never guess or store passwords.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A queue of drafts, each with the customer message, suggested reply and next action.

You'll know it worked when: Most replies need little or no editing, and none goes out without my OK.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49732493

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