Refund Requests through Email SOP

Standard Operating Proceedure:
Refund Requests and Subscription Cancellations

1. Purpose

This Standard Operating Procedure establishes the required process for handling customer-initiated refund requests and subscription cancellation requests received via email. The objective is to ensure a consistent customer experience, enforce structured retention efforts, and maintain accurate documentation across all interactions.

2. Scope

This SOP applies to all customer support representatives managing email communications across Excellent CX clients, including Group of Brands, UpWellness, and all associated brands.

3. General Policy Requirements

All customer support representatives are required to maintain complete and accurate documentation following every customer interaction, including instances where a voicemail is left. Proper documentation ensures continuity across teams and prevents duplication of actions. Representatives must strictly adhere to assigned snooze timelines in order to provide customers with sufficient time to review communications and respond appropriately. Prior to taking any action, all previous tickets must be reviewed to ensure full context and avoid inconsistencies. In all cases, communication with the customer must include a clear and complete summary of all actions taken, including any refund amounts processed. Where phone outreach is required, a minimum of three contact attempts must be completed as part of the standard contact effort.

4. Refund Request Process (Email-Initiated)

When a customer submits a refund request via email, the assigned representative must first assess the reason provided by the customer and deliver appropriate education aligned with that concern. Immediately following this education, the representative is required to process a partial refund equivalent to thirty percent of the original purchase amount. Once the refund has been processed and the response has been sent, the ticket must be placed on a twenty-four hour snooze.

The purpose of the snooze period is to allow the customer sufficient time to review the resolution and respond if necessary. If the customer does not respond within this timeframe, the ticket will automatically reopen. Upon reopening, if no response has been received, the representative must send the “Did Not Respond – 24 Hours” macro through Intercom. This communication must include a complete summary of all actions taken, including the exact refund amount that has been issued. Following this communication, the ticket may be closed.

In the event that the customer responds and declines the initial thirty percent refund offer, the representative must proceed to the next step in the retention process. This involves offering an additional twenty percent refund. After extending this offer, the ticket must again be snoozed for twenty-four hours. If the customer declines this second offer, the representative must proceed in accordance with the standard refund or retention policies applicable to the specific brand. If no response is received after the second snooze period, the ticket will reopen, at which point the representative must again send the “Did Not Respond – 24 Hours” macro, ensuring that the full sequence of actions and the total cumulative refund amount are clearly communicated. The ticket may then be closed.

5. Subscription Cancellation Retention Process

When a customer submits a request to cancel a subscription via email, the assigned representative must first acknowledge the request and provide appropriate education based on the customer’s stated concern. Within the same interaction, the representative is required to implement a retention action by moving the customer’s next shipment date three months forward and applying a twenty percent discount to all future orders.

After completing these actions and communicating them to the customer, the ticket must be snoozed for a period of two hours. Once the ticket has been snoozed, it must be forwarded to the Phone Team in accordance with internal routing procedures, with coordination from team leaders as necessary.

The Phone Team is responsible for attempting to contact the customer and must complete a minimum of three contact attempts. If contact is successfully established, the phone agent will resolve the concern, merge the email ticket into the phone ticket, and close the case upon completion. If the customer cannot be reached, the phone agent must leave a voicemail, merge the phone ticket back into the email ticket, and place the ticket on a twenty-four hour snooze.

If the customer explicitly declines the initial retention offer, the representative may continue objection handling based on the customer’s concerns. However, if the customer insists on cancellation, the representative is authorized to proceed with the cancellation without delay.

If no response is received after the twenty-four hour snooze period, the ticket will reopen. At that time, the representative must send the “Did Not Respond – 24 Hours” macro through Intercom, ensuring that all actions taken are clearly summarized. Following this communication, the ticket may be closed.

6. Compliance and Enforcement

Adherence to this SOP is mandatory for all applicable personnel. Failure to comply may result in inconsistent customer experiences, financial discrepancies, and reduced effectiveness of retention strategies. Team leaders are responsible for monitoring compliance through regular audits, performance evaluations, and coaching initiatives to ensure that all procedures are consistently followed.