Refund Request — How It Works

Three hands, in order: Nikki → Cheyenne → Steve → Nikki · The board hands the baton by email

Every refund lives as a card on the Refund board (Airtable). The card moves left to right through the columns below. Each column belongs to one person — when a card lands in your column, you get an automatic email. Do your job, then drag the card to the next column. That drag is the handoff.

🟡 1. Pending Review

Nikki

A new refund request landed — Steve + Nikki get the alert email with all details.
Nikki investigates: where is the appliance? Still at the store? With the customer? Needs pickup?
Unit still out in the world → drag to Awaiting Appliance Return and arrange its return.
Unit already in our hands (never left the store) → drag straight to Appliance Received.

🟠 2. Awaiting Appliance Return

Nikki — parking lot

Card waits here while the unit travels back to us. Still Nikki's card.
The moment the unit is physically in our possession → drag to Appliance Received.

🔵 3. Appliance Received

Cheyenne

📧 Cheyenne gets the email automatically: "unit is in hand — enter it back into POS."
Cheyenne re-enters the unit into Lightspeed POS (back into inventory).
Done in POS → drag the card to Back in POS – Awaiting Approval.

🟣 4. Back in POS – Awaiting Approval

Steve

📧 Steve gets the email automatically: "approval needed — verify and sign."
Steve verifies the unit really is back in Lightspeed.
Steve opens the card and CHECKS the "Steve Approved ✔" box — that checkmark is the signature.
Then Steve drags the card to Approved – Processing Refund.

🟢 5. Approved – Processing Refund

Nikki

📧 Nikki gets the email automatically (Steve is copied): "approved — pay it."
FIRST: open the card and check for the Steve Approved ✔.
✔ is there → process the refund by the requested method, fill in the Refund Processed Date, drag to Refund Issued.
✔ is MISSING → STOP. Call Steve. No checkmark, no money — no exceptions.

⚪ 6. Refund Issued / ❌ Denied

End states

Refund Issued = done pile. Denied = the exit ramp — a card can go to Denied from any column (note the reason in Office Notes).

The Ground Rules

Touch only your own columns. Every move is recorded with your name and a timestamp on the card's activity feed.
The email IS the handoff. If you drag a card, the next person's phone buzzes. Never hand off verbally instead of moving the card.
Only Steve checks "Steve Approved ✔". Nikki pays nothing without it, no matter where the card sits.
Customer status questions get answered from the board, not from memory.