Returns!

[deniser]

My most hated job is processing returns (so boring and time consuming!) - being in clothing this runs to about 10% of orders.

I have had a nice break from returns while the Royal Mail used snow as an excuse but they have today delivered all my returns at once since Christmas! That's over 3 weeks worth and several sackfulls.

I am reading all sorts of random stuff on this forum rather than tackle them. Just can't bring myself to take one off the top of the mountain......

 

[AndyP]

Get to it, there'll be more tomorrow!

Good luck.....

 

[sysops]

Horrible, feel for you.

What percentage of the returns are nice, straightforward unwanteds, and what percentage fall into the "it's faulty because I put it on despite the fact that it was obviously far too small and it's now split all the way down the seam" category?

 

[GreenLaser]

Nightmare , and you will feel it in the bank too once all those refunds are processed ! get it over and done with !

you should have link to your site here .. we ALL buy clothes ! or you already got too much buisness

 

[*Lexxy*]

you have my sympathy, i used to work for a local swimwear manufacturer & i was the returns department!

in that line of gear, very little came back for split seams etc., the majority of it was less than pleasant & i used to put my hand into each jiffy bag with more than a little trepidation!

 

[Mister B]

I must confess that processing returns is my pet hate as well.

That being said, our returns rate is less than 1%, albeit from a tight product range.

Have you tried to work out why the return rate is so high? I know that mail order clothing historically has seen highish return rates, but 10% seems excessive.

Mister B

 

[deniser]

Get to it, there'll be more tomorrow!

Good luck.....

You are so right, I tackled them eventually yesterday and I bumped into the normal postman today who said there were so many packets for me today that he gave them to the van driver to deliver as he couldn't carry them. He promised it was the last of the backlog...... they haven't turned up yet.

 

[deniser]

Horrible, feel for you.

What percentage of the returns are nice, straightforward unwanteds, and what percentage fall into the "it's faulty because I put it on despite the fact that it was obviously far too small and it's now split all the way down the seam" category?

Actually 3 were size/colour exchanges, 1 was genuinely a tiny bit faulty but wanted a replacement, the rest were straightforward returns of either one item or bought two kept one.

Nothing too horrible! Just time consuming and boring.

 

[deniser]

Nightmare , and you will feel it in the bank too once all those refunds are processed ! get it over and done with !

you should have link to your site here .. we ALL buy clothes ! or you already got too much buisness

I wonder how far your day's figures have to go into negative territory for them to refuse to do refunds?

Much as I would like to, I don't advertise my site here as there are too many competitors and copycats lurking!!!

 

[Geoff T]

you have my sympathy, i used to work for a local swimwear manufacturer & i was the returns department!

in that line of gear, very little came back for split seams etc., the majority of it was less than pleasant & i used to put my hand into each jiffy bag with more than a little trepidation!

I'm hoping for your sake you had either - or both - of the following:

rubber gloves
good scurbbing brush in the smallest room



OP - I always try and get my nastiest jobs for the day done first...otherwise they just hang over my head like a bad smell all day...

Hope the backlog isn't too fierce!

 

[deniser]

Have you tried to work out why the return rate is so high? I know that mail order clothing historically has seen highish return rates, but 10% seems excessive.

Mister B

No, 10% is very low in this kind of business. I believe 20-25% is quite common.

Returns are approx:
60% people either not measuring before buying but taking a wild guess at sizing (website has very detailed sizing information) or the child being overweight so it was never going to fit
25% people ordering more than one of something so as to be able to choose at home and return the rest
5% colour not matching something they wanted to match it to or confusing white with ivory etc.
5% child not liking what they have chosen for them
5% item not suiting the person it was bought for
0.5% faulty

We have tried everything we can think of to minimise returns but they have remained fairly consistent except that we have banned Choice orders where we can spot them which has reduced it slightly from the 10% but we can't always tell.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I just returned a product to Sports Direct who very kindly told me that they would be refunding me the cost of the product only, not the original outgoing delivery shipping. (ie not the returns postage)

Ironic, that so many members, small businesses, come on here to check out DSR's and their compliance regarding postage costs etc, whilst the biggy corporates who have people employed to ensure legal compliance simply flought the rules blatently hoping that customers will simply accept their bully boy tatics.

Anyway, I sent them the relevant section of DSRs and asked for my postage money back. But makes you feel for the ordinary GP who aren't aware of the DSR small print.

