Should you offer refunds to your customer at any time throughout the process?
When you look at other industries, most allow some type of refund process. Department stores will take back items with the tag still in place. Online stores usually will accept items as a return for a short period of time, maybe up to 30 days or so.
Our policy has always been this: Make your customer as happy as possible, even if there isn’t the slightest chance you want them to remain a customer.
I’m sure you’ve had the one customer that stands out in your mind as the one person you never want to see again, deal with or have any contact with. We’ve all had them. Whether he’s had a bad day, and is taking it out on you, or he simply likes to cause trouble, the first thing you need to do is make them as happy as possible.
Think about long-term affects. If you yell, scream, or make an incredible scene with this person, how will that show the professionalism of your company? While I’m not suggesting you put up with abuse, professionalism should always be your major goal.
The moral of this story is to simply avoid agitation. Your customer has a lot of power, and the last thing you want is to make them angry. Remain calm, and remove them from your business. It’s a lot easier to give them back a few hundred (or even a few thousand) dollars than to have to deal with an angry client who hires an attorney, reports you to the consumer affairs office or sends in a report to the BBB or FTC.
Cheerfully refunding the money will let them move on quickly. But, also remember to remove them from your database. You never want to have any contact – ever again – with that client.
This isn’t legal advice. It’s simply our policy on handling business. We honestly haven’t had to make more than two or three refunds in all our years of business. Though there are obviously many different circumstances for dealing with customers, approach every situation in a professional business manner, and you usually
