MUSIC

PRESENTER LAUREEN:
Welcome to the webinar
Does my online shop comply with the regulations?

In this webinar we will update you
on the different rules that apply...

when you do business through an online shop.

Seated here at the table are entrepreneur
Emma Hutchinson of ginfling.nl.

LAUREEN: Hi. And entrepreneur
Sebastian Pollesello of capsulestudio.net.

Hi. And seated next to me is Johan Laffra...

Business Advisor at KVK, Netherlands Chamber
of Commerce. Thank you for being here.

JOHAN: My pleasure.
-And I'm Laureen.

LAUREEN: Johan, which rules and regulations
apply for online businesses?

JOHAN: There are a lot of rules and regulations
that apply.

I think two important ones, to kick off with those...

are that your website needs to be
easily accessible to clients.

That's really important.
And also to show contact information.

JOHAN: To show ownership of the business,
who's the person behind the business.

And make sure you write down
the Chamber of Commerce number...

the VAT number, the registered business address,
so people know where you're actually located.

And make sure, if you use a contact form,
that it's not the only one you use...

but also mention an email address
or a phone number...

just to be in the clear on
who people are doing business with.

LAUREEN:
So two forms of contact. What other things are
important to clearly state on your website?

Look at product, for instance.

If people buy a product make sure
you tell them what they're getting.

So mention specs, maybe fabrics...

The gin, what's in it.
Make sure that it's all mentioned on the site.

Make sure there are no hidden costs
or additional costs.

It can happen that the amount changes when
people have something in their shopping cart...

or once they finalise the order.
That's really a no-go area.

Make sure you say something on delivery.

Of course that's never going to be
a 100% guarantee, but just be reasonable...

and realistic when it comes to a shipping period.

Part of that, of course, is also showing
the amount of stock you still have.

That's important as well.
I think those are really important to look at.

So we said delivery, we said product...

and...
LAUREEN: -Eh, price?

Pricing, we mentioned that as well.
So I think those are important.

LAUREEN: Emma, what are
the delivery terms of Gin Fling?

EMMA: Okay, so the promise we make,
is if you order before 4 p.m. Monday to Friday...

we will make sure it's with the carrier that day.

In most cases, the two carriers that we use
will deliver the next day.

But we can't guarantee it, and we will never say
to a customer we can guarantee it.

We do everything we can,
and then it's over to them.

There are times of the year though
where it's busy. So, seasonal holidays.

EMMA: And sometimes it might take
two more days.

Is there like a specific 'gin holiday'?
-I wish. Every day is a gin holiday.

LAUREEN: Good. So in terms of alcohol
there must be different rules and regulations.

Yeah. So from the 1st of July 2021...

there are new rules
where we have to prove age verification.

That's something we do before we take the order,
in terms of a question to the customer.

And also every delivery that goes out
must be age-checked...

to the person that made the order
when they receive it.

This is totally understandable
and we totally support it.

Customers are finding a challenge now...

because they're used to having their delivery
go to a neighbour when they were not home.

And, unfortunately, now this can't be done.

So they will have to arrange another delivery
or pick it up from the local parcel shop.

LAUREEN: So no 16-year-old
opening the door for you.

EMMA: Absolutely not, no.
LAUGHTER

So, Johan, we also talk about a cooling-off period
that's always necessary.

LAUREEN: A period of a few days, weeks,
to change your mind.

That's what we talk about when talking about
a cooling-off period. Could you tell us a bit more?

JOHAN: Yeah, it's in the way you just mentioned.
If you buy something from an online shop...

there automatically is a cooling-off period
from the moment you receive the goods...

which is normally up to 14 days.

So within that 14-day time frame...

you'll have the possibility
to send the product back to the online shop.

LAUREEN: Are there general rules for refunding it
if you send it back?

If you're going to send it back, you'll probably
be reimbursed for the money you spent.

So you're going to get your money back,
also within a two-week time frame.

Sometimes you get your money back...

and sometimes they say you need to
spend the money within the shop again.

LAUREEN: So the shop itself
can think of ways to refund.

It has to do with
your general terms and conditions.

LAUREEN: So it would be good for the customers
as well to have some insight in that.

That's why you told us all about the visibility,
of course. Save us some hassle.

Sebastian, have you ever experienced complaints
or something within that cooling-off period?

Yeah, I think that's quite natural
when selling clothes online.

Sometimes the fit is not good,
sometimes the size is wrong.

Or maybe some people think the colour looks
different in real life than it did in the picture.

As long as the customer tells us
within two weeks that they want to return...

we, of course, allow that and refund.

SEBASTIAN: If there's any small issues
with the order, we can also...

allow the customer to fix them themselves
and we can pay for the tailor to fix small things.

Of course, we always want to make it right
and have a happy customer in the end.

SEBASTIAN: So we always offer an exchange,
but if not, we of course take the refunds as well.

