Buffer · Execution · Mid · 45 to 60 minutes

Should Buffer Change Its Refund Policy?

Buffer is a software company that helps people and businesses schedule and publish posts across social media channels. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

Tradeoff judgment
Experiment design
Metrics
Execution planning
Customer empathy

The situation

Buffer's leadership team has asked you to recommend what to do about a long-standing customer refund practice tied to its paid plans. In June 2016, a cash flow review exposed a $67,000 gap, which has triggered a broader look at operating policies that may be more generous than the business can currently sustain. One policy under scrutiny is the team's habit of proactively offering refunds in some support situations, even when customers have not explicitly asked for one. You are the PM responsible for the billing and support experience for paying customers. You need to advise whether Buffer should keep the current approach, narrow it, or replace it with something more structured. This is hard because refunds affect more than cash. They shape customer trust, support team behavior, brand values, and possibly retention. Leadership wants a practical plan, not a philosophy debate. They also want to avoid a move that improves short term cash while quietly damaging customer relationships or creating confusion for the support team. Your job is to propose a decision and a way to test it safely.

What to produce

Write a 1 to 2 page decision memo.

Your answer must

State the decision to be made and frame the core problem in terms of cash flow, customer trust, and operational consistency.
Lay out at least three policy options, including keeping the current approach, and recommend one.
Propose an experiment or rollout plan with clear success metrics and guardrail metrics.
Describe how the policy should apply across different customer situations, for example clear errors versus goodwill exceptions.
Include an execution plan covering support team guidance, customer communication, and a review point for revisiting the policy.

Constraints

Use only the information in the prompt and the company context provided here. Assume any extra figures you use are illustrative.
Do not propose price changes, packaging changes, or major product development as the main solution.
Your plan must preserve Buffer's reputation for treating customers fairly, even if the policy becomes stricter.
The recommendation should be realistic to implement quickly through policy and support process changes.

Format

Use sections: problem, options, recommendation, experiment plan, metrics, risks, and rollout.

How Buffer actually played it

Buffer examined its years-long habit of proactively offering refunds after a June 2016 cash flow crisis revealed a $67,000 gap. The post describes the change in approach, the results and next steps. A rare look at a policy experiment with real numbers.

Re-examine long-held policies when cash flow tightens
Run policy changes as experiments with clear measures
Be honest about trade-offs between generosity and sustainability

Built from What Happened When We Cut Back on Refunds by Carolyn Kopprasch.