When we talk about ways to prevent chargebacks, we often mention refund and return policies as a primary issue. They may not seem directly connected, but they very much are. If your refund policy is too complicated, too arduous, or too difficult to find on your site, then it may be easier for the customer to shrug and say, “Forget this! I’ll just call my bank!”
Customer service as a whole is important in this regard, but one area that doesn’t get as much attention is your system for receiving complaints or comments. We live in an age of spontaneity and immediacy: if a customer has an issue with your business, they usually want to address it right that moment. If they’re on your site and they can’t find a way to contact you, they’re only going to get more frustrated. That, in turn, could lead to an abandoned cart, a cancelled order, or even drive someone to file a chargeback.
A Quick Example
Like your return policies, the system for leaving a comment on your site must be simple and easy to use. You always want the customer to feel it’s easier to call you than to contact the bank. Some merchants may feel that a simplified system will actually encourage critiques…and in fact, it may. But a complex process can create even worse problems.
Let me give you an example from my own experience:
Like many of you, my family and I are currently practicing social distancing. For us, that means calling out for food delivery more often than we normally would. Last weekend, I called and placed an order with a certain merchant, a global company with local franchises. Everything went smoothly until I tried to pay for the order; that’s where I hit a wall.
I’m a big believer in using electronic wallets, particularly for online purchases. This particular site said they accepted PayPal, and went through the motions of accepting my payment…up to a point. Every time I tried to submit the order, however, the system froze. I tried it with different devices, covering three different browsers and two operating systems. It’s overkill, I know, but I wanted to make sure the problem wasn’t on my end.
I eventually managed to get the order to go through with a different payment method. Still, I was frustrated—especially after entering our entire order multiple times. I decided I wanted the merchant to be aware that this problem existed.
Frustrated Customers = Lost Sales
Understand, I was not angry here. I simply wanted to let them know there was something wrong with their system. But in attempting to bring awareness to the issue, it took several moments of searching around to even find a contact link.
Then, after I found the right page, it required me to fill in a lot of information, including name, address, email, phone number, which store I was having trouble with, and more. This is all before I could even get to the place where I was actually talking about the problem.
At this point, my annoyance is actually edging toward anger. I felt a little better once I was finally was able to spell out my problem. Unfortunately, before I could even submit the communication, I had to enter much of my personal information a second time.
By the time I got to the end, I was more frustrated than when I started. Here’s the thing, though: I’m not a typical customer. I pushed through the process as much out of professional curiosity as anything. In all likelihood, many average customers will give up before completing the process, and THAT is what leads to chargebacks.
Think about it: we’re talking about customers that are already annoyed or frustrated. Not being able to express that frustration might be the thing that pushes them over the edge to say “I want my money back.” That’s not the right way to handle the situation, of course, but it’s a normal human reaction.
So now the customer wants a refund. Who are they going to turn to if you’ve already demonstrated that it’s too hard to contact you? She calls the bank, and you lose the sale, the purchased items, and probably the customer. Plus, you’ll get stuck with chargeback fees.
The Ball is in Your Court
The good news: these types of chargebacks are almost totally avoidable. Here are four basic tips that you should consider as best practices for how you handle complaints:
- Make it as easy as possible for customers to contact you. Have prominent links on every page of your site. Better yet, actively ask for comments, questions, or frustrations.
- Make the customer experience as pain-free as possible. Here, you’ll need to balance getting the information you need against the customer’s user experience. In my example, the restaurant was in the delivery business, so they probably really did need my address and phone number to compare against actual orders. But normally you wouldn’t need those details, and customers certainly shouldn’t have to enter the same information twice.
- Respond ASAP. Whether the message comes from your website, in an email, or through social media, make sure you acknowledge receipt as quickly as possible. If you can’t provide a specific answer at that time, indicate when the person can expect a more detailed response.
- Act on the information. Any goodwill you generate by acknowledging an issue will fade quickly if the customer continues to experience the problem.
Nobody likes to hear that they’re doing something wrong. That said, what merchant wouldn’t want to know about a problem that might keep people from making purchases?
I honestly don’t believe that this particular merchant was trying to make it difficult to register a complaint, but their methodology needs to be re-thought. Try to see the process from a customer’s viewpoint. There’s no need to expect them to jump through so many hoops in order to present a very simple message.
