Well, deal with it. If you don't, you'll pay for it later; I guarantee that.

The 5 Myths About Product Returns

By Curtis Greve  

Executives regularly skip by the returns department during their facility tours because of flawed thinking. They most likely believe in one or more of the 5 myths of product returns.  Once they realize the impact of returns, and the truth about product returns is separated from the myth, they will never avoid the returns area again.

Many executives go out of their way to avoid product returns. In many companies, if you want to take a nap, just go lay down in the returns area and enjoy a peaceful rest. Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

The 5 myths about product returns are:

Myth #1 - Returns are junk.

This is the biggest and most pervasive myth about returns.  Returns are not junk.  In fact, studies have found that only about 20% of returns are actually defective.  The other 80% are functional and are often valued at 75% to 95% of original value. Even defective returns have value if processed properly. If you look at the reasons consumers return their purchases, the number one reason is some version of buyer's remorse. Thinking returns are just junk can cost a company a lot of money.

  ___________________________________________________________________________________

Americans are fed up with bad customer service and they are willing to pay more to be treated better.  The good news for small business owners, however, is that 81 percent of consumers think small business delivers better service than big businesses do.

That's the discovery of a new survey that finds that, now that the economy is improving, seven in ten Americans are willing to spend an average of 13 percent more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. This is up substantially from 2010, the survey found, when six in ten Americans  said they would spend an average of 9 percent more with companies that deliver great service.

Despite their desire to spend more for better treatment, Americans don't believe businesses are doing much to meet their needs -- and in some cases, they are getting very angry about it.

In fact, 60 percent believe businesses haven't increased their focus on providing good customer service -- up from 55 percent in 2010. Among this group, 26 percent think companies are actually paying less attention to service.

 ___________________________________________________________________________________