Tell customers about a price increase without losing them

Who it's for

Service businesses with repeat or contract customers: lawn care, cleaning, pest control, HVAC maintenance plans, pool service. The same approach works for salons and shops.

The situation today

• Materials, fuel and insurance went up months ago, but the prices didn't, because the conversation is uncomfortable.
• When the increase finally happens, it shows up on an invoice with no warning, and the customers you most want to keep are the ones who feel blindsided.
• Rough estimate: an hour or more of drafting and re-drafting one letter, plus the dread.

Time figures marked "rough estimate" are our estimates, not survey data.

The AI-assisted workflow

Step by step

1. Decide the facts first: new prices, the effective date (give regular customers several weeks' notice), and whether anyone keeps their old rate (for example, prepaid plans).
2. Write two or three honest reasons in your own words. Don't make up percentages or blame anyone.
3. Run the prompt below to get a short notice and a 30-second phone script.
4. Call or tell your best customers in person before the notice goes out. Send the notice to everyone else.
5. Keep a short note of every question you get; answer them in a reply template so everyone hears the same thing.

I run a [type of business]. Write a short price-change notice for existing customers.
Facts (use exactly):
- Service and new price: [old price -> new price]
- Effective date: [date]
- Who keeps the old price and until when: [or 'no one']
- My honest reasons: [2-3 reasons in my words]
- How to reach me: [phone/email]

Write:
1) A notice under 150 words: thank them first, state the change and date plainly, give the reasons briefly, say what stays the same, and invite questions.
2) A 30-second phone script for my longest-standing customers.
Rules: no apologies that sound like guilt, no made-up statistics or percentages, no 'due to inflation' cliché unless I wrote it. Don't promise anything I didn't list.

Works in any AI chat assistant. Replace everything in [brackets].

Watch-outs

• Check your contracts and service agreements first. If a written agreement fixes the price for a term, the increase may have to wait; ask your attorney if you're not sure.
• Don't paste your customer list into the AI. Write the notice once and merge names in your own email or invoicing tool.
• Every reason in the notice must be true. If AI adds a reason or a number you didn't give it, delete it.

When not to use AI

• Deciding how much to raise prices. That's a numbers decision (your costs, margins, local market); work it out with your accountant or your own numbers, not a chatbot's guess.

Educational content, not legal, tax or financial advice.