Customer Service Checklist

Avoid the closed "can I help you?" — it gets a reflex "just looking." Use an open question tied to current floor sets: "Are you shopping the new fall arrivals or did you come in for something specific?" This is what drives conversion rate, not friendliness alone.

Pull on-hand, on-PO, and in-transit in the POS (Lightspeed, Shopify POS, NCR Counterpoint) before telling a customer the SKU is unavailable. "We're out" when the stockroom has 3 in a sealed carton is the most common avoidable lost sale.

If your store is out, check the OMS for nearest-store availability and offer either a transfer-hold or ship-from-store. Capture the customer's email at the register so the system fires the in-stock notification when the SKU returns.

Knock, ask how the fit is, and offer the next size or a coordinating piece. Empty hangers in unattended rooms are the highest-shrink corner of the store — fitting-room sweeps are loss-prevention as much as service.

Pass each item over the deactivator pad and visually confirm hard tags are removed. A live sensor leaving the store triggers gates at the next retailer and creates an angry customer call. Post-checkout sweep of the bag is the backstop.

Ask for phone or email at the start of the transaction, not after tender. Lookup post-tender means the points don't post and you owe a manual adjustment later. UPT and ATV both lift measurably when loyalty is captured pre-tender.

The POS prompt for DOB on alcohol, tobacco (21+ federal), or other state-restricted product is mandatory on every sale, including regulars. State ABC and FDA compliance checks fine the store on a single missed card; "I know them" is not a defense.

Look up the receipt by card, loyalty number, or transaction ID before opening a return. Returns processed without a linked original are a top refund-fraud vector and skew shrink reporting.

Per policy, any refund over $50, any no-receipt return, or any return outside the posted window requires shift-lead override at the register. Sweethearting and refund fraud hide in solo high-dollar refunds — the override exists for the audit trail.

Defective returns go to the RTV bin with a tag noting SKU, return date, and defect description — not back to the sales floor. Stockroom processes RTVs against the vendor agreement weekly; loose defectives in the stockroom become write-offs.

Trigger the Klaviyo or Yotpo survey 48 hours after purchase. Earlier than that and the item hasn't been worn or used; later than a week and recall fades. Survey responses feed the weekly customer-service review.

If loyalty wasn't captured at checkout, the post-purchase email includes a one-click enroll link. Don't double-charge the customer for the welcome offer if they're already enrolled — the platform suppresses duplicates only if you matched the email at checkout.