Two agents in the same week handle the same refund three different ways. One issues store credit, another goes full refund, a third loops in finance. The result: inconsistent customer experience and an angry customer comparison thread on Reddit. This SOP locks down what gets refunded, by whom, and with what documentation.
Any DTC brand with two or more support agents handling refunds. Critical above 100 refunds per month.
Refund inconsistency is invisible until it isn't. Customers compare notes online. Inconsistent decisions also leak margin: one agent's generosity becomes the baseline expectation across all of them. SOPs let you be generous in the cases you choose, strict in the cases that matter.
Damaged on arrival (photo required). Wrong item shipped (compare order to received). Late delivery past promised date (carrier tracking). Customer remorse within return window (no fault required). Quality complaint (case by case).
Most brands at $200. Agents can refund up to this amount without manager approval. Above $200 requires supervisor signoff. Tune to your AOV.
Tag every refunded order with the reason. This data drives month-end finance reporting and quality issue surfacing.
Even if the answer is no, respond fast. Customer perception of fairness depends more on response speed than on the decision.
Macro handles the refund action, email response, and Shopify tagging in one click. Reduces error and standardizes language.
VIP customer with multiple complaints. Refund request months past return window. Reseller account. Don't let agents make these calls alone.
Pull all refunds from last month. Look for patterns: agents being overly generous, reasons concentrating in one product, refunds inversely correlating with reviews.
Record your screen while running this procedure. ReccordSOP captures every step with screenshots, then alerts you when the actual process drifts from documentation.
Try ReccordSOP freeAbove your one-touch limit (typically $200), yes. Below that, no, agents need to move fast without bottlenecks.
Default to refund. Store credit is acceptable when offered as an alternative with a small bonus (10 percent extra). Forcing store credit is a CSAT killer.
Refund rate as a percent of orders. Refund reason breakdown. CSAT after refunds (should be similar to overall CSAT, refunded customers shouldn't feel worse).
I built ReccordSOP after watching too many DTC ops teams lose months to undocumented workflows. These SOPs are battle-tested with Shopify operators running $1M to $50M brands.
Last reviewed June 1, 2026