What to do when people ask for a refund

Let's talk about people asking for a refund and what you should do. So this is coming up more and more. I feel like lately with people asking for refunds and I have so many thoughts that you may or may not agree with, but I have so many thoughts on this. My first thought that comes to mind on this is personally, I would never ask for a refund when it comes to like packages or coaching or whatever else. Meaning if I say I'm going to commit to something and make a commitment and make an agreement with someone, I would never ask for a money back or saying, well, I just gave up on myself, so can I have my money back because I'm not utilizing this this much or whatever else, right? And I'm talking about people that like patients that are asking for packages and, or if you commit to something, like, let's say you bought a package at a yoga studio and you are like, you know what? I'm not as Zen as I want to be and now I want to go do an Orange Theory membership. Well, these people are asking for their money back because they decided themselves that they were just over yoga and don't want to do it anymore. I want to go to like an Orange theory thing. Okay? To me, this is a moral issue with the person themselves. Meaning that I feel like less and less people are committed to what they actually say that they want or want to do. And so with something else becomes shinier or something comes more present in the forefront of their brain. They're like, up, you know what, I gotta change everything. Let me stop here, let me go over here. And patients, guys will do this. They will do this either around the three visit mark or around the eight to nine visit mark. They do it around the three visit mark is because they still don't know if they can actually get the result. So they give up before they even get there. They do it around the 8 to 9 visit mark because they feel like, yeah, I mean, I guess this is probably the best it's gonna get. Even though they still have problems with like going to sprint or going to do something with like, with leakage or there's still something there, but they're like, this is good enough. And you know what this all comes down to. Whether or not it's them asking for a refund from the yoga studio or them asking for a refund from you guys, it all goes down to standards. And what I have realized. The people that ask for the refunds are the people that don't have the standards. They don't have the standards, nor do they have belief in themselves because they wouldn't have asked for the refund. And so with these people, you're probably thinking, okay, well, Kelly, then what do I do with these people? Like. Cause there's many of them out there, and there are. And I feel like there's more and more because people aren't holding themselves to the highest standard. Because the way now social media is, like, training our brains. It's like, squirrel, squirrel, squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. And then no one can stay focused on anything. And this is why I'm seeing, just in an entrepreneur space, people not succeeding as much. Meaning, like, they're not getting to their dreams because they're squirreling. They're thinking, I need every single thing that's out there. Because this thing says, I need this, and now I need this and this. And it's just. It's simple. It goes back to the basics. It's focus on what you need to focus on. Take one little baby step forward and, like, forward and forward and more forward, and you'll actually get there. But the reality is, it's like, I gotta look over here. Wait, I gotta do what that person's doing. Wait, I gotta do that. And it's like, now you've lost the game because you're not. Your head's not even in the game because your head's in the clouds over here. And the same thing happens with patience is the patients, when they're on that third visit, they're like, till the third visit, they got momentum. They're excited, and then they're not seeing the progress as fast as they want. And then what do you think happens? Well, you didn't get my knee pain to go away in two visits, so I can't do this. I'm done. Same thing happened with coaching clients. They'll be like, you didn't give me, you know, a patient in two days, so I'm done. And it's like, we're just getting started. You're just planting the seeds. Okay. Same thing happens in the example that I was giving you with, like, the yoga studio owner. It's like, okay, well, they were all excited and they did a thing. And then they're like, well, I've been here now for a month. And they're like, yeah, yoga. I'm just kind of tired of doing the same up, down, down, dog, blah, blah, blah, class. So now I think I'm going to go try orange theory. It's like, stay committed, stay committed. And when you stay committed, it's doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again until you get the best at it. That's how you actually win the game. That's how your patients win the game. That's how the patients are going to get the best results when they stay committed. Which is why most of us have packages. Because when you have a package, it basically the patient is saying, I am committed to my goal. Now I'm going to talk about that in a second with refunds because this has come up and I want to talk about it. Quick interruption. For those that have questions on today's episode, please text my personal number. It's 703-783-2388. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have to get you unstuck. Let's get back to the episode. Talk about it. But like that's what a package does. Not only does it give you money upfront, sure. But that's not the point of a package. Point of a package is to literally basically kind of guarantee that the patient is going to get the results. When I have people commit to my program, which is a year long program, I'm not just saying that just to say it and be like, bye, good luck everyone. I'll just sit on the sidelines. No, I have a commitment because that's how long the pathway takes to truly make a business happen. And I don't want to play with the people that don't want to not truly build a business and want to build a side hustle. I don't want to build a side hustle and I don't want you to build a side hustle because you're going to get burnt out, tired, you're going to give up. I already know it. It's already, I've already seen tons of people proven it, done it and I don't want to and I, I just don't want to coach those people right. So like please don't be that person. Please raise your