A Customer Wants Refund....hmm

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brian0523

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Well I sold three bars of lavender soap to a woman last week. They were lavender scented with some lavender buds on top as decoration, not actually inside the soap itself - just on top - and not overly done.

Well, she comes back yesterday, complaining that the buds were messy in her tub and her husband complained that they were going to be washed down the drain. Ugh!

So she wants a refund on all three bars. I offered her a choice of three "undecorated" soaps of her choice rather than a cash refund, which she was happy with.

But now I'm wondering if any of you have come up against this situation where "decorations" in soaps have caused customers to complain after they purchase. This is the first time I've ever had it happen to me.
 
I have never experienced it, I put so little on top.. it wont hurt the drain. You can always add "Caution, if you feel the herbs etc on top may cause a drain issue, please remove prior to use"

You can also have a "No refund" policy as well
 
I think I would have a no refund policy. I mean it's soap, I don't know how you package yours but unless it's in some type of completely tamper proof packaging what the heck can you do with it once someone returns it ? NOTHING ! You certainly can't sell it to another customer, you have no way of knowing what has been done with it since it left your table.

Do you put a warning label on your soaps ? Yanno, like don't eat, etc. if so, I would add a blurb to that section about removing the decorative herbs and flowers before use.
 
I say no refund policy. Being in the food business forever, you get every sort of pathetic excuse to not have to pay. If it were a legitimate complaint, then you could make an exception. People need to take responsibilty for their own stupidity.
 
Many stores have a "no return" policy on undergarments and bathing suits, I would imagine that an opened bar of soap would be right up there with non returnables. As for the other two bars it would depend on the type of packaging; whether or not you could tell if it had been opened and used.
 
Decorations on/in soap feak my husband out. He says they look like bugs floating in the tub. With that being said, he knows if he picks up a bar of soap w/ lavender buds on top they are going to fall off into the tub.

She knew the buds would come off, it's not rocket science. I might make an exchange if the product is unopened but come on!
 
I may be the voice of dissent here... While it galls to eat the cost of replacing/refunding a product for a customer who is stupid, it's frequently worthwhile in terms of keeping the customer happy. The customer who walks away with three replacement bars is a possible repeat customer, a possible spreader of positive reviews. The customer who walks away with nothing and throws out three bars of soap she didn't like is likely to complain to her friends about the service, and isn't likely to spread the word about your great soap. It's often not about the immediate cost/loss, but the future profit.

Having said that, I think it's always wise to communicate very clearly about return policies, warnings, etc as noted above.
 
surf girl said:
I may be the voice of dissent here... While it galls to eat the cost of replacing/refunding a product for a customer who is stupid, it's frequently worthwhile in terms of keeping the customer happy. The customer who walks away with three replacement bars is a possible repeat customer, a possible spreader of positive reviews. The customer who walks away with nothing and throws out three bars of soap she didn't like is likely to complain to her friends about the service, and isn't likely to spread the word about your great soap. It's often not about the immediate cost/loss, but the future profit.

Having said that, I think it's always wise to communicate very clearly about return policies, warnings, etc as noted above.

I can understand that, and when you start "bending" your terms, not only will you lose money because this customer will keep coming back to replace their soap after you replaced it the first time(i.e. dont llike the sent, dont like the color...)

When another customer has a problem and you say no.. they will say "Well such a such you did it for them"

You can gain a customer, but will it be worth it to your business by continuously replacing items you cant reuse or resale.

This is way MOST of B&B business has a NO RETURN policy
 
Like others said, I think if this happens again you should tell people you have a no refund policy. I have seen that on many soapmakers websites. Returning open and used soap is just as bad as returning an open package of underwear, or a bathing suit! It should not be allowed!

I can see if maybe she had a reaction to the soap and wanted a refund, but simply not wanting the soap anymore because the lavender buds fell off in the tub, is ridiculous. I'm betting that maybe once she got the soap home she didn't like the scent or something and just tried to think up an excuse to return/exchange it!
 
I tend to agree with Surf Girl. You never know who that customer knows. She could be related to a buyer at a chain store or some such.
If you tell her to hoof it you are definately not going any further with that customer but if you do a one time swap out not only might she end up being your most loyal customer but she will tell her fiends how courteous you were. And the opposite is also true. I really don't think the majority of people are that petty, most of us would just scrape off the decoration and use the soap and not buy it again. When I was a kid had a window cleaning business and only ever once had a customer that I refused to do repeat work for because they were a nuisance, but even then I told her I was too busy and couldn't fit her in instead of outright refusing her, because you never know who she knows.
 
I tend to agree with Surf Girl. You never know who that customer knows. She could be related to a buyer at a chain store or some such.

You're right, she could be. And when she's telling the relative ( buyer ) that she tried to return a bath/personal care product and the vendor refused, the relative/buyer just may be darn glad and give you a call because they see right there that you have firm standards related to hygiene on personal care products. On the other hand if she tells her relative that you took back soap and the vendor took it back no problem, her relative/buyer might then decide to never do business with you because of that as well.

It's a double edged sword there and I'd rather go with the no return policy on any bath/personal care product.

