Customer Care Policy Example (2025) — Northbridge Home Goods

This customer care policy provides a complete, practical example for a mid-sized U.S. retailer, Northbridge Home Goods, operating both online and through two showrooms. It is designed to be copied, adapted, and audited. Every commitment below includes measurable standards, escalation paths, and exact contact details.

Effective date: January 1, 2025. Last review: June 30, 2025. Next scheduled review: December 31, 2025. This policy is owned by the VP of Customer Experience and is posted publicly at https://support.northbridgehomegoods.com/policy for transparency and annual attestation.

Company & Scope

Company: Northbridge Home Goods LLC. Headquarters: 1200 Harbor Way, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98101. EIN: 91-0001234. Registered support channels include phone, email, live chat, SMS, and social direct messages. Showrooms: Seattle (address above) and Austin: 415 Congress Ave, Floor 2, Austin, TX 78701.

Scope: All B2C orders placed via https://www.northbridgehomegoods.com or in-store, and all B2B orders under $50,000. Wholesale accounts ≥ $50,000 are serviced under a separate SLA addendum. This policy covers pre-sale inquiries, order status, delivery, returns, warranty, repairs, accessibility assistance, privacy requests, and complaints.

Contact Channels & Service Hours

Standard service hours: Monday–Friday, 7:00–19:00 PT (10:00–22:00 ET). Saturday, 8:00–16:00 PT. Closed on U.S. federal holidays. After-hours voicemail and email are monitored for Priority 1 issues (safety, fraud, or delivery interception) with a 2-hour response target, 24/7/365.

Primary contacts: Phone 206-555-0147, SMS 206-555-0152, Email [email protected], Live Chat at https://support.northbridgehomegoods.com, Social DM: @northbridgehome on X/Instagram. For hearing-impaired customers: TTY 206-555-0199. For postal correspondence: Attention Customer Care, 1200 Harbor Way, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98101.

• Phone: Average speed of answer ≤ 60 seconds; abandonment rate target ≤ 5% monthly.
• Email: First response SLA ≤ 4 business hours; resolution target ≤ 2 business days for non-urgent cases.
• Live Chat: First response ≤ 45 seconds; concurrency limited to 3 chats per agent to maintain quality (CSAT ≥ 4.6/5).
• SMS: First response ≤ 15 minutes during service hours; opt-in and opt-out confirmations required per CTIA guidelines.
• Social DM: First response ≤ 2 hours during service hours; do not share sensitive data—we move to secure channels for verification.

Service Level Standards (SLA)

Priorities: P1 (safety/fraud/urgent delivery changes), P2 (order issues affecting delivery dates, missing items), P3 (non-urgent questions/returns), P4 (feedback/suggestions). P1 acknowledged within 15 minutes (any channel) and resolved or mitigated within 4 hours. P2 acknowledged within 1 hour and resolved within 1 business day. P3 acknowledged within 4 business hours and resolved within 2 business days. P4 acknowledged within 1 business day.

Agent performance targets (rolling 90 days): First Contact Resolution ≥ 78%, Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) ≥ 4.6/5, Net Promoter Score ≥ 50, Quality Audit Score ≥ 92%. Orders requiring more than 3 contacts trigger an internal review. If we miss a published SLA on a paid expedited shipment, we issue a shipping fee refund within 3 business days without requiring a claim.

Orders, Returns & Refunds

Order changes: Address or item changes must be requested within 60 minutes of order placement for standard shipping and 15 minutes for expedited. After fulfillment, we can attempt a carrier intercept (success rate ~70%); a $12.00 intercept fee applies unless the change corrects our error.

Returns window: 30 days from delivery for new, unopened items; 14 days for open-box items with all original packaging. Non-returnable: custom upholstery, clearance items (ending in .97), and perishable care kits. Restocking fee: 0% if unopened; 10% for opened but resellable items; 20% if packaging is missing or product is gently used. Return shipping: We provide a prepaid label for orders ≥ $75 or when the return is due to our error; otherwise, label cost is deducted from the refund ($7.95–$18.95 based on weight/zone).

Refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5 business days of our warehouse scan. For in-store cash purchases > $200, we issue a company check within 7 business days. If a return is not received within 21 days of label issuance, the RMA auto-closes; we can re-open once per order upon proof of carrier acceptance. Return address: Northbridge Returns, 4500 4th Ave S, Dock 12, Seattle, WA 98134.

Warranty & Repairs

Limited warranty: 2 years from delivery against defects in materials and workmanship for furniture; 1 year for electrical components (lamps, motors). Coverage includes parts and labor up to $600 per item or replacement at our discretion. Exclusions: misuse, pet damage, commercial use unless purchased under a commercial plan, and environmental damage (humidity, direct sunlight).

Warranty claims process: Submit photos, order number, and description at https://support.northbridgehomegoods.com/warranty or call 206-555-0147. Initial assessment within 2 business days; parts shipped within 3–5 business days if in stock. On-site repairs are available in 48 contiguous states; average scheduling time 5–10 business days. If a product is discontinued, we offer a functionally equivalent replacement or a prorated refund based on months of use (straight-line over 24 months).

Escalations & Complaints

Tiering: Tier 1 (Frontline), Tier 2 (Senior Specialist), Tier 3 (Customer Care Manager), Tier 4 (Office of the VP, Customer Experience). Automatic escalation occurs if a case remains unresolved beyond SLA by more than 1 business day or upon customer request after an initial resolution attempt. Tier 3 aims to resolve within 2 business days; Tier 4 within 3 business days.

Formal complaints may be sent to [email protected] or by mail to Complaints Desk, 1200 Harbor Way, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98101. We acknowledge within 1 business day and provide a written response with findings and remedies within 10 business days. If you believe we violated policy, request an internal review panel; decisions are issued within 15 business days and are signed by the VP, CX.

Accessibility & Language Support

We provide live interpretation for English, Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and ASL; additional languages available on request within 5 minutes via our interpreter partner. All support content meets WCAG 2.1 AA. For TTY users, dial 711 or 206-555-0199. We can provide large-print invoices and transcripts within 2 business days upon request.

In-store accommodations include step-free access, seating during wait times, and service counters at 34–36 inches in height. Service animals are welcome. If any accessibility need is unmet, we will escalate to our Accessibility Coordinator immediately and target resolution within 1 business day.

Privacy & Data Protection

Data we collect in support: name, contact details, order history, service transcripts, photos for claims, and troubleshooting logs. Retention: 24 months for standard interactions, 36 months for warranty cases, and 7 years for financial records. We never store full payment card numbers in support systems; tokens only. Ticket systems are encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+).

Privacy requests (access, deletion, correction) can be submitted at https://www.northbridgehomegoods.com/privacy or via [email protected], Phone: 206-555-0170. We verify identity using two factors (order number + email or SMS code). CCPA/GDPR response times: acknowledgement within 2 business days; completion within 30 days (extensions communicated within 15 days if necessary).

Measurement & Continuous Improvement

We publish quarterly metrics at https://support.northbridgehomegoods.com/status, including CSAT, FCR, response times, and defect rates. Targets for Q3 2025: CSAT ≥ 4.7/5, ASA ≤ 45 seconds, Email first response ≤ 2 hours, Defect rate (returns due to defect) ≤ 1.9%, On-time delivery ≥ 96%.

Quality is monitored through 8 scored interactions per agent per month with double-blind calibration. We conduct root-cause analysis for any spike: if P2 backlog exceeds 120 cases or if CSAT drops by 0.3 points week-over-week, a corrective action plan is published within 5 business days. Customers who provide feedback receive a follow-up summary of improvements within 14 days.

• Monthly audit checklist: SLA attainment by channel, refund timeliness (≤ 5 business days), warranty turnaround (≤ 10 business days), and adherence to accessibility commitments.
• Training cadence: new-hire onboarding (24 hours), product refresh (2 hours/month), and policy updates (within 48 hours of change) with pass mark ≥ 90%.
• Compensation policy: if we miss a published SLA and it causes measurable customer cost (e.g., failed delivery window with paid assembly), we credit up to $50 or actual assembly fee, whichever is lower, within 3 business days.

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