Prompt: Compare Local Service Listings Fairly

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This is a reusable prompt for planning a realistic research task. Paste a block of local service listings into an ordinary AI chat that accepts text. The model does not browse, call, email or check anything; it only works with the text you paste, and everything it produces is a draft for your review.

What to paste: the full prompt below, followed by your listings. Each listing may contain some or all of: service name, street address, phone, hours, fees or price notes, eligibility rules, booking method and free text. Separate listings by blank lines, a heading or a numbered label. Nothing outside the pasted block counts as a source.

Where to paste it: any ordinary AI chat box that accepts plain text. No terminal, account setup or API is needed.

How to check the output:

• Every service in the table appears in your pasted block.
• Every cell matches your text or says "Not stated".
• Hours keep their original wording; fees are not averaged or totalled.
• No invented phone number, address, dollar figure, age limit or residency rule.
• No claim that one service is cheapest, best or easiest.

Introduction

Comparing local services is easy to get wrong because listings are uneven. One gives opening hours but no fee; another gives a fee for one case only. This prompt forces the comparison to stay inside what the listings actually state, marks gaps instead of guessing, and ends with concrete questions you can ask each provider before relying on the table.

Prerequisites and permissions

• A plain-text AI chat that accepts a pasted block. No software installation.
• Permission to paste the listing text you are working with. Avoid pasting personal data (names, case numbers, health details) unless you are allowed to share it.
• The model has no browsing, calling or messaging ability, so it cannot verify anything on its own.

Limitations

• The prompt does not repair, clean or rewrite the original listings beyond the comparison table; it does not change source files.
• Fees, eligibility and hours can change, so the table is only a snapshot of the text you pasted.
• If a listing is too garbled to split, the prompt returns the ambiguous lines for you to clarify.
• Source reviewed; runtime not tested. No runtime verification was performed, so please check the output against your listings.

FAQ

Q: What if a listing states a fee only for one case, such as a concession rate? A: The prompt labels that fee as stated for that case only and leaves the rest as "Not stated", so you can confirm the standard rate with the provider.

Q: Can I use this to decide which service to enrol in? A: No. The prompt only produces a comparison draft and questions; it does not rank services or tell you to enrol, apply, pay or attend.

Complete reusable prompt

You are helping me compare local service options fairly, using only what the listings themselves state. You have no ability to browse, call, email or check anything on your own; you can only work with text I paste, and everything you produce is a draft for my review.

INPUT I WILL PROVIDE I will paste a block of listings. Each listing may contain some or all of: service name, street address, phone, hours of operation, fees or price notes, eligibility rules, booking method, and free text. Listings will be separated by blank lines, a heading, or a numbered label. Nothing outside the pasted block is a source.

WHAT TO DO

1. Identify each distinct service listing in the pasted block and give it a short label (name plus location fragment if present).
2. Build one comparison table with these fixed columns: Service | Hours as stated | Fees as stated | Eligibility as stated | How to book as stated | Missing or unclear.
3. In every cell, copy the wording or a near-verbatim shortening of the listing. Do not convert opening hours into a different format, do not average or total fees, do not paraphrase eligibility into broader categories, and do not add a service that was not listed.
4. If a listing does not state a field, write "Not stated" in that cell. Never fill a gap with a guess, a typical value, or a general assumption about how such services usually work.
5. In the Missing or unclear column, name the specific fields that were absent and mention any contradictory statement inside the listing without resolving it.
6. Below the table, add a short section called "Before you contact them" with one row per service: up to three plain questions whose answers are needed to complete that service's row. Questions must target a missing or unclear field, not request general advice.
7. Add a final line explaining that fees, eligibility and hours can change and that I should confirm by phone or the service's own current page before relying on the table.

OUTPUT FORMAT Markdown. A one-line note stating how many listings were found, then the table, then the questions section, then the caution line. Keep cell text short; no commentary essays inside cells. If two listings appear to be the same service described twice, note that at the end instead of merging them silently.

UNCERTAINTY AND MISSING INPUT If I paste no listings, ask me for them and stop. If the block is too garbled to separate into listings, say so and quote the ambiguous lines back to me. If a listing states a fee only for one case (for example, a concession rate), label it as stated for that case only and leave the rest as "Not stated".

REVIEW CHECKS BEFORE YOU FINISH

• Every service in the table appears in my pasted block.
• Every cell either matches my text (close paraphrase of the same meaning) or says "Not stated".
• No invented phone number, address, dollar figure, age limit or residency rule.
• No claim that a service is cheapest, best, most popular or easiest.
• The questions are concrete and answerable by the provider, not requests for medical, legal or financial advice.

BOUNDARIES You are only preparing a comparison draft. Do not tell me to enroll, apply, pay or attend, do not rank services, and do not act on my behalf in any way. Stop at tables and questions.

WORKED EXAMPLE (fictional, for shape only) Labelled input example: Listing A - Riverside Community Tool Library. Open Tue and Thu 6-8pm. Annual membership $30; low-income rate $10. Must live in the county. Sign up at the front desk. Listing B - Northside Repair Cafe. First Saturday each month. Free. Bring your own part; no appointment needed, walk in.

Illustrative output shape: Listings found: 2 | Service | Hours as stated | Fees as stated | Eligibility as stated | How to book as stated | Missing or unclear | | Riverside Community Tool Library | Tue and Thu 6-8pm | Annual membership $30; low-income rate $10 | Must live in the county | Sign up at the front desk | Contact info not stated; whether $10 rate needs proof not stated | | Northside Repair Cafe | First Saturday each month | Free | Not stated | Walk in, no appointment | Exact times not stated; which repairs are covered not stated |

Before you contact them: Riverside - what is the phone number or address? what proof is needed for the low-income rate? are other rates available? Northside - what hours on the first Saturday? which kinds of items can be repaired? Fees, eligibility and hours can change; confirm by phone or the service's own current page before relying on this table.

Pass/fail checks for this example: PASS if both services appear, hours read "Tue and Thu 6-8pm" and "First Saturday each month", and eligibility for Northside says "Not stated". FAIL if the table converts hours to 18:00-20:00, calls Riverside "cheap", adds an address nobody supplied, or drops Northside because its times are vague.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.