I might lose 1 or even 2 customers, but in the end I think it's worth it because even though you may know that you won't now sell her returns, others might not...and think you resell returned personal care products. Which is well, GROSS :shock:
 
surf girl said:
I may be the voice of dissent here... While it galls to eat the cost of replacing/refunding a product for a customer who is stupid, it's frequently worthwhile in terms of keeping the customer happy. The customer who walks away with three replacement bars is a possible repeat customer, a possible spreader of positive reviews. The customer who walks away with nothing and throws out three bars of soap she didn't like is likely to complain to her friends about the service, and isn't likely to spread the word about your great soap. It's often not about the immediate cost/loss, but the future profit.

Having said that, I think it's always wise to communicate very clearly about return policies, warnings, etc as noted above.


your words are worth a thousand pictures :)


lol


for real though... i totally agree, a burnt bridge cant be traversed in the future...
 
x

oh my gawd! i'll never use poppy seeds again! i think they look pretty, but every single person i have gifted them to has complained that they get all over the tub! honestly, i've never heard the end of it yet- after almost 18 months, you'd think they'd get over it!
 
Re: x

heartsong said:
oh my gawd! i'll never use poppy seeds again! i think they look pretty, but every single person i have gifted them to has complained that they get all over the tub! honestly, i've never heard the end of it yet- after almost 18 months, you'd think they'd get over it!

18 months !! GEEEZ, give 'em some other soap maybe they'll stop whining about the poppy seeds finally ;) Or, maybe not lol
 
jbarad said:
I tend to agree with Surf Girl. You never know who that customer knows. She could be related to a buyer at a chain store or some such.

You're right, she could be. And when she's telling the relative ( buyer ) that she tried to return a bath/personal care product and the vendor refused, the relative/buyer just may be darn glad and give you a call because they see right there that you have firm standards related to hygiene on personal care products. On the other hand if she tells her relative that you took back soap and the vendor took it back no problem, her relative/buyer might then decide to never do business with you because of that as well.

...

I might lose 1 or even 2 customers, but in the end I think it's worth it because even though you may know that you won't now sell her returns, others might not...and think you resell returned personal care products. Which is well, GROSS :shock:

Well, what you do in that instance is let her keep her unsatisfactory soap and replace them, since you're not going to re-sell them anyway. "I'm sorry, I can't take that back (for hygiene reasons or safety rules or however the heck you want to say it if you need to clarify), but I'm going to give you you three replacement bars/your money back and a replacement bar for you to try out. Here's my card and email address - why don't you drop me a line and tell me how you like them?"

Yes, you're eating the cost. Yes, you're doing it for someone who was dumb. But you have (1) addressed her concern - to her, it's real. She doesn't think she's being an unreasonable twit. Sending her packing will not make her come to her senses, it will just make her feel bad, or embarrassed, or grumpy - none of which you want your customers to be; (2) shown that you don't take back used soap and re-sell it; (3) exceeded her expectations. You have a "no refunds" policy which you have, hopefully, clearly spelled out, but you have not sent her home empty-handed and cranky, you've given her more stuff. She can do whatever the heck she wants with the unsatisfactory soap, like putting it in her lingerie drawer so things smell nice or just putting it her bathroom to look at or whatever, and she is going to like that; (4) given her more product, which will hopefully make her into a repeat customer; (5) shown her that you give a **** what she thinks of the soap, and encouraged a bond by asking her to email you.

mr surf girl (who co-owns our business) says that for a first-time client, he'd just give them what they want (they keep the soap because you're not going to re-sell it, just give them their money back) unless they'd be happy with taking more product which is better*. For a client who already has a relationship, he'd try harder. He takes EVERYTHING back, even when he knows people are being dorks... because they come again and buy more stuff.

* You realize this, right? If you refund, you lose money. If you exchange, you break even.

I heartily disagree that it is a good idea to have a customer to walk away unhappy for the sake of the $6 or whatever it cost you to make 3 bars of soap... A couple of weeks ago, my MIL had a bad experience with some sunglasses she wanted to return. It would have cost the retailer (a drugstore) very little to make her happy. Despite the fact that she was a very regular customer there, they pissed her off and she will no longer set foot in the shop and buys her stuff elsewhere. AND I can't count how many people she has told about her bad experience - so guess how many other people might think twice about going there, and head to the competition instead? IMO, this stuff matters when you are in retail.
 
This is an addendum to the above post.

I am in the luxurious position of not having to work for people I don't like. I do (in the politest possible way) tell people to go elsewhere if they are a sufficient pain in the ass (we sent out what is known as "The PFO Letter"). If you are in such a position, then it is not really a big deal for you to send as many customers packing as you see fit.
 
I only package my soaps with a cigar band so she clearly saw the buds on top. Eh well - I let this one go because I didn't really want her to make a fuss and I'm hoping for repeat business, but I'll remember her next time! lol

Thanks for the suggestion - I think I'm going to add a "common sense" statement to my labels stating the decorative herbs will wash off the soap, but will not harm your plumbing, and please do not eat" lmao

Ugh - some people.
 

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