Disagreements With Customers – Our Tips To Help Your Business
Written by: Gabrielle Andersen | Insight Team
Welcome to our Insight Close-Up series, where we delve into the most common commercial and business law services we offer our Canny Group business clients.
This series will focus on the following topics relevant to most business owners, and will be released monthly throughout this year:
- Service Agreements + Terms and Conditions
- Independent Contractors and Subcontractors – What’s the difference?
- Employees + Employment Agreement
- Protecting Your IP and Business Know-how
- Do I Need A Policy For That? What Exactly Is Compliance?
- Do We Need A Business Prenup?
- What is the PPSR + How Can It Help My Business?
- Dealing With Disagreements With Customers
If any of this sounds interesting, stay tuned, as we’ll be letting you know when each Insight Close-Up instalment drops. But if you simply can’t wait or need advice on any of these topics today, contact our Canny Insight team.
Encouraging Positive Customer Interactions
Positive customer interactions are fundamentally important when it comes to starting, building or growing your business.
Not only does word of mouth play a crucial role in increasing your customer base, but having happy customers can add to your own personal enjoyment of your business venture.
At Canny Insight, we want to help our business clients with all aspects of their business. So today, we thought we’d offer our 5 top tips on how to encourage positive interactions with your clients – and, of course, how best to deal with disagreements if they do arise.
Tip #1: Put Your Terms In Writing
The number one reason disputes arise and escalate is due to miscommunication.
The best way to prevent miscommunication is by putting your terms in writing, and ensuring your clients or consumers see these terms early on – that is, before or at the time customers or clients are making a purchase or booking a service with your business.
We have previously looked at the importance of Service Agreements + Terms and Conditions, which we’d encourage you to check out to understand the type of matters these written agreements usually cover.
Having your terms and conditions in writing not only makes your client or customer aware of what you are and are not offering, but it also helps you as a reference point if an issue about your product or service is raised.
Putting your terms in writing is best business practice, regardless of the type of business you are running. Well drafted Service Agreements, Terms and Conditions or Terms of Use will deal with matters such as your fees, payment terms, delivery or turnaround timeframes, booking processes, returns, and how cancellations are dealt with – all areas that commonly lead to disagreements between business owners and their client base.
Clearly documenting these really important terms makes your life easier in all areas – ranging from compelling payment (particularly if you have to go down any debt collection pathways) to dealing with any product or service issues, returns or claims for a refund. It can also reassure your customers that you are an accountable and transparent business, which will increase consumer confidence and general goodwill for your business.
And while all businesses should have written terms, the types of terms you need will vary depending on the nature of your business. For example, not all businesses need detailed Service or Supply Agreements, and may only require a simple set of Terms and Conditions they display with bookings, or on receipts or invoices.
Having a Canny Insight Business Lawyer draft your terms means they will suit the purpose and nature of your business. Our terms and conditions, and written agreements complement your business. They’re not meant to over-complicate and scare clients, but instead, clarify and explain the limits of what you are offering.
Tip #2: Document Your Policies
As with your terms and conditions, it is also important that you put your internal policies and procedures in writing. This ensures they are readily available if an issue arises with a client or customer, so that your workers have a practical guide for dealing with issues such as refunds, or privacy and the collection of personal information.
Policies act as an inward guide on how your business will handle a range of business functions. They should mirror any laws that apply to your business – for example, under the consumer or privacy laws, or under any codes of conduct that apply to your business – and therefore act as a valuable tool in ensuring your business is appropriately and consistently dealing with customer matters.
Internal OH&S, anti-discrimination and equal opportunity policies can also enhance your workplace environment by providing employees with guidance on how to appropriately interact with one another and their environment by encouraging safe working practices.
There is an unlimited range of policies that may potentially apply to your business. For further information on policies and compliance guidance, check out this previous blog we’ve put together: Do I Need A Policy For That? What Exactly Is Compliance?
