25 comments

• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Erika

  As a shopper, I expect a guarantee on tangible items--it is difficult to know if what you see online or in a box is a piece of crap. But with things like coaching I understand not offering guarantees. I would never buy a package from someone that I did not like their posts/content/emails/newsletters/etc.

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Erika: Absolutely agree. On tangible + digital + physical products I expect a money back guarantee or at least a good vibe from the seller that makes me feel like they're honest + they truly care about making me (+ all their clients) happy.
  
  As for coaching, I have also been on the other side of the coin + as I client I also know how important it is to do your research + watch videos + exchange e-mails. It's all in good match-making faith :)

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by danielle

  this is sooo interesting. I even worry about such a thing with tangible objects - people could get an item and say "it's too big" or "its too small" even though the size was listed and then send it back and it goes missing or send it back in less than perfect condition.... that wouldnt be fair either.
  
  I absolutely agree with what april said - once the coach has spent the time giving advice/ideas/coaching - it would be truly unfair to get the money back. because even if you DIDNT love everything they said - you still heard it and its still now part of your brain and you might use it AND you get your money back? No, thats not fair at all if you ask me.
  
  i always think about big businesses - I cant think of a single one of them that has a money back guarantee - not one you dont have to jump through flaming hoops to redeem.
  
  I think what april said about knowing who you are hiring/ giving your money to is an important role of the customer. Don't hire someone you don't want to pay... right?
  
  lots to think about, thanks for sharing, mayi!
  
  
  and gosh darn that is a cute necklace!! lol

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by danielle

  oh! and i just want to add that, yes there needs to be a policy about money back for tangibles, and I think everyone needs to work them themselves for their products. I know I offer returns but based on time and condition and such. okay thats all

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Danielle: I worry about that too girl :) Specially for my hair accessories because I would never resell a return for hygienic reasons. Think airport head rests YUK! LOL.
  
  Ok so back to the topic. What has really helped me is focusing on making OUT OF THIS WORLD products that people will love. I'm confident that if I give it my 200billion% I will decrease + decrease even more my chances of returns. And you know what that means, more money in my pocket to by more fabric bunting flags for the Merriweather Council babyyyyyy YEAHHHH!

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Erin Giles

  Mayi- Great post and although I only provide tangible items at this point...I would have to say that I would not offer a money back guarantee. Why? Because as a buyer if I am going to invest in something amazing like your consulting services, I would not be considering getting my money back what so ever. In fact, that is something I would never think to look for because of this. So maybe the people that are looking for their money back shouldn't be your fans/clients in the first place. They are plenty other people who know just how awesome and worthy you are of their money!
  Just my thoughts:)

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Erin: You are the sweetest in the planet. Your insight reminded me of a quote Marie Forleo said that I adore. It goes like this:
  “My ideal clients don’t need to be sold. They know who I am from my book, videos, interviews, newsletters and social media. They just want me to tell them what’s up, why I’m doing what I’m doing, what’s included, how much it costs and basically–help them see if my program is really a good fit.”
  
  Brilliant. Brilliant!

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Jillian

  I thought this was a really interesting post, particularly all of the feedback from the coaches you surveyed. I agreed with pretty much all of them. As a potential consumer of these services, I find it scary that just about anyone can call themselves a coach or an expert these days. But, I think that it would be pretty obvious after a session or two that someone like that couldn't deliver on what they promised. It's up to me to be smart about it. Earlier this year, I purchased some services from someone, and I paid a lot of money for them. I was somewhat disappointed because I didn't think the service was anything I couldn't have done myself or that wasn't already readily available on lots of blogs for free. But I would never dream of asking for an even partial refund, because maybe my expectations were too high. Plus, it was up to me to do my homework before paying so much and to ask lots of questions about what exactly I'd be getting, which I really didn't do.
  
  I can understand where those of you who are offering these services might be nervous not to have a guarantee. Would not offering the refund be worth it if someone were to complain about your service on their blog or in forums? I'm not so sure what I would considering that possibility. This is why it's such an interesting issue.

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Heyyy Jillian: First let me start by saying I adore your work. I've seen your name pop in + few times + this weekend I saw you blog critique on ARTrepreneur + just had to say I'm adoring what you're putting into the word! You go girl.
  
  Now back to what's on the table LOL: great + great insight. Thanks for opening up + sharing your story.
  