standards. And if you commit to something, commit, don't uncommit because now you're just bored or you think it's too hard. Like don't do that. And I need you to have the same energy and the same vibe with whether or not you're a coach and you teach clients, whether or not you're that yoga instructor that I'm talking about and that like the people are asking, you know, for the refund for the, for the commitment that they made, the 20 sessions or whatever that they bought for the, you know, package at the yoga studio, whether or not they made a commitment to you guys of like 12 to 13 sessions for, you know, rehab professionals, if someone, if they can make that commitment, then that's the policy and you have to uphold the policy. Because the second you break your standards, the second you break the standard, then what happens is they're going to go start talking to every single other person, be like, what? Well, you broke the standard for this person, you broke the standard for this person. You broke the standard and then you don't have a standard. And then guess what, your brand and your company tanks. But here's the scary part about it then you have to let those people that are pissed off that you won't refund them, you have to let them start going and potentially talking about you. They're good people and they're good character. They won't talk about you like, clearly, like, because most of us, we don't do anything wrong. We're not trying to hurt anyone. Right? Like, it's not like. But it's really on them. A lot of times the people that like, don't stay committed, it's really on them. That, that's really the, the truth that I have found. And so, but you have to let them, let them go say things. Let them go and say, well, this thing didn't work for me or I only got this certain, you know, way here in my rehab process because like, I just thought that was good enough. Let them go say that. But they committed to this. So I'm. We're not going to give a refund for packages. No, we're not going to give a refund for our program that's a year long commitment. We're not going to give a refund for the 12 or the 20 yoga sessions that the person committed to. Right? Like, you have to have a standard and you cannot bend the rules no matter what scenario. If they called and said their mother died and they're never going to come back. Okay, well, when you're ready, we'll do teletherapy when you're in Hawaii, you know what I'm saying? But you committed. And if you commit, you have to live with the commitment. Y'. All. Part of my job is to raise y' all standards. And I don't know where we were, we have lost it. I really don't. So please raise your standard. And you yourself, let's just talk about that too. You yourself, if you commit to something, I need you to hold that standard high. If I commit to swimming across the ocean or commit to swimming with sharks, which I did last weekend. I'm going to commit to that and keep my word. If I say anything out loud, I will commit and keep my word. And I need you guys to have the same standards as that. And I get it. It is so painful when you have a patient that you absolutely adore or a client you absolutely adore. It's not personal, okay? That, like, you're like, oh, my God. But I really feel for them in their situation. I really should, you know, you know, refund the rest of the visits or whatever it may be. But the second you break that is the second you have just now dishonored yourself, dishonored the standards, and brought the company down. And then your staff sees that, and then the employee, everyone sees it, and they're like, wow, is she a leader? No, she's not. So once you become a leader, be ready to take the heat and know that more than likely, if I had to take a guess at all these, you know, scenarios that I'm talking about, it's more than likely not the owner. It's more than likely the client, okay? Or the customer. And they just wanted something, and that's not the deal because you guys both agreed upon something, and so you just. I'm telling you, the best case scenario in this. In any of these situations with people asking for refunds or wanting whatever it may be, not even refund, what's the other thing? They just. Oh, they don't want to complete their full package, so, um, they don't want to pay you anymore. They just stop paying. Like, all that is character on the person that's doing the thing. It's not a you thing. Just so you know. And all you guys are doing an amazing job. And sometimes there's not, honestly, more that you can do. Sometimes there is when it comes to clinicians of, like, reminding them of their goal, because sometimes people forget about their goal, of why they even started their goal, and, like, re. Nurturing them and getting them to understand, like, the reason why you committed to this package and is because you said you wanted to stop your leakage sprinting down the track for five minutes. Okay, well, because that meant so much to you so that you can actually keep up with your. With your Harvard baseball son. Doesn't even make sense. But you know what I'm saying, Like, you're. What is the baseball league? The m. I don't know, the National Baseball League son that you have, that's like an amazing sprinter. Like, maybe that's. It like, maybe that's your standard, right? And so anyways, my point is, keep your standards high. Have your moment to cry when people are rude to you or make you feel like shit because you don't want to have to be that person. That's like, no, I can't give you what you want. You don't want to be that person because it feels like shit. But also, at the same time, as a true leader and as a business owner, you're going to have to make these hard calls. And the right call is, is to keep your standard high and go with the agreement because it is listed in the agreement. And if that's on them, if they want to go talk crap about you or go say things about you, that is on them. And that's today's lesson, is keep your standards high, be the leader, don't waver, no matter what story you're told, and continue to be amazing. Be great. Thanks so much for listening. And you guys can text me at any time. It truly is my number if you feel that you have questions or that you feel stuck. So text me at 703-783-2388. Text me at any time and I will respond. And yes, it is me. So hopefully we'll talk soon so we can get you unstuck. Thanks, guys for joining and thank you, Jane, for sponsoring Pelby Biz podcast. We can't thank you enough so that we can help more providers across the world. Thanks.