"I want a refund" on day 9: what to say and what to do

Happy Friday, it's Diego.

Here's a situation every CSM hits sooner or later.

It's Tuesday morning. You open Slack and there it is, from a client who joined nine days ago. Let's call her Sarah.

Hi, I don't think this program is right for me. I'd like a refund please.

Your stomach drops. You want to either fix it in one long message or forward it to the coach and hope it goes away.

Don't do either. Here's how to handle it. 👇

Step 1: Stay calm and get them on a call

A refund request is not a final decision. It's usually a feeling that hasn't been talked through yet.

The worst thing you can do is argue in writing. Long messages get skimmed, misread and screenshotted. The second worst thing is ignoring it for a day.

Reply fast, keep it short, and move it to a call:

Hey Sarah, thanks for telling me, I really appreciate you being upfront. I want to make sure we get this right for you. Can we jump on a quick 15-minute call today or tomorrow? Here's my link: [link]

Notice what's not in there. No defending the program. No policy. No "but you signed a contract." Just calm, and a next step.

Then check your company's refund policy and loop in whoever needs to know, so you walk into the call with the facts.

Step 2: Listen first, find what actually happened

Open the call by letting them talk. Most CSMs jump into fixing in the first two minutes. Wait.

Thanks for jumping on. Before anything else, I'd love to hear what's going on. What's made you feel this isn't right?

Then keep asking until you hit the real reason. "Can you tell me more about that?" "When did you first start feeling that way?"

On day 9, it's usually one of these:

• Overwhelm. Too many modules, too many calls, they don't know where to start.
• No early win. They've done work but nothing has changed yet, so doubt creeps in.
• Expectation gap. They thought something would happen faster, or differently, than it does.
• Something outside the program. Money stress, a partner who's skeptical, a hard week at work.

Repeat it back before you move on: "So if I'm hearing you right, you've watched the first modules but you don't feel any closer to your first client, and you're worried you wasted the money. Is that fair?"

When they say "yes, exactly," the temperature in the call drops. They feel heard. Now you can actually help.

Step 3: Re-anchor to the goal and offer a concrete plan

Go back to why they joined. Use their words from the onboarding call if you have them.

When we spoke on your onboarding call, you said the goal was to land your first three clients by spring. Is that still what you want?

If yes, offer a specific plan for the next 14 days. Not "stick with it." Something with dates.

Here's what I'd suggest. For the next two weeks, forget everything except these two things: [action 1] and [action 2]. I'll check in with you Thursday and next Tuesday, and on day 14 we'll look at where you are together. If it still doesn't feel right then, we'll talk honestly about next steps.

That's the shape of a good save: listen, understand, re-anchor, plan.

A plan works because it replaces a vague feeling ("this isn't working") with a short, clear path and a person walking it with them.

(Inside CSM Council, you get the full refund-save playbook, with the exact scripts top CSMs use on these calls.)

When a refund IS the right call

Not every refund should be saved. Trying to save the wrong one damages trust, and it can come back to hurt the business later.

A refund may be the right call when:

• The program genuinely can't deliver what they need, and the sales call promised something it shouldn't have.
• Their situation changed in a way the program can't solve, like a serious health or family issue.
• They're clearly within the refund policy and there's nothing left to fix after you've listened.

In those cases, be kind and clean. Follow your company's process, escalate to the right person, and make the exit easy. A client who leaves feeling respected doesn't trash the brand online.

And always report back what you learned. If three clients this month asked for a refund because of the same expectation gap, the coach needs to know. That's how a CSM fixes the system, not just the conversation.

Try this this week: Write your own short "move it to a call" reply for refund requests and save it as a snippet. Then write the three questions you'll ask in the first five minutes of the call. When the message comes, you won't be starting from zero.

Talk soon, Diego

P.S. I ask about refund calls in a lot of the CSM interviews I run. Here are the CSM interview questions worth preparing for.