 

[deniser]

I just returned a product to Sports Direct who very kindly told me that they would be refunding me the cost of the product only, not the original outgoing delivery shipping. (ie not the returns postage)

Ironic, that so many members, small businesses, come on here to check out DSR's and their compliance regarding postage costs etc, whilst the biggy corporates who have people employed to ensure legal compliance simply flought the rules blatently hoping that customers will simply accept their bully boy tatics.

Anyway, I sent them the relevant section of DSRs and asked for my postage money back. But makes you feel for the ordinary GP who aren't aware of the DSR small print.

It isn't actually a very fair piece of legislation though is it?

It was designed to give people a cooling off period which doesn't really apply where people specifically go onto the internet to hunt for something because it is easier than going to a shop to find it, paying parking charges etc. People don't mind paying the postage if they don't have to leave their homes to shop.

We get round it most of the time by offering a much longer returns period - which suits the customer as well.

 

[sysops]

It isn't actually a very fair piece of legislation though is it?

It was designed to give people a cooling off period which doesn't really apply where people specifically go onto the internet to hunt for something because it is easier than going to a shop to find it, paying parking charges etc. People don't mind paying the postage if they don't have to leave their homes to shop.

We get round it most of the time by offering a much longer returns period - which suits the customer as well.

Spot on, and we do the same. Additionally, if someone buys 4 items and returns 1, we don't refund postage even if requested.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

No, not particularly fair, partic to the retailer. However equally, the reverse isn't fair to customers if the product delivered was faulty. And if the legislation required a product fault in order to get a P&P refund it would likely just push a lot of customers into delibrately damaging the product before returning it. Which would hit the retailer harder than refunding p&p.

However, that doesn't mean that big companies can selectively ignore it. It's that bit that's annoyed me, because they should and do know better, they can't claim ignorance, it's a delibrate break of the law.

 

[deniser]

Spot on, and we do the same. Additionally, if someone buys 4 items and returns 1, we don't refund postage even if requested.

No you don't have to because they can only cancel the whole order not part so the regulations don't apply.

Which is why we sell lots of accessories and little things like that which are likely to be kept even if the main item is returned (

 

[deniser]

No, not particularly fair, partic to the retailer. However equally, the reverse isn't fair to customers if the product delivered was faulty. And if the legislation required a product fault in order to get a P&P refund it would likely just push a lot of customers into delibrately damaging the product before returning it. Which would hit the retailer harder than refunding p&p.

However, that doesn't mean that big companies can selectively ignore it. It's that bit that's annoyed me, because they should and do know better, they can't claim ignorance, it's a delibrate break of the law.

But the legislation does require P&P to be refunded if faulty doesn't it?

We bend over backwards to make amends if a product is faulty and refunding return postage is the very least we do.

Actually you've just reminded me that we didn't get any return postage when returning my husband's golf jacket when they sent a different colour because they were out of stock of the one he ordered and didn't bother to ask if we wanted a substituted colour. I would never do that to a customer!

 

[sysops]

But the legislation does require P&P to be refunded if faulty doesn't it?

Herein lies the irony - no, nothing requires that. Only cancellations under DSR require that.

 

[deniser]

Herein lies the irony - no, nothing requires that. Only cancellations under DSR require that.

I'm sure it is somewhere. I will have a look.

 

[sysops]

I'm sure it is somewhere. I will have a look.

Would be interested if you find something, I never have.

 

[deniser]

Fairly sure it comes under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) which gives a consumer (regardless of whether he bought in a shop or online/mail order) the right to return faulty goods within a reasonable time after purchase and the rights to claim a full refund plus any other losses that have been incurred as a direct result of the faulty goods being supplied, such as the costs of postage.

 

[SillyJokes]

10% returns is pretty good, but I agree they are a pain which is why I get someone else to do them for me.

Usually the huge bag of post is not as daunting as you think. Hope you got through it OK. At least you don't have shop lifters.

 

[sysops]

I'm not so sure, because I think that would be the same as returning something faulty to a shop and demanding compensation for fuel/parking/time, which as far as I know no shop in the country would refund.

 

[deniser]

10% returns is pretty good, but I agree they are a pain which is why I get someone else to do them for me.

Usually the huge bag of post is not as daunting as you think. Hope you got through it OK. At least you don't have shop lifters.

They are just psychologically horrible!

It wasn't actually bad but I am now dreading the next bag if it ever gets delivered.

