tropicgirl

One of my employees called last night and said there was a guy in there that was wanting a refund on an unlimited package. She said she knew we didnt give refunds but was just checking because he said he had gone to the doctor and his doctor said he couldnt tan.(this is my problem how?). He had a monthly package and had bought it a few days ago but had not even tanned yet. I told him he could transfer it to a friend or family member, or I would give him the credit toward some lotion. He said he would take 20 dollars and eat the rest for my troulble. I said, sorry, no refunds-thats the policy. He was mad and said he was getting a lawyer. My response-pay a couple hundred for your lawyer, to get your $28.00 back? Genius! Would you have given him his money back?

Ezliving_Jim

I would have given him a $28.00 gift card. With a smile.

sunchick7

I probably would have...not to encourage that kind of behavior but if someone gets that mad about it, it's easier to prorate the membership & give a partial refund than to have them going around town bad mouthing my salon.
I don't think you did the wrong thing though...it is an individual decision made on a case by case basis.

ramcat

I had the same thing happen. The difference is that the balance on account was $50. They settled for a t-shirt.

sunchick7

P.S. I wouldn't lose sleep over the lawyer thing...I can't imagine someone being that stupid.

Neon Beach

Why make an enemy over $28.00. Medical reason with a note would be a decent reason for a small refund wouldn't it?

suntanztanning

In a case where the customer had never tanned and had a medical reason I would give them their money back just to keep them happy. I say this because he may come back when and if the medical problem passes. If you tick him off he probably won’t return.

As far as a lawyer goes, I doubt one would take the case. Besides he wouldn’t need a lawyer in small claims court. The only thing is the fact that he can sue you for attorney fees as well as filing fees. That could turn the $28.00 into much more if he indeed retains a lawyer.

This is a sticky situation, but you might want to save face, suck it up and give him a refund. Tough call ….. Good Luck no matter what.

ramcat

the final reason for a refund, in this case, and/or an equal amount in exchange, is the "word of Mouth" advertising. He has friends and you just never know. Better to be the "nice" guy rather than "that a** hole who didn't care".

JohnnyComeLately

What was the doctor's reasoning? Just out of curiosity. If the "doctor" was a dermotologist, I wouldn't have done it. If it were an MD and for a related reason, I would have refunded. It's funny, my son was born a month early with high billyrubin (sp?) levels due to Jandice. You know where he spent the first 2 weeks of his life? Under UV lamps in Infant Intensive Care. I wonder if he's now going to spring with cancer from every oriface (joke!).

X-Treme Tropix

I had same situation on a lady that bought a package but never started tanning on it. She came in saying that her doctor states she cannot tan due to RX & diagnosed having cancer. I explained that normally I do not give refunds but I'll make an exception on her situation. She was happy and I just wrote her a check for $36. Wasn't worth the small amount to fuss over it. She was tanning consistently and had bought another package right after her other pkg expired so I knew she had intentions of using it if she could.