What do you do when your client wants a refund?

It's an uncomfortable situation to be in, no doubt.

In my 8 years in business, I've made plenty of mistakes when I had to eat costs. But there have also been times when my clients have requested refunds and I know I was not at fault.

Whether you're a service-based business or product-based, I'm giving you my best tips for handling these tricky situations with grace and professionalism. And because I believe in the value of prevention, I'll let you in on what I did to avoid (or at least, greatly reduce) these scenarios from coming up again.

Related Post: 5 Tips for Handling High Maintenance Clients

Little Pearls of Wisdom

• [02:27] Set expectations, define the scope of the job, and clearly state your refund policy on your website, sales page, contract, etc.
• [04:10] Hire a lawyer to help draft a solid refund policy.
• [05:33] Assess the issue calmly and remove your emotions. Don't get defensive!
• [08:45] Put yourself in the client's shoes to help you determine how to best rectify the situation.
• [09:20] Consider alternative options to refunds like coupons or free shipping.
• [10:50] The customer isn't always right.  Be thorough upfront and hold your boundaries when appropriate.
• [12:00] If a refund or replacement is necessary, make sure it arrives swiftly.

Subscribe & Review

If you had an ah-ha! moment or learned just ONE new valuable bit of information, I'd be so grateful if you would leave a 5-star review and tell me what you love most about this podcast. It's a HUGE motivator for me to keep creating this for you. In addition, it helps our raking in iTunes so that more people discover this show.

And to make sure you never miss an episode (including any pop-up bonus episodes), click here to subscribe on Apple iTunes!

Links mentioned

• Pen to Press — My course about stationery design
• Framework Law Group

Related Episodes

Episode 49: 5 Tips for Handling High Maintenance Clients
Episode 21: The Legal Crash Course Every Business Owner Needs to Hear with Grant Atkinson
Episode 22: How to Handle Client Criticism
Episode 32: Struggling with Saying No? I've Got Tips For You!
Episode 7: How I Grew a Six-Figure Stationery Business