The Official Word From Product Replacement
by Donna Bayes
03/20/2004
While sitting in the Director's Meeting at Career Conference, my cell phone vibrated. Not recognizing the out-of-state number, I quietly left the room to answer the phone. It was a representative from the Product Replacement Department at Mary Kay. He had some questions for me about my most recent product return that I had submitted on Intouch.
Did I have the products in my possession? Yes.Were they exchanged within the past 30 days? Yes.Were any of them part of a Bathroom Model or Test Market? No.As we talked, I asked him the company's position on Test Marketing the product.
He said that it was ok to test market if we choose to.
However, the company would NOT honor the product replacement for any test markets or bathroom models.What that means is this. If you offer a product to a customer to sample, before they pay for it, then the product replacement guarantee is void should the customer choose to return the product, rather than pay for it.
When you click "Accept" on the on-line product replacement form on Intouch (all the "fine print" that you've never read), you agree that the customer has purchased the product and that you either refunded money or exchanged it for another product. Just giving the product back to you because she doesn't want to pay for it nullifies the guarantee and the company is diligently working to ensure compliance with these standards.
So, bottom line. If you choose to allow someone to "sample" full-size products before paying for them, then realize that if they return them to you, you cannot ask the company to replace them for you.
How To Use the Intouch Product Replacement Form
Isn't it wonderful that the company offers our customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on the products they purchase. If a customer buys something and then decides, for whatever reason, that she doesn't want the product, we can exchange it for her (or refund her money) and the company will give us brand new product to replace we took back.
The online product replacement is so easy! Back in the early days of my business, this was the process we went through:
The customer had to sign a sales receipt showing the product returned and the product it was replaced with or the refund given.Each customer's returned product was placed into a separate bag with the signed receipt stapled to the outside.Besides the receipt, we had to fill out a product return form for each customer, stating why each product was being returned and what it was exchanged for.This form was stapled on the outside of the bag also. All bags of products were mailed back to the company.It was such a major job, I only did it about once every three years.A few years ago the company made it easier by allowing us to just fill out the form and NOT mail in the receipts or the product. Yea! But we had to do it within 30 days. It was such a wonderful timesaver for us.
Now, though, it is wonderful because we can do it on-line at Intouch.
Set a reminder on your computer or in your datebook to take care of this once or twice a month. How about every Friday?When you receive a returned product from a customer, use a sales receipt to make the transaction. On the receipt note what was returned and what you gave her in exchange. It would still be good to have the customer sign it.I place the returned products with the receipt into a box I have in my office.Once a month, I go through the box and enter each customer into Intouch.You'll find the Product Replacement web page on the little drop down menu above Mary Kay's picture on the main Intouch page. It says "Click Here To Visit..." Click on it and select Product Replacement.Follow the links. When you get to the page where you enter a customer, you enter the info requested for the first customer. You can either add more customers or go on. You'll want to add all of the customers before entering any product.After the customers are entered, you'll begin entering the returned product. It will ask you to select which customer that product is associated with. You'll have to enter day codes. They are a four-digit code. Usually, they'll begin with a D, C, B, or A. Older product begins with a 9, 8, etc. You can find the day code on the bottom of the product or in the crimp of the tube. Some items, such as compacts, don't have day codes. The date requires MM/DD/YYYY. (03/20/2004)If you only have one item, you'll go on to the next screen. If you have several items, you add them all on this page.When you're finished entering the returned product, you'll be asked to select replacement products. You don't have to select exactly the items you're returning. You may select anything as long as you're within $1.00 of the dollar amount you're returning.Once you're finished on intouch, place the returned items into a sack in your box with a list of the items you have ordered to replace them. When the new product comes, take the product out of the sack and discard. (You are required to keep the product 30 days or until you receive your replacement product.) While waiting for your replacement product, you can put the new items into the box, too, but they won't get mixed up with the ones already ordered, because they are in the sack.Since I use Boulevard Software, doing returns is a piece of cake. Boulevard will track it for you.
Note: Do not do more than 4 customers at one time. The system at MK is set to flag all product returns with 5 or more customer names. Then you have to call them (and I was on hold for a LONG time) and verify that you have the product in hand and that it was within the last 30 days. To avoid this inconvenience, do no more than 4 names at a time.