At least the RM have saved me from having to refund the postage as many of them were items sold before Christmas and no-one has emailed me to cancel!

We don't have shoplifters anymore (we used to which is one of the reasons we are now only online) but our parade has been badly targetted by burglars since Christmas. The hairdresser next door to us three times! The deli twice, the tool hire shop, the bakers and several houses behind.

So far our alarm must have put them off. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

They have smashed windows, climbed onto roofs, sawn off doors etc just for a few coins of petty cash in the tills!

 

[SillyJokes]

I'm not so sure, because I think that would be the same as returning something faulty to a shop and demanding compensation for fuel/parking/time, which as far as I know no shop in the country would refund.

Item faulty - full refund, no question, outward and return. Even if it isn't written in stone it should be and I also think this is actually the case but can't be bothered to check again.

Returning something faulty to a shop is different, shopping online, you are much better protected.

 

[SillyJokes]

They are just psychologically horrible!

It wasn't actually bad but I am now dreading the next bag if it ever gets delivered.

At least the RM have saved me from having to refund the postage as many of them were items sold before Christmas and no-one has emailed me to cancel!

We don't have shoplifters anymore (we used to which is one of the reasons we are now only online) but our parade has been badly targetted by burglars since Christmas. The hairdresser next door to us three times! The deli twice, the tool hire shop, the bakers and several houses behind.

So far our alarm must have put them off. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

They have smashed windows, climbed onto roofs, sawn off doors etc just for a few coins of petty cash in the tills!

That sounds far too scary for a country mouse like me. Our warehouse is on a gated business park which is locked at night and we have big metal shutters, who knows what nutters are going to be after 60 afro wigs and a box of stink bombs

 

[sysops]

Item faulty - full refund, no question, outward and return. Even if it isn't written in stone it should be and I also think this is actually the case but can't be bothered to check again.

Returning something faulty to a shop is different, shopping online, you are much better protected.

I'm not arguing the ethics of it, I totally agree with you and we do the same.

But I am not sure that it is a legal requirement.

 

[deniser]

I'm not so sure, because I think that would be the same as returning something faulty to a shop and demanding compensation for fuel/parking/time, which as far as I know no shop in the country would refund.

Good point. I will have a look if there is any case law.

 

[deniser]

who knows what nutters are going to be after 60 afro wigs and a box of stink bombs

LOL!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blush]

I hate returns too, although majority of ours are for simple exchanges, but we its surprising how many people order ballet shoes but don't read the sizing instructions then return for bigger size.If they read the full description would save them a whole lot of bother
when its quiet we emal to double check but its just not feasible most of the time as we are too busy

 

[OfficeNinja]

OFT guide for businesses on distance selling

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

"3.23 ...When a distance consumer cancels a contract to which the cancellation provisions apply they are entitled to a refund of any money they have paid in relation to the contract" (ie. outgoing postage)

and

"3.57 If the goods are faulty or do not comply with the contract, you will have to pay for their return whatever the circumstances." (ie. return postage)

 

[SillyJokes]

I hate returns too, although majority of ours are for simple exchanges, but we its surprising how many people order ballet shoes but don't read the sizing instructions then return for bigger size.If they read the full description would save them a whole lot of bother
when its quiet we emal to double check but its just not feasible most of the time as we are too busy

I had a look at your ballet shoe page when you said you had a repeated problem.

If you find you have a problem that repeats over and over, then it's not the customers fault. There has to be a problem with the website (no offence meant, honestly).

On your site you have written quite a bit about the shoes, but you hide the part about buying one size up in a paragraph which also makes another point about size and colour. Then you separate this paragraph from the drop down size selecxtor which is turn is physically far from the add to basket button.

There are a few ways to reduce this common 'customer error'.

Firstly you tell people to order one size up. Well then, the shoes are sized wrongly. On your website why don't you sell them in the correct size for the actual shoe and don't ask your customer to jump through mental hoops. We do this with fancy dress costume which are sized 11-14 years on the packaging. Usually there is no way a 14 year old would ever fit in them so we keep the sizing right down on the website.

If you don't wish to adjust the sizing (which I think would help you a great deal) you should at least get your sentence about buying one size up right next to the size selector drop down and associate it more closely to the add to basket button.

Our size selector is actually within the add to basket button for instance.

I hope you can try these suggestions because I reckon they will help you on ballet shoe returns and of course imagine the time saved in not having to email customers.