The 9 Step Shitlist Survival Guide

After reading many of the shit lists on the forum, and seeing many members banned for problems that could have easily been fixed, i thought i would write up a little guide about handling complaints and refunds.

My experience in the matter? i've sold thousands of physical goods online, and have what i consider the best method to always keep your clients happy after their sale. The idea behind it is simple, yet wasn't always like this for me. I got into tit for tats years ago with clients, over small problems, and had more ebay and amazon accounts banned for negative feedback than i care to think about.

After i introduced this method into any my selling, i found i never had a negative.

1. Expect someone to complain, or a problem to happen somewhere.

:smash: :chairfall

You are guaranteed to make a mistake or screw something up, obviously it doesn't happen every time, and customers understand that. Problems identified, and then corrected, build massive trust, and bullet proof sales.

2. Always blame yourself.

:frusty: :driver:

The reason for this is that you can then actually do something about it. If you say "well its their fault for not reading the blah blah..." Then there is nothing you can do. If you say "its my fault for not making my headline text bold enough to outline that condition," then you can actually change that.

3. The same problem should never happen twice.

:faint::buttkick:

If it does then your still blaming your customers. If there is a problem, do even the smallest thing that will ensure it doesn't happen again. I once had to manually go through 100k listings manually, just to check i had a comma in, as one customer read it wrong. Guess what? no customer ever read it wrong again. There was a bunch of listings that had missed the comma, and i fixed them.

4. Make system adjustments on the same day.

:washing: rivateey

When there is a problem or someone complains, then your first priority after dealing with that person, is to adjust your system, to stop it happening again. Its your highest priority task, no ifs or buts. The reason is that its easier to deal with today. Tomorrow never comes. Don't get into the habit of putting the same fire out over and over. Take your time, and fix your fire truck.

5. Include a thank you with every purchase.

:30:

You should be thanking your customer, telling them what their next step is, and checking in with them after a few days to see that they got going ok. If its ebay or amazon your selling on, keep the lines of communication open with a little note asking them to let you know that their item arrived safely. For physical goods, i will send an email, but always include a little bit of paper with details attached to the item, so they DEFINITELY get it.

6. Ensure they know EXACTLY what to do if they want a refund.

roud:

Putting a note in with a purchase or an email is essential. Something like, "if you have any problems let me know i'm always happy to help." This is especially important on platforms where public feedback is important. You should be first port of call. Not the feedback or shit list system.

7. Treat the customer with respect.

:cheers: :3some:

Under no circumstance do you say anything bad about your client after the sale is complete. Take the blame on the chin. Apologise right away, and sort it out. This includes covering the costs of postage upfront. YOU should handle that.

8. Respect your own time.

:smashfreacguru:

This means that in EVERY case, its actually worth your time more to refund the person quickly, and let them know how sorry you are that they didn't like your service, and hopefully if you can be of any help in the future, then you will. The amount of profit you might make is not worth the emotional baggage, and late night thinking about what you should have said/done.

9. Turn a negative into a positive

:chef2:

You do this by EXCEEDING your clients expectations, and giving them a full refund, and then a little bit extra on top. I've given clients refunds and then sent them exclusive discount coupons, only to find they use them a couple of weeks later, and the client has now turned me a profit again.

Follow these steps and I will personally GUARANTEE you will stay out of any shit list.

:beach2(2)

I think your toughts are the perfect example of the american system.

I was hoping this would really be a thread offering help & advice to those Sellers that have been ShitListed. Things like 1) Don't get there in the 1st place. 2) Make certain to respond. 3) Make certain to respond to the allegations & dispute, and don't try to change the subject to something else. 4) Don't conveniently leave-out critical details that make you look bad. 5) Don't lie, particularly to the Mods. 6) Don't use abusive language and act like a complete horse's ass. 7) Don't say stupid shit like "Go ahead and ban me, I don't care." etc... as right or wrong, people will naturally assume you are guilty and instead of looking to prove your guilt, they will instead put only a minimum of effort into trying to prove that you are NOT guilty.

Frequently the OP of the ShitList thread is such a jackass that, even if they are justified in the complaint, it's obvious to everyone that he is a royal pain in the ass and that the Seller deeply regrets ever doing business with them. Coming down to the douchebag's level only makes people hate you, too.

Jesus H. Christ. When the dispute is over a piddling amount, PAY the douchebag and MAKE HIM GO AWAY. How stupid can some people be, giving a platform to a douchebag to run down your business over a piddling $5.00. There's a lot of really small, petty and stupid characters that get exposed in the ShitList thread over $5.00. You THINK it's over $5.00, but once everyone sees what a jackass you are, squabbling over a $5.00 refund, people immediately make the decision to NEVER do business with you. You could lose hundreds, even thousands of dollars worth of business over that stupid-ass $5.00 dispute.

