A Justine customer wants to return an item: what should you do first?

A message saying "I want to return this" is the beginning of a request, not a confirmed refund. For a Justine consultant in South Africa, the useful first step is to establish how the customer bought the item. Then record the problem clearly and agree who will handle the next step. This guide provides an independent communication checklist, not permission to approve a claim.

Identify the purchase route before giving instructions

Justine's South African returns page separates purchases made through a consultant from orders paid directly to Justine and delivered directly by Justine. It tells customers who bought through a consultant to contact that representative. For direct online purchases, the page describes a customer-services process using a returns form and an accepted collection request.

Ask: "Did you buy this through me or another consultant, or did you pay Justine directly online?" Do not send every customer through the online route just because it appears on the website. Equally, do not claim responsibility for an order you cannot identify. When another consultant handled the sale, help the customer locate that original contact rather than promising to reverse the transaction yourself.

Make a small, useful request record

• Purchase: invoice or order reference, purchase route and the date shown on the customer's document.
• Item: full product name, code if available, quantity and any gift supplied with that purchase.
• Reason: the customer's own description, such as an unwanted item, a different shade or a damaged container. Do not rewrite it as a confirmed defect.
• Condition: whether the item has been opened and what packaging or paperwork is still available. Record the answer; do not decide eligibility from a photograph alone.
• Next contact: who will check the applicable process and when you will update the customer. Your update time is not a promise that a refund will arrive then.

Keep the record in the agreed private conversation. Ask for a readable item or invoice detail only when needed, not a photograph exposing unrelated purchases, payment-card information or other customers' details. Never ask the customer to send a password or a one-time login code.

A first-reply template you can adapt

Thank you for letting me know. Was this item purchased through me, another Justine consultant, or directly from Justine online? Please confirm the product name, the order or invoice reference and what you would like checked. I will confirm the appropriate next step before asking you to send anything back. I have received your request; a return or refund has not yet been approved. I will update you by [agreed time].

This is an illustrative message written for this guide, not official Justine wording. Replace the bracketed time with a commitment you can keep. If the customer already supplied a detail, acknowledge it instead of asking for the same information again.

Do not turn an online summary into a universal deadline

The official page uses both a headline referring to 14 days and a note referring to 14 working days for its direct-order route. Those phrases should not be silently treated as equivalent, or copied across to every consultant sale. Confirm the applicable timing and required documents promptly with Justine for the actual transaction. Do not delay an enquiry while trying to calculate a deadline from an ambiguous summary.

Close the loop with a factual update: which route was confirmed, what is still required and what the customer should do next. Keep "request received", "collection arranged" and "refund confirmed" as separate statuses. A helpful response makes the next action clear without promising an outcome that has not been authorised.