No matter what you do, there will come a time when a customer will ask for a refund for some reason or another. Do you give it to them? That depends. If you have an unconditional money back guarantee, there's no question. Refund the money -- no questions asked. What if you have no stated guarantee? What would you do? How would you proceed?

Your best course of action will normally be to go ahead and negotiate a refund. Perhaps it won't be a full refund, but one that both you and your customer feel comfortable with. The time and effort you would invest to argue over it is most often not worth it. Consider this:

• Determine how much one hour of your time is worth.
• Determine how many hours you've spent dealing with this person.
• Do the math. Compare your total with the price the customer paid. Is it worth it?

Listen carefully to the feedback the customer provides you and chalk it up to a business lesson.

Denise O'Berry

With more than two decades of operational and management experience, Denise O'Berry has developed a sharp eye for how businesses get bloated with inefficiencies, cross-purposes and miscommunication -- and how they can retool for a sleeker, smoother, strategically focused organization.

An entrepreneur who quickly built her own successful consulting business, she helps other small business owners set priorities, take action to grow their business and create the balance they want between life and work. Her clients have ranged from telecommunications giants like Verizon to Mom-and-Pop retail shops with a primary focus on those having 10 or fewer employees and up to $2.5 million in annual sales.

Denise frequently speaks to professional organizations, is the author of three booklets, and several "how-to" manuals. She writes a weekly small business column, hosts an online small business owners forum and is called upon regularly by publications such as Entrepreneur, Bank Rate Small Business, Florida Trend, Inc., various newspapers, radio and television to provide expert comments on small business issues.

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