TERMS AND CONDITIONS: DO THEY ALWAYS APPLY?

Entrepreneurs and small businesses are vulnerable to cancellations and buyer’s remorse, hence the use of terms and conditions that don’t permit refunds.

When I first started my business I also used a non-cancellation policy. Now I offer a customer satisfaction clause and, so far, it appears to be working.

Yes, I'm wary of clients who sign up and then decide to cancel. However, there’s a difference between buyer’s remorse and genuine difficulty. So we need to address where our needs and those of our clients imbricate. Meeting someone on a personal level and appreciating their issue means you’re creating a relationship. That person is more likely to come back for another program. And it’s also because, well, life happens, and if we don’t support each other when life happens then what are we doing? How can we say we’re serving our clients when we insist on terms and conditions that protect our interests at the cost of our clients’?

Sometimes, flexibility needs to override the legal position. What’s more important: retaining fees or building long-term relationships?

So, yes, I’m smarting after I was denied a refund. I’d signed up for a big spendy business conference – very expensive and a huge step for me. But I was excited about taking my business to the next level. I was also excited because the conference was run by a very high-profile woman of color, and I was looking forward to spending time at an all-people-of-color event. They talked about the aha moments you would get when you realize you can make changes, the support you would receive from a like-minded community, finding your people, etc.

It’s clear from the sales page that they don’t offer refunds, and I was fully committed to going anyway. But this last week, I learned that a close family member’s chronic medical condition has nose-dived rapidly and in the next few months I’ll be on-call to fly out and organize either supported living or hospice. After a couple of deep breaths, I realized I’d have to cancel the conference.

Because it was run by women of color dedicated to supporting people of color, I thought I’d get a response that went further than the usual ‘thoughts-and-prayers’. Their response to each of my several emails: We’re sorry to hear that but we don’t offer refunds. We want our women to take their business seriously.

Really?

The clients we serve come to us because we’re offering them services they want and they trust us to deliver them. But they also come for support, community and the feeling of being situated in confidence and self-worth. These cannot be valued by a ticket price. But if they’re honored, they increase our repeat business and expand our community.

The conference: If it had been white-run I might have felt less stung. But a women-of-color run event? Hello? Sisterhood? So, no. I won’t be signing up for this one again.

This has really illuminated the delicacy and value of client relationships, and my duty to listen to my clients with clear-sighted compassion.

Not generated by Chat GPT