How to answer customer calls about returns and exchanges

Write your returns policy first

Whoever answers the phone must say the same thing. So the policy needs answers to six questions:

• How many days the customer has to return or exchange.
• What condition the item must be in: label, box, unused.
• What’s needed: a receipt, the order number or the phone number used to order.
• Which items can’t be returned, and why.
• Who pays for delivery on a return.
• How the money comes back, and within how many days.

Uzbekistan has a consumer protection law, and your policy must not contradict it. Show the policy to a lawyer, then say the same thing on the website, in the order confirmation and on the phone.

A return call in seven steps

1. 1Find the order by its number or the customer’s phone number.
2. 2Ask the reason: didn’t fit, didn’t like it, wrong item or faulty.
3. 3Ask about condition: is the packaging open, was it used, is the label on?
4. 4Offer an exchange first: another size, colour or model. Many customers want the right item, not the money.
5. 5Agree how it comes back: a courier collects it or the customer brings it to the shop. Name the day and time.
6. 6If you refund, say exactly when and how. Never promise a timeframe your policy doesn’t give.
7. 7Log the request and send the customer a short message: what was agreed and what happens next.

Faulty goods are different

If the item is broken or the wrong one arrived, the shop is at fault. Start with an apology. Then ask for a photo (for example, on Telegram), offer an exchange or a refund, and don’t charge for the return delivery if your policy says so.

Don’t argue, and never say “you didn’t read the rules”. If you can’t resolve it, pass the call or the request to the responsible staff member.

Sample: bedding in the wrong size

What return reasons teach you

Record the reason for every return and review them once a month. For example, if bedding mostly comes back as “wrong size”, add measurements in centimetres to the product card. If “the colour is different” keeps coming up, reshoot the photos in daylight. One more number: how many returns ended in an exchange rather than a refund. The higher it is, the less the shop loses.

Handing return questions to an AI operator

“Can I return it?” often comes in the evening, once the item is unpacked. Sado answers incoming calls day and night and explains your returns policy in your words. It never makes up anything the policy doesn’t say.

The operator takes the request: order number, reason, condition and the customer’s choice, exchange or refund. The details go into fields, a task is created for staff, and the call card can go to Bitrix24 or your shop’s Telegram group. Your staff handle the refund itself. More: AI operator for online stores. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.

Questions