When processing a refund (per the below policies), it is imperative that you do all of the following:
Move the rider’s transaction to PendingRefund (or PendingVoid if their card has only been authorized)
Add a note to RallyAll with the reason for the cancellation and a link to the corresponding Freshdesk ticket
Send the rider a ReservationCancelled email
User Initiated >7 Days Ahead
By default, we allow full refunds until one week ahead of the trip. If a customer calls asking for a refund, we should first fully understand why they want a refund and if there’s anything we can do to prevent it. If not, you as a CX Associate can change the Status on the customer’s Transaction Detail page to “PendingRefund”. You also need to add a note to RallyAll to give context on the status and send the rider a ReservationCancelled email to confirm the update. (Alternatively, the customer can log into their account, click view booking details, and scroll down to the “cancel booking” button to do this themselves.)
User Initiated <7 Days Ahead
You need to politely but firmly remind the customer of our policy, that we do not allow refunds <1 week ahead of the event. We have confirmed the trips based on the riders we have booked, and cannot make adjustments so close to the event date.
If the customer had an emergency arise that prevents them from taking part in the event, you should apologize that we are unable to accommodate refunds, but that you would be happy to grant them a coupon for X number of seats on their next Rally trip (where X=the number of seats they booked for the current event). However, if they insist or if you feel it’s warranted, you can let them know that while you do not have the authority to go outside of policy, they can talk to your supervisor if they’d like.
If the customer booked in error and notifies us within 24 hours of booking, but greater than 48 hours before the event, then we will grant the refund for the error.
User Initiated <48 Hours Ahead
If the customer booked in error and notifies us with <48 hour notice before the event, then we cannot grant the refund. We take our lead on this from airlines who allow for 24 hour error cancellations, but not refunds in the last 48 hours. See the ticket type and associated Canned Response for Request - Refund - Last 48 Hours.
PaidNotAttending
Whenever a rider cancels in the last seven days and we are not granting them a refund, be sure to set the status on their Transaction Detail page to PaidNotAttending. This will remove the rider from the manifest so we don’t wait for them on the day of their event.
Canceled Trips
If we cancel a trip due to Not Enough Interest on an event that has confirmed trips, then we will refund everyone on or just after the day of the event. This is to give everyone time to potentially transfer to an alternative departure point. If we cancel a trip on an event that has no confirmed trips, then we will refund right away.
Complaints that include a request for a refund
If someone calls with a complaint about their trip, you should always listen and make sure they feel heard. You should not immediately provide facts to counter their complaint, as we don’t want to come off as defensive. When you apologize, apologize for how they feel, but do not take the blame upon Rally (e.g. “I’m sorry the trip did not meet your expectations” rather than “I’m sorry we didn’t do a good job.”) If they directly request a refund, you should let them know that while we don’t typically grant refunds, we would love to grant them a coupon for X number of seats on their next Rally trip (where X=the number of seats they booked for the current event).
The main language we use here is: “We are sorry that you are disappointed with your experience. We always want to provide the best travel experience for our riders, and we hate that this trip fell short of your expectations. Our mission is to improve the bus experience by bringing transparency through technology. We will continue to work hard to accomplish this goal and to incorporate feedback from valued riders like you. We hope for a chance to show you that we’re a start-up committed to bringing communities together. As such, I’d like to provide you with X free seats on any future Rally trip.” (Here it’s also important to remind the customer that we go to all kinds of events, not just the type they were originally booked for.)
Special Cases for Issuing Refunds
If greater than 30 days has passed since a customer booked and their credit card was either authorized or charged, then we will not be able to automatically return the money to the credit card they used to book. This gives them three options:
To refund to their card, they need to re-provide the full number and expiration date to us over the phone.
To receive a refund by check, they need to provide us with their full name and mailing address.
To receive a refund via PayPal, they need to provide their PayPal account email.
Never enter a customer’s credit card details into Freshdesk or Intra. If a customer needs to re-provide their CC information to us in order for us to process the refund, please transfer them to a supervisor so the information can be entered directly into our credit card processing platform.