I have a patient who purchased eyeglasses with Transition PAL's. About 3 weeks later, she doesn't like the style of the frame and is requesting a refund. She says that the vision is fine but that she thinks that she can get a more stylish frame for cheaper at another store.
What is your refund policy?
In past offices where I have worked we did one of two things.
1) Return for Store Credit only within 30 days. Once the money comes in, it doesn't go back out.
2) Return for full refund if within 30 days, credit from 31 days till 60 days. After 60 days no credit of any kind.
* I don't know how Optical offices in Canada run as far as Consumer rights etc, and what the generally accepted practices are. But I would say it is a safe bet that if your return policy is not posted, not on the receipt, nor told to the patient, they will assume a 30 day refund period. We have the Big chains to thank for hammering in to the consumers mind they can return for a refund of a customized product.
In this case if your policy is not displayed in store I would refund her and send the lenses back to the lab for credit if you can, and the frame to the lab for demos if it is still in good shape to be re-sold, or sent back to the manufacturer for credit if you do not want to "re use" a frame.
I have found that if you don't refund patients who are not aware of the policy, they will tell everyone and their neighbor about the horrible service they received from your office.
Personally I prefer the exchange for credit with in 30 days. 1 time exchange. Every office I was at had our policy posted and on the receipt the Pt signed, and all patients were made aware of the policy.
I will be happy to do almost anything to keep a customer. I'll go to their house for adjustments, I will extend a warranty, I will give them a gift certificate to a nice resturant, I will drive them home after a DFE, I will carry an umbrella and escort them to the car in the rain, and anything else that I can come up with that will keep a positive impressive of our shop in their minds.
But giving their money back so they can go somewhere else doesn't qualify. You lost the money and the customer. NO WAY!
Explain it this way. There is no refund to give. The money is gone. The frame is used. The lenses were custom made and custom cut.
The saying is "buyer bewar", not "seller get screwed".
If this is a customer that you cherish and want to keep, you might give a little on the frame. What frame is it? Can you get it? Is it indeed less expensive given your warranty? What is your remake policy on lenses from the lab?
I have sold jobs with no warranty before. If someone is telling me that they can get a great price somewhere else, I will talk about our warranty. If the "cheap" place is lacking, I will offer to match the price AND their warranty. Rarely do they want to do that, but I am willing to take $30 off the price if I don't have to service them for free ever again.
Ask this lady if she thinks that the cheap place would do this for her?
She can return the frame, and keep her custom made lenses to put into the more stylish frame.Originally Posted by mma
I work for one of the big chains and I can't believe that people will come in for some of the refunds that they do. The whole "I think I can get something more stylish and cheaper" is a bunch of garbage. Even at the big retail chains, we still have to meet damaged and destroyed quotas, refund and rx input error percentages and what have you. I firmly believe that there should be nothing but store credit on anything and 30 days max. As stated above, I think we have one specific retail chain to thank for all of this I can just buy it and return it mentality. (and we all know who I'm talking about!)
Do you work in a private practice type setting or a chain? I would assume since you are asking it's not a chain, since they generally have set guidelines for these situations, and probably would actually allow something so stupid! LOL j/k
Honestly patients need to realize the value of a good pair of eyeglasses. We had a patient last year who wanted a full refund and wouldnt let us remake in a different frame or help her fix the problem, she just wanted her money. It became a big ordeal and since then we have a new sign off sheet in our office.
Glasses are a CUSTOM ORDER. They cannot be returned anywhere for 100% refund and cannot be re-used or re-sold by us like a shirt or shoes you might return. We always work with patients to remake or fix any problems they might have, but we will not refund you 100% your purchase price, because we cannot get that money back ourselves! So all pt's now sign this when the do a frame selection. That way we have a leg to stand on if it ever came down to it!
After I try quickly using my skills to explain why (the above) would apply and I'm unsuccessful, I simply issue the refund, in full, and immediately move onto to the next, better-suited-to-my-business client.
When I make a refund, I'll hear the following dialogue occurr in my head:
"Hello, is this ACME? (Annoying Customer Mediated Exchange) How much would you charge to remove an unsatisfied customer from my office within the next 5 minutes? $475.00? Great! I'll write out the check immediately. Please come right over!!"
And I greet the next waiting client right away. If anyone else is in listening range, they are (no doubt) impressed by my willingness to accomodate this difficult situation (contrastingly, a "fight or battle" never seems to produce any "halo-ic" good will on the bystanders).
Afterward, and almost universally, we have a really, really terrific sales day - so I actually look forward to these "opportunities."
