Outsourced customer service for dropshipping stores
Yes, Backbone Customer Service handles customer service for dropshipping stores on Shopify, and we have worked-out processes for it: long delivery times, tracking questions, returns and payment disputes across several providers. We only work with experienced dropshippers who have their sourcing and product quality in order and know which problems customer service cannot solve.
Why dropshipping needs a different kind of customer service
A store with local stock delivers tomorrow and mostly gets questions about sizing and returns. A dropshipping store delivers in two or three weeks, and mostly gets questions about where the parcel is. That is a different inbox: bigger in volume, more repetitive, and more sensitive to impatience.
On top of that, some of your customers only realize how long the delivery takes after they have ordered. That combination of waiting and surprise is exactly what leads to cancellation requests, angry messages and eventually chargebacks. How fast you answer, and in what tone, decides how much of that reaches your revenue.
What we do for a dropshipping store
The biggest category is "where is my order". We recognize those questions automatically, pull the current tracking status and answer them within a minute, with an agent watching. That leaves time for the conversations that do need attention: cancellations, complaints about the product and customers threatening to call their bank.
We also handle returns and refunds according to your policy, with the return addresses and conditions that differ per supplier. We write the macros in your tone of voice and put realistic delivery times in them, so your customers hear the same thing your product page says.
Payment disputes are built with evidence and submitted for Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Klarna, Whop, Ocean Payments and other providers. For dropshipping that is the heaviest part of the work, because "product not received" and "product unacceptable" come up far more often than for a store with its own stock. This is how we handle disputes.
What you get back in the reporting is often worth the most in dropshipping: which product produces the most complaints, which supplier is structurally late, and what dispute rate goes with it, per store and per payment provider. Those are the numbers you use to clean up your assortment instead of only answering faster.
Which dropshippers we work with
Dropshipping and customer service have an awkward relationship. A large share of the questions that come in are about things outside the inbox: a supplier who ships late, a product that is not what the ad promised, or tracking that has not moved in two weeks. We can run those conversations professionally and win plenty of disputes, but we cannot fix a bad product or a supplier who does not deliver.
That is why we do not take on every dropshipping store. We work with people who:
- have experience and know what they are doing, rather than testing their first store
- have their sourcing in order: suppliers who deliver what they promise, with delivery times that hold up
- manage product quality and take complaints about a product seriously
- understand which problems come with dropshipping and are not solved by a good answer or a won dispute
- are willing to change their policy when the numbers show a product or supplier is the problem
We do not do this out of principle, but because it does not work otherwise. For someone who has these things in order, good customer service brings the dispute rate down and satisfaction up. For a store where the product itself is the problem, we mostly move the complaints around and nobody gets further with that.
What customer service does and does not solve
We would rather be clear about this up front than afterwards. Here is what you can expect from us and what sits outside our reach.
| Situation | What we do | What we cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery takes long | Look up the current tracking status, reset expectations, flag delays proactively and keep the customer calm. | Make the shipment faster or get a supplier to hurry. |
| Tracking is not moving | Chase the carrier and your supplier, keep the customer informed and offer a solution in time. | Find a parcel that was never handed to the carrier. |
| Product disappoints | Handle the complaint professionally, arrange a return or refund according to your policy, and report the pattern back to you. | Make a product that structurally underdelivers acceptable to your customers. |
| Customer files a dispute | Build the file with tracking, proof of delivery, order export and the conversation history, and submit it on time. | Win a dispute where the customer is substantively right. |
| Dispute rate is climbing | Show which product, supplier or promise is causing it, per store and per payment provider. | Offset a high dispute rate that comes from the product or the delivery time itself. |
If you work with local stock or you are a brand with your own production, the general page on outsourcing customer service for Shopify is probably more relevant.
Frequently asked questions about customer service for dropshipping
Do you handle customer service for dropshipping stores?
Why don't you work with every dropshipper?
How do you handle long delivery times?
Do you handle chargebacks for dropshipping stores?
Does this work if my customers are outside the Netherlands?
What does customer service for a dropshipping store cost?
Related pages
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