What would you do?

[Former_Member]

A customer has alerted me that a package that I sent to her from the UK to the US 9 weeks ago has still not arrived. I am thinking of giving her the option of me resending her another or giving her a refund? What would you do?

[YUGOK]

When a customer has notified me that a package has not arrived, I immediately tell them that I will remake their order, and send it as soon as possible. If two of the items are eventually received, {meaning a delay in delivery}, I request that one of them are sent back to me. This has happened on a few occasions, and customers seem fully satisfied with this scenario.

Other possible scenarios could be issuing a full refund, partial refund {this would be reasonable only if you outline it specifically in your policies with legitimate reasons}, or offering an exchange for another equivalent item in your shop.

[Former_Member]

I've sent packages to the USA for the UK and they seem to get there quite quickly.

I would offer a replacement or a full refund, as you don't want to receive negative feedback.

[MelsCreativeWishes]

I would offer her the choice of remaking and sending or a refund.

[BeadworkAndCoe]

How about enquiring at the post office before you get ahead of yourself!? Or is the order not trackable?

[Former_Member]

Thank you all for your help! I have offered her a refund or replacement. Diana it was sent normal post to the U.S. because the customer hadn't taken the option to pay more for trackable post.

[Former_Member]

I had the same thing happened to me but from UK to the AUS. Luckily my customer was very understanding and I offered a replacement or a refund. She wanted a replacement and that got to AUS fine. A few months later the original parcel showed up back at my house. So I didn't really loose anything and I got a lovely repeat customer.

[beatroad]

Sounds like you made the right decision...
Best to keep the customer happy in most situations. ;)
(FYI, while my items shipped TO the UK only takes about 2-3 weeks, shipping FROM the UK to the USA tends to take a while...maybe up to 12 weeks. My boyfriend waited forever for an item to arrive!)

[Former_Member]

Good choice, I'm sure she'll be happy! It sucks when orders go missing, especially internationally because without tracking you feel helpless. You can use the number on the customs form to track the package while in the US, the last destination would be before it was mailed overseas, but even that doesn't do much good except assuring you it was scanned in and had movement. For international orders, it is usually worth the money to buy insurance on them.

[Former_Member]

Hearing your stories gives me hope that one day the parcel will turn up again, either in the U.S. or U.K. If only to prove to the customer that I did actually send it. In her first email to me she wrote: "did you even send it?"

Katie Joy - amazing that you got the parcel back a few months later and Danielle - 12 weeks is a long time to wait for a package.

Tracking in the UK doesn't seem to be quite as usual as it does in the States but certainly think we could do with it at the moment with the Royal Mail falling apart.

Anyway, fingers crossed all future packages will arrive at their destinations! :)

[Former_Member]

The things I sell can't easily be exactly replaced, so I always just have to refund the customer, and hope that the package eventually makes it way back to me!