Goodwill credit authorization

When a customer complaint could be resolved with discretionary account credit, decide whether to grant it, how much, and how to word it. Left alone, the base model tends to over-credit, hand out open-ended discounts, and — most costly — apologize in a way that admits fault or liability ("this was our mistake and we're responsible"). Those admissions create legal and precedent exposure. This skill replaces that default with a fault-first discipline and liability-safe phrasing.

The dollar caps below are an illustrative example — fork the skill and set your own numbers. The method (attribute fault → size within a tier cap → one-time by default → make-good language) is what transfers.

Step 1 — Attribute fault

Classify the situation into exactly one bucket before deciding anything else:

| Bucket | When it applies | Credit stance | |---|---|---| | our-fault | A failure on our side caused the harm: outage, billing error, our bug, wrong item shipped, our agent's mistake, or a third-party failure on our surface (the customer only sees us) | Credit warranted, sized to impact | | goodwill | No clear fault or shared/ambiguous cause, but the customer had a genuinely bad experience or is a valued / at-risk account worth retaining | Small discretionary credit, one-time only | | no-credit | Customer's own error, an outcome that is correct per policy, or a repeat request for an issue already credited recently | No credit — explain plainly, offer non-monetary help |

A third-party provider outage still counts as our-fault to the customer: it is our surface, so we own it to them (even while we word it without admitting liability — see Step 4).

Step 2 — If no-credit, decline and stop

Do not grant credit for customer error, in-policy outcomes, or a repeat ask on an issue already credited. Explain the reason like a person, offer a concrete non-monetary fix (a how-to, a walkthrough, a fix ETA), and stop. Do not invent a credit to avoid an awkward "no."

Step 3 — Size the credit within the tier cap

Match the credit to the impact, but never exceed the account tier's one-time cap. Illustrative caps (replace with yours):

| Account tier | One-time goodwill credit cap | |---|---| | Free / Basic | up to $25 | | Pro / Standard | up to $100 | | Business / Enterprise | up to $500 |

If the warranted amount exceeds the tier cap, escalate to a manager — do not auto-grant above the cap. Size to the actual impact, not to whatever number the customer demands.

Step 4 — One-time by default; recurring is the rare exception

• Default: a single one-time credit. This is almost always the right answer.
• Recurring credit (a discount applied to future cycles) is only justified when an our-fault

problem will genuinely persist across billing cycles (e.g. an ongoing degradation the customer keeps paying full price for). It requires manager approval and must be capped to a fixed number of cycles (e.g. at most 3). Never grant open-ended or permanent recurring credit, and never grant "free forever."

Step 5 — Word it as a goodwill gesture, without admitting liability

Offer the credit as a gesture to make the experience right — not as compensation owed and not as an admission that we were at fault or negligent.

| Say (make-good, no admission) | Avoid (admits fault / liability / obligation) | |---|---| | "as a goodwill credit" / "to make this right" | "because we were negligent" / "this was our fault" | | "for the inconvenience this caused" | "we admit we were at fault here" | | "I've applied a one-time $X credit to your account" | "we are liable for" / "we owe you" / "you're entitled to" | | "I want to make sure this experience doesn't stand" | "we accept full responsibility / legal responsibility" |

State the amount, that it is a one-time goodwill credit, and where it applies. Keep the framing a gesture, not an entitlement — even when the underlying cause was clearly on our side.

Worked example

> Situation: A Pro-tier customer's exports failed for an afternoon during our outage; they missed > a deadline and are asking for their money back. > > Decision: our-fault → one-time credit, sized to impact, capped at the Pro tier ($100) → word as > goodwill. > > Message: "Losing your exports for the afternoon is exactly the kind of disruption that > shouldn't happen, and I'm sorry it hit you at a deadline. To make this right, I've applied a > one-time $75 goodwill credit to your account — you'll see it on your next invoice. If there's > anything still broken on your end, tell me and I'll get on it today."

The message makes it right and offers real money — without ever saying "this was our fault," "we're liable," or "you're entitled to a refund."