After-Sales Handling Time Best Practices and FAQs

At a Glance:

• After-Sales Handling Time is a metric in your Shop Performance Score.
• Monitor it via Seller Center > Account Health.
• It affects your overall score, but has no direct penalties.

This guide is for sellers managing after-sales requests on the platform. In this guide, you will learn about:

• How to respond to after-sales requests
• Best practices to provide good after-sales service for a better customer experience and higher customer retention

After-Sales Handling Time is 1 of 6 metrics contributing to your Shop Performance Score. Learn more about the other metrics in our Guide to Shop Performance Score.

How to See Your After-Sales Handling Time

To see your After-Sales Handling Time, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Seller Center homepage
2. Use the sidebar to navigate to Shop Performance Score under Account Health
3. Click Preview at the top of the Shop Performance Score page
4. Scroll down to the Improve these metrics section
5. Under Customer Service, click on After-Sales Handling Time
6. Scroll down to the Problem Order Details section

The table displays all orders with an after-sales request in the past 60 days. All after-sales requests will need to be approved by you, up to 2 times.

How to Respond to After-Sales Requests

To see after-sales requests that require your attention, follow these steps:

1. Head to Seller Center homepage
2. Use the sidebar to navigate to Orders and go to Manage Returns
3. Scroll down to the Awaiting Your Action tab
4. Select Order ID in each request to view the order details and order history
5. Select the after-sales request status—for example, Platform Processing—in each request. You can then view details like the Return Order ID (if applicable), the customer's reason for the request, and the request's initiation and completion times.

Best Practices

1. Stay up-to-date on your after-sales requests
   • Monitor the status of return/refund orders consistently and follow up with your customers as needed.
   • Refer to our Guide to Managing Returns, Refunds, and Replacements to learn about the return and refund process.
2. Set up your return policies
   • Create auto-approval rules for eligible after-sales scenarios to resolve these requests automatically.
   • Go to Orders > Fulfillment Settings > Returns and Refunds.

Reduce the number of after-sales requests you receive by addressing customers' questions promptly and thoroughly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is After-Sales Handling Time important?

• This metric provides visibility into your efficiency in key after-sales services and offers opportunities to improve your after-sales processes.

Are there enforcement actions for After-Sales Handling Time?

• No, there are no violation enforcements for After-Sales Handling Time. This metric is only included in Shop Performance Score and will not impact your Account Health Rating.

Are automatic approvals included in After-Sales Handling Time?Automatic approvals comprise platform auto-approvals and seller-auto-approvals.

• Platform auto-approval
  • Not included in After-Sales Handling Time
  • After-sales requests that are approved by TikTok Shop may be given when:
    • Eligible after-sales requests are routed to TikTok Shop for review by an agent handling the request
    • Eligible after-sales requests meet our Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy. For example, a customer's refund request was not responded to within 24 hours of an order status changing to Ready to Ship (RTS).
• Seller auto-approval
  • Included in After-Sales Handling Time. Each review count with a seller auto-approval will be given a default handling time of 1 minute.
  • Seller auto-approvals are triggered when eligible after-sales requests meet the approval rules set by the seller in Seller Center.

How can I prevent abusive or risky customer behavior from affecting my After-Sales Handling Time?

• TikTok Shop prioritizes seller protection with automated systems to manage refunds, block risky customers, and ensure fair claim verification. Features like extended review periods for high-value and undelivered returns provide sellers with more time to assess requests thoroughly.
• If you believe an after-sales request was included in your After-Sales Handling Time in error, please contact support. Chat with support through the Help Center or contact your Account Manager.

Additional Resources

TikTok Shop_Onepager_After-Sales Handling Time.pdf