Aptify

Whether or not to allow self-service on the web for refund and credit processing is a frequent debate. Proponents argue that self-service will enable a customer/member to more easily transact business with an organization, and build loyalty. Detractors often say that making it so easy to cancel something would encourage that behavior. In our experience, enabling self-service for "negative" transactions - situations where someone is returning a product, cancelling a membership or registration, etc - is a very positive thing. We have not seen objective evidence that would lead us to believe that making it easy to conduct such transactions has any impact on their frequency. Rather, when a cancellation or refund is going to be processed - it will likely happen one way or another. If it is made easy and seamless for the customer, the customer values it and is more likely to use that vendor in the future.

Great examples abound on the web including the web site for Southwest Airlines and Amazon.com. In each of these instances, the sites make it very easy to cancel existing transactions(when appropriate), and to apply prior credits to new transactions. All types of organizations, particularly member-based associations, should seriously consider enabling more of these transaction types on their web sites. This will improve processing efficiency and lower operating costs. Moreover, the improvement in customer service will have intangible, yet very meaningful value over the long run.