Who Handles Customer Service for Partner Products?

Customer service responsibilities are shared between the retailer (who sold the item) and the supplier (who fulfills it). To provide customers with the best experience, it’s important to know when to handle inquiries directly and when to loop in your partner.

Retailer Responsibilities

• First point of contact for the customer (since the order was placed in your store).

• Handle general questions about:

  • Order status & tracking updates

  • Store policies (e.g. your return window)

  • Issues with non-partner products

• Forward any product-specific questions or concerns about partner products to the supplier.

Supplier Responsibilities

• Handle questions specific to their product (quality, usage, defects, availability).

• Approve or deny refund requests related to their products.

• Provide replacements or solutions when product issues arise.

Best Practices

• Keep an updated list of partner products and supplier contact info available for your support team.

• CC suppliers when responding to customers about their products.

• Document agreed-upon escalation timelines (e.g. supplier should reply within 48 hours).

For more information on returns/refunds, please refer to this article: How Are Returns & Refunds Handled?