  As consumers we need to keep our eyes wide open. Impulse purchases on necklaces or groceries is all good, but when putting down an entire month's worth of salary + need to do my prep work.
  
  I tend to hire people I learn to trust over time. I usually begin purchasing something small, like a digital product + moving up to a group program + then the one-on-one. Feels like the natural transition to me + it's what makes me feel safe.
  
  Testing the waters is sooo soooo important because even is someone is a superstar, maybe they're not the Fairy God Mother for you. It's truly like dating. It all depend on the chemistry of both the service provider + the client.
  
  And just one more thing to add (for now LOL), it's soooooo important for coaches to put themselves on video. I know that has played a key role in attracting my right people + it has helped my clients screen me or run far far away LOL.

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• Comment Link 13/06/2011 posted by Dyana Valentine

  fantastic spectrum of ideas, considerations and hail these gorgeous super smart women who contributed (in the piece and the comments!). I'm so happy to be part of it. Keep it fancy (any way you can);
  Keep it clean (energy and so on);
  Keep it rowdy
  Yahoo!

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• Comment Link 14/06/2011 posted by Pam

  This is a good question. I think it really does depend on the type product and whether it's something that could be sold to another person. As far as any sort of coaching, if I were the "customer" I can't imagine wanting my money back after receiving a service. Personally, I think I would do my research in advance to make sure I felt comfortable.
  
  If it were a tangible product I had purchased and a mistake were made by the seller, I would expect they would make good on it by either refunding my money or sending me what I had ordered. If I screwed up, I wouldn't hold the seller responsible but I might try to see if the

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• Comment Link 14/06/2011 posted by Pam

  Oops! I hit the submit button before I was ready.
  
  If I messed up as far as instructions to the seller or bought an item in the wrong size, I wouldn't hold the seller responsible but depending on the item might try to see if there was some way we could do something to create a win-win situation.

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• Comment Link 14/06/2011 posted by Brenda Xiomi

  I found this post interesting and thought provoking.
  
  I have several fears as a new Etsian, this post made me feel a bit more at ease and prepared for the reality of it all-people.
  
  Being on the "net" you come across tons of different type of people. Being in business on the net is a well, like opening a can of worms. Lucky for us there are some very kind worms out there ;0)
  
  As a future partaker of your pixie dust-goodness, I am finding a different kind of respect for you and your work. I am now even more excited for our one-on-one!
  
  xoxo,
  B. Xiomi
  
  P.S. Worms don't have teeth ;0)

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• Comment Link 14/06/2011 posted by April

  I loved reading and listening to all of these responses--and I can't help but notice the similarities in a lot of them.
  
  It seems like we all want the very best for our customers and ourselves and I do believe that can be accomplished with clear sales copy and customer research.

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• Comment Link 14/06/2011 posted by Zoe | A Quick Study

  Totally agree with April - I love seeing that we can balance wanting the best for customers/ clients and being fair to ourselves. Thanks for rounding up these responses, Mayi! It is so great to have so many perspectives on a topic I've been thinking so much about lately.

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Stephenie Zamora

  This is such a great post Mayi! Such a hot topic. As a designer, a client may choose to terminate our contract at any time, for any reason... but if I've put in time, only a percentage of their deposit will be refunded (and they could possible owe). If a client is unhappy with the work, it's tough. A LOT of that comes from their own lack of clarity or having too many cooks in the kitchen. We always try to make our clients happy, but if they just aren't feeling it, no matter what we do, we will consider giving a partial refund to end the relationship on good terms.
  
  For coaching, I agree with what was said above and your take. First, you HAVE to be careful about what you say on your sales page. And yes, you MUST clearly define who is a good fit and who is not. I don't feel that coaching should have a money back guarantee because there's no way to know if they just aren't trying on their end and you've already done the work.
  
  Such a great topic, thank you for starting these tough conversations!

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Suzi

  Money back guarantees are something I have thought about a lot in the past, and having read this insightful post, I can see I will have a lot more thinking to do in the near future. I sell tangible goods, so it is of course a little different from the focus of this post. However, I do feel that a lot of the principles are the same. It may seem an idealist view, but I aim to achieve 100% customer satisfaction. Therefore, if a customer feels that the products which I have provided are not as advertised, or are not produced to a high enough standard, then I'm going to take note of their complaint and do all I can to rectify it. If people are giving me their hard earned money, then they deserve to receive products of the highest quality. My aim with a money back guarantee is to ensure that my customer can sleep easy, knowing that they haven't just thrown away their money online with no guarantee of receiving exactly what they expect, and also to protect myself from those few who may just be looking to rip me off. I certainly need to think about my guarantee a little and decide whether it is achieving that.
  
