Nine Ways to Protect Yourself from Dispute Charges

Although disputed charges are just a fact of life that you can never fully avoid there are a few things you can do to reduce their frequency:

Protect yourself against fraud.

It is up to you to protect yourself against fraud. It is your responsibility to vet all orders coming to you. If you suspect that an order is fraudulent, it is your final decision as to whether or not you complete the order. 

Florists generally enjoy a low rate of fraud across the industry (someone who steals a credit card is probably more likely to buy a TV rather than send flowers). That being said, if you notice an especially large order, an obviously fake email address, or suspicious looking name; call the customer to confirm. Asking for a copy of their driver’s license for assurance is also common practice. Customer contact information is on every order detail page. If you can’t reach them or still aren’t sure, email us at [e-mail] so we can look into it on your behalf. 

Also remember: most of the time when a customer files a dispute citing fraud, it’s actually because they don’t recognize your name on their statement. As soon as you are notified of the dispute, call the customer to clarify. Ask them to call their bank to drop the dispute and to email you with confirmation that they understand and accept the charge in case they forget to ask their bank or card company to drop the dispute.

Mark orders delivered within an hour.

Confirming your deliveries right away lets customers know you delivered on time and should nip any issues in the bud. If there’s still confusion, however, you are also now able to prove the delivery with a time-stamped email. Do not, under any circumstance, confirm a delivery before the arrangement is actually delivered, as that will cause confusion and frustration when your customer receives a confirmation email but no arrangement!

Use BloomSnap!

Sending a BloomSnap reassures customers that their gift has been created and is on its way to delivery. If a customer claims that you sent a damaged or low-quality arrangement, you may also be able to use your BloomSnap pictures as evidence against that claim. Past BloomSnaps can be found and retrieved from your Orders Tab.

Save proof of delivery.

It’s a good idea to get a signature from the recipient acknowledging receipt and time of delivery, so you can keep track of who accepted the arrangement and show additional proof if needed.  If the arrangement is left on a doorstep, take a picture with your phone of where you left it as evidence delivery was made just in case. Florists around the community recommend making sure your pictures have geotagging turned on, and keeping pictures for at least 30 days.

Follow the BloomNation Substitution Policy.

Many disputes and requests for refunds can be avoided by simply calling your customer before you make any changes to the arrangement that will make it look different from its online appearance. Similarly, train your delivery people to handle flowers carefully and call if you need to leave the arrangement.

Use product photos and descriptions to set reasonable customer expectations.

Good product photography means using a picture that most accurately portrays what your customer will actually receive. More specifically, that means you should never manipulate your photograph or pictured arrangement to look more robust or larger than it will be upon delivery. If you offer up-sells or upgrades (which is highly recommended) ALWAYS show the lower priced item in the first image.

When writing product descriptions, give accurate descriptions of the dimensions and types of flowers used so customers understand what they are getting.

Post your return and refund policies on your website.

If you have a Premium Site, email your return and refund policies to the Bloom Experts at [e-mail] . They will add a custom page to your site which will give your customers an alternative to initiating an official dispute.

Respond to customer inquiries promptly.

Customers may try to reach out directly before they resort to initiating an official dispute. Saving yourself that $15.00 fee by getting back to each customer promptly and making your contact information easy to find. If you have a Premium Site the Bloom Experts can help you figure out how to do that as well.

Join BloomNation!

BloomNation is all about making your life easier, which is why we do the following to help you prevent disputes from the start:

• Send detailed order receipts immediately after check out.
• Verify CVV and billing info to reduce instances of fraud.
• Constantly keeping on top of technology and security upgrades to keep robots and spammers at bay.
• Make it easy to view your order details and delivery confirmation history in your Orders Tab.

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Have more questions about disputes and chargebacks?
Read this article for more details!