LAUREEN:
So personal contact would be very important in
that case. So you have that on your website.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, of course.
Our return conditions are on a separate page.

Separate from our general terms and conditions
which are very long.

So we keep a separate page
just with the return information.

Because it's really important to customers.

But to us as well. Every opportunity
to speak with a customer...

is an opportunity to change their mind,
offer something else, or say:

'Would you like to try some other product?'

These are all opportunities to engage, to talk with
the customers and give them a great experience.

LAUREEN: And also for reviews.
That's a thing nowadays as well.

You need to keep in mind your reviews.
Emma, how do you handle your reviews?

Do you invest in them
or do you spend some extra time?

We use a platform within the Netherlands,
which is trusted by a lot of Dutch consumers.

So we signed up with WebwinkelKeur.

That allows us to gain the reviews on our website
and our products as well.

But actually someone can leave a product review
at any time on our website.

EMMA: We print everything,
whether it's good or bad.

EMMA: And the great thing is,
you get to learn from them.

So maybe, as Sebastian said...

if the product isn't represented in the way
exactly as it should be expected...

For us it might be the box design changed
and we didn't update the picture.

Understanding that from reviews means you can
immediately change what you're showing...

and make sure everything's correct.

LAUREEN: I can imagine you can't taste the gin
first, say you don't like it and send it back.

Yeah, we will obviously accept any returns
of an unopened bottle.

Normally what we find...

is that the customer themselves actually ordered
something that they didn't mean to order.

So we'll have a conversation about it.

And sometimes we have to deal with a return
because we made a mistake.

And maybe we sent the wrong product.
It happens, we're human.

LAUREEN: Exactly. So you said you put
on your website all the reviews.

Johan, are there rules and regulations
for reviews as well?

JOHAN: You need to be honest up front
when it comes to review policy.

Make sure you tell your customers
what to expect when they leave a review.

JOHAN: One already mentioned, is:
If you have good reviews and bad reviews...

you should really work on them equally, not just go
with the good ones and leave the bad ones aside.

I think that's important. And what you hear
more and more is the actual fake review.

Stay away from those.
I think that would be my biggest tip.

Don't put your own fake reviews online
telling everyone you're the best.

Make sure that it's genuine.
I think that's important.

And one small addition:

You can do the reviews yourself or use a platform,
but you can also outsource your review system.

If you outsource, which is totally fine,
just be on top of it to make sure...

that you monitor what happens there,
at the external party. That's important.

So you mean, if the reviews are coming in,
if they are the same way transferred to your site...

or are they on your website, those kind of things.
JOHAN: -Those kind of things.

So, Sebastian, you mentioned you have
general rules and regulations on your website.

Emma, do you have them as well?
-Yes, we do.

Everything that we have,
is easy to find in our footer.

There's also different contact parts
at different points as well.

So if you're in customer service,
there's a customer service...

there's a general info and then we have delivery
separate, the same as Sebastian.

So that's all because of the rules and regulations,
they have to be visible there...

as you mentioned in the beginning, Johan.
Who checks this?

JOHAN:
One entity is going to be on top of your webshop.
That's the Authority for Consumers and Markets.

That's the entity where you can find all those rules
and regulations that you need to uphold.

So check them as well.

And if they come to check and something's
not in order, they're also allowed to fine.

So check the rules, obey the rules...

and make sure that you avoid
any fines of any sort.

LAUREEN: So you also have these check marks,
I was going to say, quality marks online as well.

How do you apply for those, how does that work?
Maybe from the entrepreneurs?

Do you have a quality mark?

SEBASTIAN:
On our own webshop we don't have one, but, for
example, a lot of materials we use might have.

For example, the cotton is GOTS certified.

There are different qualifications
for factories, for materials.

So we have those for certain parts
of our production...

and we use that in our marketing as well.

If we use some really good materials,
we will let our customers know, of course.

LAUREEN: So there's a quality check in there.
And Emma?

EMMA: The same, we don't have
anything specific on our website...

but we feel that by using
the review system that we do...

that is trusted by consumers
in the Netherlands...

that they'll see the reviews,
understand that it is a formal business...

and, therefore, trust
that we are doing things correctly.

Sounds good. So, Johan, some final words
of advice about rules and regulations?

JOHAN: Make sure you read up on them.
I think that's important.

And, again, a lot of information can be found
at the Authority for Consumers and Markets.

JOHAN: There's also a lot of information
on business.gov.nl, a very good starting point.

But I would really say, keep on reading and stay
alert when it comes to rules and regulations.

You really don't want to mess that up.

LAUREEN: Sounds good.

Thank you, Johan, Emma and Sebastian
for your thoughts on this topic.

Be clear about the product, just to summarise,
the features and the total price...

as well as delivery and return policies and reviews.
So much to think about.

But the most important rules for online shops
are aimed at providing thorough information...

but also at accessibility and preventing deception.
So find this and more on the website.

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