FWIW
Barry
"Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back"
Saying that means a pt can on a whim change their mind that they dont like the color and want their money back. And those are the type of people who, if we refunded their money like Barry says, would inevitably come back again! Which may sound good to you all, but they inevitably will also cost us more in refunds and or remakes in the long run... again, and again, and again, etc.... And then I WILL be calling the ACME folks LOL
It is rare for us to refund a patient. I think more recently a few experiences have made us more inclined to do so. When patients wonder why their PALS don't work for the computer but the distance and the reading is fabulous.. and WON'T listen to us try and explain that the average PAL isnt' designed for a monitor 36inches away.. that we must need to just tweak them a bit (after remaking once to demonstrate affect it has on other zones..) and then a man who wouldn't even take the glasses out of the store when I tried to explain that there was changes and it takes time to get used to them, especially if you don't wear your PAL all the time.. the attitude is getting more like "I can already recognize that I can't please you. Take your money and lets move to the next one..)
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
Since you dont have a refund policy,I would take the glasses back and refund the money. I would also suggest to her that you dont think you will be able to meet her future expectations,so it would be better for her to go elsewhere in the future for her eyecare.
Anyone thought of the fact that If you fill 10 or more Rx's a day, at $500.00 ea. Your are taking in at least $ 100,000.00 a year on a 5 day week from eyeglass sales (I know this is very low for most practices and high for a few others). Now you probably don't have but about 1 patient every 3 months or so that you fail to satisfy. How much does this really effect your bottom line, especially if you retain this patient as a medical/eye exam patient even if he does buy future spectacles somewhere else?
Some folks is just a little tight with thier money.
Chip
What's a refund??
Chip, if you're doing those kinds of numbers you are doing well over 1M not 100k a year. And I agree with you and Barry and others on this, give the refund, escort them to the door and tell them I'm sorry I won't be able to assist you on your future eye wear needs.
Wonder how many times your patient will bring those "more stylish and cheaper" glasses to you for repairs and adjustments? Replace a screw or nosepad?
Hark....two laughs in one day, this is good.
Long story short, I used to own three retail locations. Insurances finally got me as I'm not a Doc and can't get paid because of that fact.
Anyway, the last straw was a lady, a lady who always bought from me, came into my office with a brand new pair of specs. looked at me and saaid "Yes, I know I got them somewhere else, but you do such as good job adjusting them for me, do you mind?"
I escorted her to the door and said two words.
"Get out."
I would give the refund and I would not throw them out and tell them they are 86'd. I would smile and invite them back again.
For one thing, lots of weird, unpleasant people have normal relatives--you can retain the normal relatives as customers by tolerating the jerk.
For another, as Chip said it's really not that big of a deal. Better to eat the loss than have some idiot file a lawsuit (whether frivilous or not it will take up your time).
People like that are just part of the cost of doing business.
What the heck is 86'd?
Outta Here!
There is no point to giving a refund or redo grudgingly - the patient will remember the attitude, not the service. If you wish to do further business, give the refund with a smile and an extra case or cleaning cloth. If you don't wish to do further business, keep the money. Nothing in between will help your business.
charge a 25% restocking fee. The patient gets back 75% of their money, you cover most of your costs.
We do the same as Beagleman. It's amazing that when the customer has to share in the cost of changing their mind, what happens. We have the policy printed on our receipts.
I would love to see someone pay a lawyer $400 plus all the time and effort it takes to sue me for $500...I doubt it would come to that.
In my opinion, the fair option is 30 days for a one-time store credit exchange. I don't mind selling the frame if it hasn't been damaged, but I don't believe in sending the lenses back to the lab. It's not their fault and that practice inevitably causes them to have to raise their prices.
I work with a company that has over 600 locations, and we have a strict no refund policy. And, in my eyes, we should. We have our registers set up so that it prints right on the reciepts since eyewear is a custom made order it cannot be refunded. The optical I work in is more of a retail setting, in a reputable store, and every now and then you do get a pt that tries to push that since the store accepts refunds, we too should. I politely explain to them that we are a service offered inside of the store, and that eyewear is custom made for them, and cannot be reused for someone else. Most people understand that, and find it to be logical, but of course, there is always an exception, there are some situations where a refund is the only feasible route. I'm a firm believer that you can still keep your customers coming back, even if you refuse them a refund, if you present yourself correctly while doing so. After all, just because I no longer like the shoes I bought a month ago, and have been wearing them for that whole month, obviously I cannot return them....
We tell all patients on the bottom of their receipts that there are no refunds but if we have a rare situation where we have to, we charge a 25% restocking fee and the balance of the refund is a credit to their account for their next visit. If someone tells us they are never coming back or going somewhere else we definately do not give them a thing.
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