Conversely, paying $5.00 for the opportunity to demonstrate professionalism and say positive things about your product and/or service to any and all BHW members that care to read the thread is CHUMP CHANGE when you consider how much revenue could be generated as a result of that exposure. I am constantly STUNNED and AMAZED at how many opportunities to MARKET products and services are SQUANDERED on a MARKETING FORUM.

Op said "7. Treat the customer with respect.



Under no circumstance do you say anything bad about your client after the sale is complete. Take the blame on the chin. Apologise right away, and sort it out. This includes covering the costs of postage upfront. YOU should handle that."

I totally agree,customers should be treated well,I just had my worst experience with a seller who had no manners and was blaming me for my site not getting serp improvement and he even posted on his thread and ask sellers not to accept my orders from me and mod removed my honest reviews.

seogenie said:

I just had my worst experience with a seller who had no manners and was blaming me for my site not getting serp improvement

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yes, i think we all have had similar dealings online in many platforms. As an example the seller should have point 4 in place, system adjustments. You can't be the first person who had a little issue, so there should already be a folder/list in place for the seller to move you in to try a couple of different things with you, or agree to monitor for a period.

It makes such a difference to know they are still there in your journey, not just leaving you out in the cold. Plus if they then proposed a reason, and then a new solution to help improve the situation even more for a little extra money, would you pay? (of course)

nice share bro will come handy when i'll be selling items

Panther28 said:

yes, i think we all have had similar dealings online in many platforms. As an example the seller should have point 4 in place, system adjustments. You can't be the first person who had a little issue, so there should already be a folder/list in place for the seller to move you in to try a couple of different things with you, or agree to monitor for a period.

It makes such a difference to know they are still there in your journey, not just leaving you out in the cold. Plus if they then proposed a reason, and then a new solution to help improve the situation even more for a little extra money, would you pay? (of course)

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Totally agree,mod should take a look at this solution quick,as from now on,i'll buy only from trusted members who have been here for a long time and who has real results.I don't trust new sellers anymore!!!

Thank OP...

Plus folks always remember "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going"

Nice post, unfortunately I learned the hard way By the way what happened with rep? Can't rep people anymore ?

There is only 1 rule : don't get there in the first place by not over promising, scamming or delivering shitty services.

Bumping this as a friendly reminder lol

Lol i wonder what it was that prompted you to bump this thread.

Panther28 said:

Bumping this as a friendly reminder lol

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I'm popping some popcorn now.

This post should be pinned somewhere.

This is a good post. Too bad you have to teach people how to do the right thing they should know in the first place.

2. Always blame yourself.

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sod that - its your fault panther

Um... just a quick question, what do you do if that customer particularly hates your guts and keeps harassing after 3 months while in each comment he's the first one to say bad things about your product. (Come on man I'm late for 1 day, I gave you a refund no questions asked, told you I'm sorry and now you keep me as your personal whip boy). Loyal customers purchase but new ones avoid me like plague

Most of the time, the seller gets a hint that a Shitlist thread is coming up soon...

the first signal usually is that a customer is writing to you (personally thru PM/email, or worse, on your BST thread) about the product in a bad tone, and your response to it , even if true and polite, still makes him/her more pissed off! Look for that early sign, which will possibly get you into a SL thread, and try to improve the situation for your business. I.e., try to correct the situation if the product / service is lacking somehow -- look at the complaint not as the provider, but as a knowledgeable third-party, and you can find out if there is something really wrong or not with the product or service. Then whatever you do to correct it, keep that in writing with timestamp (preserve the PM/Skype/email). It can come handy and save the situation for you during the SL time.

Always be prepared to refund -- partially or fully which can be depending on many important things. Losing in a Shitlist or much time being wasted answering it will make your business suffer, or possibly make it (your BST business) stop completely till the entire duration the SL is on. Also even if you win, there would be a bad taste left behind for the existing and potential customers...

Next big No-No for a BST seller is: don't stop communications with the complaining party -- it can hasten that Shitlist thread creation. Meet the situation head on instead of avoiding it like most sellers who anyway lose in the SL.

Then, remember that a customer can also lose the SL he/she opens. Hence keep the service/product's quality sufficiently high, especially the after-sales service. You can avoid being taken to the SL if you're professionally alert in attending and rectifying the customers' complaints on priority basis. The customer is always right, it seems -- oddly enough until he is proven wrong and you win that SL case here! And yes, don't promise to offer the moon and stars in your BST thread IF you cannot deliver them!

If you're in JV with another seller, or are just introducing the other seller to BHW members, then remember that your account will still suffer even if that seller is culprit and your intentions were only good while introducing that seller here. You ARE tied to the sales thread until it ends of very old age, or till the end of the technology your seller friend using, or ends in a shitlist with a ban (may be for both)! So beware of whatever sweet talks and commissions are promised to you by the seller, because you're a Blue member here...

Be Positive! Good Luck!

I really enjoyed! Its going to help me on my sell