RSSWhat to do when a customer payment fails
Not sure what to do when a customer payment fails? If this has happened to you, you will know how stressful it can be.
It has just happened to me (first time) and I immediately thought, "How would I respond to an email saying my payment for something hadn't gone through?"
By putting myself in the other person's place, I was able to write a simple email to get my message across in a non-aggressive way, and hopefully encourage the person to respond in a favourable manner.
We must not assume it was a deliberate act, it could simply be a temporary lack of funds or a whole range of other possibilities.
This is what I wrote:
Dear (name of customer),
You recently purchased (product/service) from me for $(amount).
Paypal has today let me know that your "eCheck" payment for my (product/service) cannot be processed, as your bank has denied the payment.
As you've already received my (product/service), I still require payment.
I'm happy to accept Paypal -- but not eChecks -- as it appears that you don't have money in your account to cover the payment at the moment.
Please make your payment today via my website:
http://buildawebsitetonight.com/make-payment.html
I'm hoping this is a simple oversight on your part, so please get back to me and let me know how you will proceed.
I must advise that if you don't make the payment, I will need to report you to Paypal, so let's avoid having to do that.
Kindest regards
Teena
Teena Hughes :: Director
http://www.BuildAWebsiteTonight.com
http://Twitter.com/build_website
PO Box 1333 * Rozelle NSW 2039 * Australia
Tel: Australia 0408-801-808
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The customer is on the other side of the world to me, and I knew that it was possible I might never hear back from them, or receive my payment. The sale was for an ebook, which is emailed as soon as the payment is received.
In this case, I hadn't considered people using "eChecks" with Paypal, so now I will tweak my payment process to avoid those in future :-) Please note that eChecks means that the purchaser has their Paypal account linked to their bank account, and this can take 5-10 days to clear ... so not the best solution for a virtual product like an ebook.
A half an hour after sending my email, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a response (via Blackberry) - very apologetic, saying it would be sorted out a.s.a.p.
I wanted to share this with you, because at some point you too might be in a position to wonder what to do when a customer payment fails.
I hope this has been helpful - if you have similar stories, please do let me know. Sharing them with others helps us learn and find better ways to communicate.
Cheers
Teena
