You can convince yourself otherwise all you want, but refunds in business mean you’ve failed somehow. If a customer is bringing things back, you’ve done something along the line. Even if they claim to have just ‘changed their minds’, it’s a sign your products haven’t blown them away as much as you’d like. And, that becomes even more the case when people bring back faulty or otherwise unsatisfactory products.

One thing’s sure; a customer is probably thinking about never shopping with you again when they bring a product back to your retail store or office space.

That’s obviously not what you want. In your business dreams, you probably imagined a 100% success rate. We’re sorry to burst your bubble, but that isn’t realistic. Every company receives calls for refunds at some stage. In many ways, this is how companies recognize problems in the first place. But, that doesn’t change the fact that the customer in question will be looking for an excuse to discard your business forever or perhaps even spread bad press about you.

That’s why it’s vital you focus on a refunds process which works to butter up refund customers. And we have some suggestions which could help you to do it.

Simplify Your Refunds Policy

You first need to make sure your refund policy is as simple as possible. These customers are already disgruntled, after all, and that’s going to get worse if your refunds are drawn out. For one, you want to be sure you outline a clear returns policy with every purchase so customers know exactly what to do. Then, aim to speed refunds themselves by using something like transaction automation, which would allow team members to gain access to transaction histories in no time. Efficient methods like these may not undo the damage of each refund, but they can certainly help to avoid annoying a customer further. Get this right, and you might even show yourself as a competent company to someone who’d given up hope.

Offer More Than Just Return Rates

A good refund is about more than just returning money. These customers have had to go out of their way because of you. As such, additional monetary rewards are sure to bring them back around. By offering these rewards in the form of money off or gift cards for your company, you also provide them an incentive to shop with you again when they might not have considered doing so otherwise.

Teach Your Team Good Old Charm

It’s also crucial to teach your team good old charm. Even an angry customer could soon calm down if there’s a charming customer service rep handling their refund policy. An employee who knows how to butter up every customer could well secure you ongoing sales from even the most disgruntled of refund complainants. Make sure, then, that you sign your front-facing team up for the best customer service courses as soon as possible. Then, sit back and watch refunds become future sales in no time.