Wholesale Dropshipping – How to Manage Wholesale Dropshipping Back Orders
Back orders for online sellers are inevitable. Even how hard you try you try to prevent this from happening, at some point it will. Back orders will put you on different situations which you could never imagine. You have to go through all kinds of customers when it happens because more often that not online customer’s wants instant gratification. You will come across customers who listen, the challenged, difficult and appreciative, which makes dealing with back orders some what fulfilling.
Here are some tips that you can consider when dealing with customers with back orders:
o Call your customer. A call is usually more appropriate than an email (watch out for your phone bill). Never wait even for a day to advise the customer about the situation. You can make them feel that they are important by calling; you value their business with you and conveying you apologies with personal touch through the phone conversation.
o Check with you supplier/ distributor. Verify with your distributor how far the product will be out of stock. It is advisable to contact your customer and advise that you haven’t charged their credit card. Even if you can always process a refund it is advisable to make sure that the items are available prior charging your customer.
o Offer to cancel. Always offer order cancellation after advising the customer that the item is out of stock. In this way they can see that you are not too desperate for the sale. More often that not they won’t cancel their orders because they would not want to go through searching for the item again. In addition, if there will be another delay, you have to contact your customer if they are still willing to wait and, then offer another cancellation.
o Be professional. You can’t afford to loose your patience. Today excellent customer service sells that product.
o Follow up. Send a communication (call or e-mail) to your customers about the status of their back orders. At least advise them that you frequently monitoring the status and you apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay.
o Inform delivery. Contact your customer and advised them that their order will be delivered on a certain date once you received a confirmation from you distributor that they already shipped it.
Some understand back order situation and some difficult customers don’t. Always remember to deal with them politely and never lose your temper.