Tip #3: Understand The Consumer Law
As a business owner, it is crucial that you understand your obligations to your customers under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Gaining this understanding doesn’t need to be onerous or high level, but can instead focus on the following main areas:
- Consumer Guarantees – these are the minimum legal rights all Australian consumers have when buying goods and services. Essentially, these require that:
- All businesses selling goods must guarantee their goods are of acceptable quality, are fit for their purpose, match their description, and that all warranties will be honoured.
- All businesses selling services must guarantee they will provide their services with due care and skill; the services will be fit for their purpose and will be provided within a reasonable time.
- If a product or service fails to meet a guarantee, customers are entitled to a replacement, repair, refund or other remedy under the ACL.
- Consumer Product Safety – products sold to consumers must be safe, and some must meet mandatory safety standards before they can be sold in Australia. Product safety is one of the consumer guarantees under the ACL. If a product is unsafe, the consumer may be entitled to their choice of a replacement or refund, as well as compensation in some circumstances. Businesses are responsible for resolving safety issues with products and must not tell consumers to go to the manufacturer for a solution. Usually, the business must deal with the issue itself, and if it’s caused by a manufacturing issue, the seller may be able to claim costs from the manufacturer.
- Sales Practice and how to appropriately advertise and promote – The ACL contains laws preventing unsolicited consumer agreements covering door-to-door sales, telephone sales, unsolicited supplies or agreements and sales techniques involving harassment and coercion. Any business engaging in email marketing should also be aware of the rules under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).
- Avoiding Unfair Business Practices – The ACL protects consumers from certain unfair behaviour by businesses, such as in the payment terms, in their standard form contracts, and in the promotion, sale and delivery of any goods and services in Australia. The ACCC has the powers to apply penalties and enforcement of the ACL and consumer redress options.
Helpful and comprehensive guidance for business owners on what their legal obligations are can be found on the ACCC website.
For more specific legal advice and guidance, contact Canny Insight to ensure your business’s policies and practices comply with the Australian Consumer Law.
Tip #4: Train Your Staff
All people working in your business, whether they are contractors, employees, or volunteers, need to have a full understanding of:
- Your businesses Terms and Conditions;
- Your businesses policies; and
- The minimum rights and entitlements clients and customers have under the Australian Consumer Law.
The best way to properly communicate these to your workers is to have them in writing – which is why having written Terms and Conditions and Internal Policies and Procedures is so important. This not only helps train your staff in understanding how your product or service should be delivered, but it once again avoids inconsistencies or miscommunication arising between you and your workers.
Tip #5: Document Any Disputes
If you do find yourself in a disagreement with a client or customer, it is always a good idea to start communication formerly in writing.
While all communication can form evidence if a legal dispute arises, there are better forms of evidence than others. If you are respectfully and professionally dealing with a client by email, this can provide clearer and sometimes better evidence than, say, a text message or phone call (depending on the circumstances).
For example, if an invoice has been unpaid and you are calling the person to follow up, you will have to take a written note of any phone calls to provide effective evidence of what was said during the call. Emails are useful in that they show what each party has said, record times and dates of sending (and sometimes receipt), and can often provide useful information for the claim, such as an admission of the debt by the debtor.
Bonus Tip: Seek Legal Advice Early
If you are unable to manage the disagreement, or have come to a stalemate, you may seek legal advice. However, it’s not always a good idea to wait until the dispute has escalated. Seeking legal advice early on can aid in providing a clearer argument to the person or business you have the dispute with, which may lead to an earlier resolution to it.
How Canny Insight Can Help Your Business
Canny Insight is a customised legal service that meets the specific needs of your business.
If you’re a start-up, or gearing up for growth and expansion, we’ll come up with a legal services package aimed specifically at your business needs.
Whether you need your Terms and Conditions, or Supply and Service Agreements reviewed, require specific advice on Australia’s Consumer, Spam and Privacy Laws, or help with your Internal Policies and Procedures, our insight business law team will provide you with straightforward and reliable advice and contracts.
Get in touch with our team today to see how we can help your business!
The content of this article is for general guidance purposes only. Specialist legal advice relevant to your circumstances should be sought if required.