26. When a Customer Tries an Unacceptabl

When a Customer Tries an Unacceptable Merchandise Return : 

When a Customer Tries an Unacceptable Merchandise Return By VanSight

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The Situation : 

The Situation Most companies have some limits on merchandise returns. Some of those restrictions have to do with safety and/or hygiene reasons (e.g., the return of over-the counter Drugs or undergarments). There is little flexibility possible for accepting returns of such items. Companies may also establish time limits or other conditions regarding returns. For example, they may limit returns to two weeks or allow only exchanges (no refunds) on some items, such as videos and cds. Understandably, when you refuse to allow a customer to return an item, it’s likely that he or she is going to be upset. Here’s a way to handle it. 3

Techniques Used : 

Techniques Used 4 Probing Questions Acknowledging Without Encouraging Preemptive Strike Providing Alternatives

Dialogue : 

Dialogue 5 In this situation, the customer is requesting a refund for a boxed set of DVD movies. As is standard, due to the possibility of copying, the store does not accept returns for refunds but only allows an exchange, identical title for title. We join the conversation after the customer has requested his money back. Employee: I need to ask you one or two questions before we can process this for you. First, were any of the DVDs defective? Customer: No, they play fine. I just changed my mind.

Dialogue : 

Dialogue 6 Employee: Sure, that happens sometimes. When you bought the DVDs from us, did anyone point out our policies on returns and refunds for DVDs? Customer: I don’t remember. Employee: OK. What I have to tell you isn’t going to make you all that happy. Our store and, for that matter, almost all other stores that sell DVDs have an exchange-for-identical-item policy and don’t offer refunds. I’d be glad to explain why it’s done this way if you’d like, but the bottom line is that we can’t refund or exchange it for a different item since the DVD has been opened.

Dialogue : 

Dialogue 7 Customer: So you’re saying I’m stuck with this? Employee: Yes, I’m afraid so. As far as I know, we’ve never made an exception to this rule, but you could talk to the store manager if you’d like. Customer: No, I can’t be bothered. But I’m curious, how was I supposed to know about this “policy,” since nobody told me? Employee: It’s so common in the industry that it’s possible the cashier forgot to mention it. We also have the policy posted on each rack of DVDs, just in case. Customer: Well, OK, then.

Explanations : 

Explanations 8 In this example, the customer’s reactions are relatively mild, and he can best be described as disappointed rather than angry, but that reaction is partly a result of how the employee handled the situation. As soon as the employee learns that none of the DVDs is damaged, he knows the customer isn’t going to get what he wants. Rather than simply blurting out “the rule,” the employee uses the probing process to build a little bit of rapport with the customer before giving the bad news. He also acknowledges the validity of changing one’s mind by acknowledging without encouraging. Notice the phrasing, “that happens sometimes,” which doesn’t agree or disagree with the possibility of a change of mind. The employee does not want to make the customer feel stupid and is trying to allow some face-saving here. In saying, “What I have to tell you isn’t going to make you all that happy,” the employee uses a preemptive Strike. Anticipating that the customer may be disappointed, he is the first to identify that the customer is likely to be unhappy with the result.

Explanations : 

Explanations 9 When you acknowledge a customer’s emotions in advance, he or she is less likely to harp on those emotions, in offering the customer an alternative, speaking to the manager, the employee is mostly making a gesture of goodwill to placate the customer and show that he is taking the issue seriously, even though he cannot offer the customer what he wants. Finally, take a close look at how the employee answers the customer’s final question about how the store lets people know about the policy. It would be normal to wonder. How this customer could not know about this policy that is common in almost every retail store on the planet, could have missed the signs prominently displayed, and could claim he wasn’t informed. A less professional employee might have commented in a way that the customer might find offensive or, worse, in a way that might encourage the customer to argue. But this one didn’t. He answered the Question asked of him and tried to do so without blaming the customer. Why? Because the surest way to generate an argument and waste large amounts of time is to point a blaming finger at a customer, even if it’s deserved.

How to Diffuse the Situation : 

How to Diffuse the Situation 10 When refusing a customer request, it’s always good to make some sort of goodwill gesture to the customer along with the refusal. That’s not always possible, but if you can, it smoothes the waters. A goodwill gesture would be something that gives the customer “a little something,” although not what he wants. Blaming a customer is plain stupid, even if the customer is to blame. Blame is about embarrassment and humiliation, and people fight back. However, it is appropriate to identify what might have caused a problem, for the purposes of fixing it, which is an unemotional process of gathering information.

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