A customer asked me for a refund, I had to tell him to…

It happened. I had to tell a customer to “f*ck off”.

Here’s the full story.

In one of my websites, I help users find employment in Dubai. I sell a comprehensive package full of tips, instructions, and solid contact information to help users effectively reach a wide network of employers. The service has helped 100s of users. But not everyone’s bound to completely fall in love with it.

I realize that; so I offer a 60-days money back guarantee. Since I currently use ClickBank to sell my product, I’m forced to offer the 60-days money back guarantee. But I offered the same guarantee even when I was using PayPal.

Yesterday, one customer requested a refund. I’m gonna share our email exchanges with you in a bit.

But first I want you to know that this was a high maintenance customer from the get-go. Not only did he take advantage of the information I sold, but he also contacted me for personal consultation and advice, which I did provide to him through lengthy and sincere series of emails.

Nevertheless, yesterday he requested a refund, and here’s how it went. He emailed:

Hi Mohammed

I am a subscriber to your premium service and it has been 60 days since I became a member. Unfortunately, it has not worked for me despite my persistent efforts to use the tips and advice provided. I would thus like to claim a refund of the fee that was paid. Kindly arrange to refund it back to my paypal account.

Thank you for all the help.

Regards

My reply:

Hi XXX,

You are right, the refund period is 60 days. However, your purchase was made on September 29, which is more than 60 days ago. Therefore, the sale is final and I’m unable to issue a refund.

Best regards,

He considered this reply to be rude. I guess he feels entitled to that refund for some reason. Or maybe he’s just bored and looking to stir up some shit, so here’s what he wrote back:

Hi Mohammed

I am quite surprised and disappointed to see such a reply. As per your paragraph herë:

You have 60 days to judge our service. If not everything I said above is true, if it doesn’t fulfill your every expectation, if doesn’t help you find a job in Dubai, or if for whatever reason you’re not completely happy with it, simply email me. And I will issue a refund right on the spot – no questions asked.

There is nothing that states that you MUST be informed on the 60th day ONLY in case of a cancellation, otherwise I would have definitely done so. I had already decided to e mail you after the first 50 days or so as it was not working for me but was just waiting to cross 60 as per your website. In between I spent the past few days out of Dubai, hence the 3 day delay in informing you. I know that 60 days was completed on the 28th of November, but today is only the 2nd  Dec so essentially, the delay is exactly 3 days.

If you had strictly mentioned the refund conditions, then it would be my fault. But in this case, based on the paragraph above, the refund conditions are fairly vague. Initially I had referred your website to many friends and family members as I believed in it and hoped for a lot out of it. Perhaps it works for a lot of people, but it did not work for me. It is disappointing enough that nothing came out of it but additionally, if your service level is of this nature and you cannot keep your word as far as refund policy goes, I will defintely have to pass the word around. I am a member of several Dubai based internet forums and will not hesitate to discourage others from using your website as it is a clear case of being misled (as far as the refund policy goes).

I look forward to hearing from you.

He didn’t really say anything new in this email — just a bunch of lame excuses and a threat to slander my service. At this point, my guess is that most people would just ignore a person like this, but I don’t like ignoring things. It itches inside. But I tried to contain myself, so I just repeated what I had already told him.

Hi XXX,

I can’t issue a refund after 60 days.

Best,

Now he’s really pissed. He calls me a cheater, tries (very badly) to manipulate me, and threatens to “take this further”. Here’s what he wrote back:

Thank you for the prompt response.

I am appalled at the way you have handled this. To say the least, you have cheated me and perhaps several others through your misleading refund policy. Is this how you do business? If nothing else, there is a God up there who you will have to answer to one day.

A lesson has been learnt, and I will be taking this further.

All the best.

I take pride in being very honest and refusing to deceive others for my personal gains. So, when I’m called a cheater like this, I’m really, deeply offended. So here’s what I tell him:

Hi XXX,

You’ve called me a cheater and tried to threaten me. Do you know why I’m my own boss? So that I can tell people like you to fuck off.

Best,

Now, contrast this troublesome guy with this good fella.

Dear Mohammed,

Hereby I would like to request a refund as I am already familiar with linkedin.com and the contacts you have listed for the hospitality industry.

I am not saying that you have a bad web site, it just doesn’t work for me, so kindly reimburse me the USD 47.00

Thank you,

To someone who simply requests a refund in a timely manner, here’s how I reply:

Hi XXX,

No problem. I’ll issue a refund right now.

Your account will remain active and you’ll get a list of companies that maybe interested in your resume later on.

Let me know if there’s anything else you need.

Good luck,

Users appreciate that. He wrote back:

Dear Mohammed,

I really appreciate your quick reply and assistance.

Will contact you soon if my next destination will be Dubai or Oman.

Best regards,