  As for coaching and creative services, I was impressed by Tara's response, and that is the kind of guarantee which would give me confidence in taking the plunge and investing in coaching. I want to know that the creative coach is interested in a professional relationship which really works and is truly beneficial. I don't want to sign up for coaching and then get sent an unimaginative list of "one-size-fits-all" resources and left to get on with it, while the "coach" runs off with my money. So a guarantee relating to client and coach being the right "fit" would reassure me that this would not happen.

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Pam: Thanks for sharing your impressions. I really appreciate it. I agree that it all depends on the type of products + the research prior to purchase + our responsibility as both service providers + clients. When we put ourselves in both shoes the panorama saddlery becomes clearer.

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Brenda: Glad we could help! I remember how scared I felt at the beginning. I had no clue what to do for my policies. But with time I've learned to build my confidence + also to trust my clients to do the right thing. Obviously we can't control EVERYTHING but how fun would life be it we could right.
  
  Luckily for me, I have wonderful clients like you that make me feel like I have the best job in the planet. God bless.

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  April: I knowwwwwwwwwwwww. I loved receiving all the responses + bringing them together. Each one beautifully complements the other + that wasn't planned LOL. Goes to show how beautiful our community really is + how much kindness there is around. Makes the microscopic difficulties seem so… well, microscopic :)

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Zoe: thanks for sharing. Loved having you on board for the post!

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• Comment Link 15/06/2011 posted by Mayi Carles

  Stephenie: Hotness indeed. I find many similarities between coaching/consulting + web design + freelancing. I really appreciate your side of the coin because it illuminated the issue even more.
  
  "And yes, you MUST clearly define who is a good fit and who is not." 100% with you!

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• Comment Link 12/07/2011 posted by Marilyn

  Hi Maria
  
  It's Marilyn (mjfontaine uk) a lovely post! It's nice to see info from other coaches. I haven't given a refund but I find working with clients is like dating normally you have an indication of the ones that will give you trouble at the beginning (this doesn't happen with products for me) but I have found the clients I have had to jump over hoops for, are the ones who give some challenge. I was going to change my free 30min consultation to a money back guarantee but decided against it because this gives me the support I need, and makes the client accountable because they have agreed and signed the contract.

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• Comment Link 12/07/2011 posted by Michael E Stern

  As an SECP (self-employed creative professional) who delivers a tangible product (photographs) and intangible products (consulting and training), I found your post one of the most on-the-mark, true and inspiring posts on the topic. You've definitely given me food for thought.
  
  I offer a money-back guarantee on both products and services. If my clientele are not satisfied, I must have fallen short. If it's obvious that the client is being a you-know-what, then I try to move on with as little damage to my soul and reputation as possible.
  
  It's not an easy gig working for yourself, but I wouldn't have it any other way!
  
  Thank you.
  
  Michael

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• Comment Link 12/07/2011 posted by Theresa | The Tarot Lady

  This is a great post and SO necessary. I work as a tarot reader and do not offer refunds because this work attracts a fair share of questionable seekers. In my view, they are paying for my time and my time is extremely valuable. That being said, I recently refunded one client who was so toxic and negative that I wanted to make sure we would not work together again. She refunded my refund! So - I gave the money to charity and blocked her emails. I don't want to encourage her to ever work with me again.
  
  I also mentor other tarot readers and do not offer refunds on those services. I do a heavy screening to make sure we are a good fit before I commit to work with them and that has helped a lot.
  
  I do have some digital products and that I do offer a guarantee on. I've only had to refund twice - once to a person who hit "pay" by accident (yeah...right) and once to a woman who was obviously looking for a freebie. She downloaded everything, said she wasn't happy because it took a long time to download and that she decided it wouldn't help her business. Later, I see her on Twitter talking about how broke she is. It was obvious she scammed me. That's the sad thing with money back guarantees - there are always those who want to rip you off.
  
  My digital products though have been extremely well received, so I cannot complain. And in 20 years of working as a tarot reader, I've only had to refund that ONE person. Not so bad when I consider the numbers. :)
  
  Thanks again for such a great post!

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