How to handle this?

BrickItOn

So, I receive an order from a USA buyer, selected payment method: IBAN.

I send a message within minutes, because until now: I never received a bank transfer from the USA. Here are the messages:
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Me:

Hi,

Thanks for the order. Did you choose IBAN payment on purpose? Since most (actually all) orders I have received from the USA where payed by paypal?

Roy

Buyer:

"I pay with debt but that wasn't an option on the payment."

Me:

Hi,

I do not know "dept", so I can't help you there. But why didn't you
contact me before making the order? And what now?

Roy

Buyer:

It's "debt", and nevermind. Just cancel the order.
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I am a bit irritated by this, especially with the communication.
What would be the most appropriate action for this? File a "customer hasn't paid" problem?
Of course I will cancel the order, it will never get payed anyway.

Roy

Oldfan

I see where you're coming from on this: the buyer didn't see his preferred payment option at checkout, and you would prefer that he contact you to discuss the possibilities instead of picking a random payment option. But, I can also see where a buyer might be put off by your responses, which could be interpreted as "you screwed up; nice job, moron". A slight change in the way you phrase your replies could make a difference. But that's my opinion, I'm sensitive to such things and I find that it's very difficult to correctly convey emotional intent through email exchanges.

robernat

Ask whether he wants to proceed with Paypal, if so, send an invoice through paypal (you might need to ask his e-mail)
If no reaction and/or no solution, then yes, a 'customer hasn't paid' file is IMO in place. The payment method is described/named, if a buyer chooses it without knowing how to handle it (or actually isn't able to), just because he 'needs' to select a method (and the one the buyer prefers is not available) then personally I see no reason to not file an issue report, as a buyer should know better and/or ask questions (which you pointed out as well) prior to making a purchase...

lotsofbricks

It should not have been possible for a USA buyer to choose that payment method. You need to edit your payment methods to make sure IBAN won't appear to USA buyers.

BrickItOn

@ Oldfan: I kinda understand what you mean. I thought the smiley did the trick, but probably not for everybody. I will be more careful there.
@ Eric: Did that, no response so far.
@ lotsofbricks: Why? First of all it is a lot of work filtering every country (but that is not an issue, just time consuming). But I am pretty sure there are European citizens all over the world with a European bank account and prefer this payment method over Paypal (in fact: I know this because it happens). Just as some European users prefer Paypal over IBAN. Why would I deny them that choice?

DagsBricks

I think the proper word which he misunderstood is debit. He wanted to use a bank card. You can do this through Paypal without needing an account. Perhaps you should send this email:

"I'm terribly sorry that I misunderstood what you meant. After asking a friend I realize that you wanted to use your debit card to pay for the transaction. Is this correct? I can send an invoice via Paypal and you don't need an account with them."

Also, can you edit the IBAN option to add "European accounts only"?

budgetkids

And what now?

I know you thought the smiley face helped things but it didn't in m view.

If it were me, That small statement meant "So what am I supposed to do now since you screwed up?"

In my mind I would reply as the buyer "Your the store not me, so tell me how to fix it, don't ask me what the next step is!"

I see your point, I know it wasn't meant to be taken this way, but I may have asked for it to be cancelled too, depends on the parts/situation of the order.

Everything I write to customers is more lengthy and not as short as your responses. You want to keep it concise but you also want to make sure your message does not get misunderstood by the receiver.

Just my 2 cents.
Chris

BrickItOn

Chris: As said before: point taken. I think I was already a bit irritated by the fact that somebody just chooses something random because "his" option was not available. Hence: knowing up front that he couldn't pay for the order that way. Trust me: after about 3000 orders in total I am very, very aware of the importance of good communication. But good comms only functions when it is going both ways (and in my opinion always starts with a "hello" or something)

robernat

@dagsbricks

Also, can you edit the IBAN option to add "European accounts only"?

Why would any 'IBAN' seller do that :?
First of all there are dozens of countries from all over the world who can use it (Singapore, UAE, just to state a couple I have in mind), so indeed it would be quite a burdon to filter this out, not to mention the fact that 'over time' more countries might start using this method, so it would mean the seller would need to keep track of all those countries one at a time, and 'adjust' all the time... AND brickiton is right, people from all over the world live 'all over the world' and they might just have an account that allows them to send with this method, excluding those by blocking 'countries' is IMHO not the right action.

robernat

@all
using a methafore (rashly): you browse the internet and you encounter a nice looking pair of shoes.
The seller states: it's a size 40 (US size 7), but you have size 42 (US 8 and1/2). What do you say, the hell with it, it looks nice so I'll go for it. Then it turns out your feet can't fit in it ... what do you say: sorry dear seller, your problem, deal with it... Nope, sorry, a bit of common sense is in place once in a while ;-)

DagsBricks

@dagsbricks

Also, can you edit the IBAN option to add "European accounts only"?

Why would any 'IBAN' seller do that :?
First of all there are dozens of countries from all over the world who can use it (Singapore, UAE, just to state a couple I have in mind)

I had no idea. Thought it was Euro only. I was trying to offer a suggestion outside of making it available for Euro buyers only. Maybe for everyone excluding US buyers? Apparently our big banks still haven't figured out a way to do that well yet.

robernat

@dagsbricks
IBAN/BIC is not 'monetary' related (SEPA IS), lot's of countries have 'opted' for it, Shure, most commenly used in the EURO zone (I used to send IBAN with Belgian franks towards Germany who had Deutsche Mark -over a decade ago-), but certainly not 'exclusively'. Obviously the fact a lot of countries are in the EURO zone makes it easier as the currency is the same (so SEPA), but another currency is not something that plays a role in such whatsoever. It's just a matter of 'adopting' the method... And I can tell you that in my neighbour country 'France' it is not all that common with *all* banks to use it, so don't feel left out just because you're in the US ;-)
Now it may take a decade, or 2 or 3, but slowly more countries will adjust to it, usually soon they see the advantages of such (wider economic options).