Have you ever shopped at a Nordstrom? From the moment you walk in the door, your senses are filled with pleasure.
There is soothing piano music, played live on the grand piano adjacent to the central escalators.
Employees are well dressed and smiling.
Polished marble shines.
Can't find the shoes you want in your size? No problem. They will have them shipped from their store 3,000 miles away at no charge. You can pick them up Thursday.
Every aspect of the Nordstrom experience is carefully designed to delight the customer.
When I was in business school, one of the first things we learned was the "Nordstrom Snow Tire" story. It goes something like this.
"A woman walks into Nordstrom to return the snow tires her husband bought. The tires had 'Sears' printed across them. She says her husband bought the tires here, and she needs to return them."
Of course Nordstrom doesn't sell tires, but in their effort to delight the customer they accepted the return and gave the woman her money back."
This is, quite literally, the textbook definition of going above and beyond what is required to make a customer happy. So why do it?
Nordstrom's liberal return policy one small piece of their culture of customer delight.
But let's get real, as eBay sellers we HATE the concept of returns: they cost us time and money.
Brick and Mortar stores take returns, and to be competitive in eCommerce we need to accept them too.
I've accepted returns since the first day I opened my eBay business over three years ago, and I've never regretted the decision.
As a whole, accepting returns has not hurt my cash flow. For the first 10 months of this year, my return rate (by dollar value) is only 3.8%.
6 Reasons to Accept Returns:
REASON 1: I want to delight the customer, so he/she will come and shop with me again. By accepting returns, there is an added level of confidence in the transaction.
REASON 2: I sell clothing, and sometimes garments just don't fit - even if the measurements are in the listing! Not all customers understand how to compare clothing measurements to body measurements. Heck, some customers don't even own a tape measure! Sometimes the part that doesn't fit was not measured. I recently returned a sweater I bought on eBay because the diameter of the sleeves was too small for me (the sweater had been washed in hot water and the sleeves contracted). This was not a standard measurement, but it sure would have kept me from wearing the sweater if I'd bought from a seller who didn't take returns.
REASON 3: Personally, I won't buy from a seller that doesn't accept returns. I get the impression they can't be bothered or that something is wrong with the garment.
REASON 4: DSR scores and positive feedback. If I sell a flawed item and accept returns, the buyer can contact me and say "Hey, there is a loose eye-hook on this skirt you didn't disclose in the listing. How can I return it?" If I don't accept returns, odds are she will contact PayPal or eBay directly, open a dispute or a claim for the dreaded SNAD (Significantly Not As Described). And if eBay or PayPal rule in the buyers favor, guess what. They take money out of your PayPal account, give it back to the customer, and the customer doesn't have to return the item! So now you have bad feedback, no skirt, and no money. Ouch!
REASON 5: Buyers can now filter search results so that only merchandise from sellers who accept returns will be displayed.
REASON 6: eBay is giving a visibility bump to listings that accept returns within 14-days or longer.
During the holiday season, eBay is encouraging sellers to extend their return period until January 31st. You see this policy in place now at most department and discount stores. To stay competitive, eBay sellers need to do the same.
If you want to learn more about why Nordstrom is hailed as customer service heroes, I recommend reading "The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America's #1 Customer Service Company" by Robert Spector.
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