VWB Blog As a business owner, it is your responsibility to offer your customers a great experience. This includes offering clear and honest product information, promptly responding to customer inquiries, and making sure that the products you sell are of high quality.
However, even if you do everything that you can to make your customers happy with their purchases, there may still be situations in which they will request refunds or returns for their orders. Even though these situations induce extra work for your business, as well as additional fees from processing those refunds and returns, dealing with them correctly, can actually help boost customer loyalty and ensure future success for your company.
With that being said, here are ten tips on how to properly manage the process of handling customer refund requests:
1. Ensure Prompt Delivery
Ship your orders as quickly as possible. Make sure that the available product information is complete and accurate, and make sure to clearly specify how long it will take for your customers to receive their items. Not meeting these standards will likely result in increased refund requests or negative feedback.
2. Be Clear About Refund Policy Prior To Making The Purchase
Be upfront about the refund policy for each customer before they buy anything from you. If you’re selling digital products, then it’s even more important to let potential customers know exactly what they’ll be receiving so that there are no surprises once they download your purchases later on.
3. Get Instructions For Returns And Refunds From Customers As Soon As Possible
Once returns come in, act swiftly and kindly. The sooner your customers get their returns, the happier they’ll be with your business as a whole.
4. Put A Cap On How Long Customers Have To Request Returns And Refunds With You
Typically speaking, customers only need to request refunds about two weeks after their purchase date (so long as all of the product information was clear and complete). Any requests made afterward should be granted at the discretion of your company; however, doing this will help keep return rates low and ensure that you maintain all appropriate rights for changing or canceling orders if needed.
5. Evaluate Each Return Request Individually
Every refund request is different in terms of what has happened between you and your customer’s experience up to that point. In some cases, a purchase may have been accidentally made or the customer never got their item in the mail. In others, your product may be defective or customers simply didn’t like what they received upon arrival to their homes.
Whatever the situation happens to be, make sure that you evaluate each return request separately according to its unique circumstances. Treating all customers equally is important for maintaining goodwill and reputation as well as protecting yourself against legal issues; however, there are times when your business may need to use discretion in order to retain certain customers who may be difficult to work with otherwise.
6. Be Decisive About Refund And Return Decisions
Have an ironclad policy about making a refund and return decisions based on how much work it will take to deal with each individual order. Make sure to keep track of how long it will take for you and your employees to process certain returns and refunds so that you can minimize costs and maximize profits.
7. Communicate With Your Customers Clearly
Keep customers in the loop throughout the entire refund and return process, including after the fact. Clearly communicate timelines, deadlines, status updates about product delivery, and anything else relevant during all interactions between your business and those customers who have requested returns or refunds from you.
8. Deposit Refunds Directly Into The Customer’s Account As Soon As Possible
Getting money into your customer’s hands as soon as possible is key for avoiding further problems such as chargebacks or disputes later on down the line (especially for those who sell physical goods). Be sure to make a note of the direct deposit date and apply it as soon as possible.
9. Give Your Customers An Explanation If You Choose To Deny Their Refund Request
In some cases, you may have to deny your customers’ refund requests if they don’t meet certain standards for the return eligibility. In these situations, be prepared by explaining yourself clearly and without undue delay according to your company’s policies and procedures. Doing so will help keep misunderstandings at bay and protect your business from negative action taken on social media or elsewhere online.
10. Maintain A Return And Refund Log To Keep Track Of Everything You’ve Done Along The Way
It can help to remember both what has happened in the past and what should happen moving forward when dealing with returns and refunds. To keep track of everything, create a return and refund log to use as you make relevant decisions about your business’s policies for handling these requests in the future. You can learn more here.
Want More Help With Customer Returns?
The customer is always right. And when things go wrong, we need to make it right for them in order to keep their business and trust. Handling returns and refunds can be a daunting task with many options available. But don’t worry, this blog post will help you navigate the process by outlining 10 ways of handling your customer returns or customer refunds.
From notifying your suppliers about product issues to understanding how long they have before filing a complaint against you with the BBB, our list has got you covered! With these tips at hand, there won’t be any more headaches from dealing with unhappy customers who are looking for someone else to blame for their problems–you’ll know exactly what steps to take next time.
If you’d like to learn more about returns management, the refund process, and building an e-commerce business, please visit our blog for more!