Entrepreneurship is an activity consisting of strategically significant actions and decisions and tactical moves. It would seem that the consumer’s corner is a simple formality. But its design can be safely ranked as a strategic component of the business. Why? Now we find out. What is the "Buyer Corner", requirements for its design, penalties for its absence - read all about this below.
"Corner": de jure and de facto
The “Corner of the buyer” (or consumer) most often refers to a small wall stand the size of a standard “Whatman”, on which documents reflecting the activities of a company providing services or selling goods are attached in one way or another. It may also contain papers disclosing the essence of the relationship between sellers (service providers) and customers (buyers), mutual rights and obligations of both, as well as aspects of reporting to regulatory authorities.
Among the most well-known rules regarding the design of "Consumer Corners" - they must be located in the most prominent place in the premises of the company or store. But there are also other standards and requirements. What is it - a modern "Buyer Corner"? What should be placed on it without fail? What threatens the business if it does not properly arrange the “corner”?
Corner Documents: Law and Tradition
The key component that contains the "Buyer Corner" is the documents.
One fact should be noted right away: in no law is there a term “customer corner”. It is, rather, familiar to everyone and to some extent colloquial name of the format, with the help of which the customers of the companies receive the necessary information. The laws do not oblige to provide information specifically in the form of a stand, but it is precisely such devices that are most popular in Russia. At the same time, normative regulation regarding supplying customers with all necessary information is present in the Russian Federation. And it is quite demanding in relation to business.
What should be in the "corner"
In accordance with the rules of the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", enterprises undertake to supply their customers with the information that was mentioned at the very beginning. For this, there is a "Buyer Corner." What should be on it, based on the requirements of the law? This information is presented in a language that is understandable to the buyer, which will reflect the following information:
- data on the service provider or manufacturer of the goods (both general and significant from the point of view of the client’s interest: for example, when buying furniture, a person may want to know what tree it is made of);
- reflection of information on the rules of the trade and norms specific to the specifics of a particular business.
In practice, meeting these requirements means placing the following information. Moreover, it does not matter at all what the design will look like - the buyer's corner, from the point of view of the law, is just a data carrier. The main thing is that it reflects:
- The name of the company, its legal address and opening hours (unless, of course, this information is not posted somewhere else, for example, at the entrance).
- If the provision of services or the sale of goods is carried out by an individual entrepreneur, then you need a photocopy of the certificate of registration of the right to do business received at the Federal Tax Service.
- If the type of activity of the company is subject to licensing (or official accreditation by state bodies), then this fact should be noted on the stands of the "corner". At the same time, next to you need to place copies of permits and information about the organizations that issued them.
- Similarly, if certification is required or a declaration of conformity of certain goods sold by the company is required.
- Actual contacts of state bodies supervising the scope of the company.
- A properly executed Complaint Book for buyers and customers.
- Useful in terms of quality of service and significant in terms of protecting their rights, information for customers and customers. There can be many options. But the simplest and most common option is a printout of the latest version of the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights".
- Information about the rules of trade, return, exchange of goods. Price lists, documents reflecting the responsibility of the seller (service provider) to buyers.
- Phones for calling emergency services.
- Information about groups of citizens who are entitled to privileges and preferences in service. Starting from the right of way without a line for veterans of the Great Patriotic War, people with disabilities and other categories of citizens, and ending with the provision of discounts and special conditions for the provision of services for certain social groups of customers or buyers.
This is what the "Buyer Corner" should look like. What should be on it in the first place, we have studied. Let's move on to the individual nuances associated with its design. Denote aspects that are undesirable to lose sight of.
The nuances of the design of the "corner"
So, design. The “buyer's corner”, although formality, is very significant. First of all, you need to keep in mind that some rules and regulations regarding the regulation of relations between suppliers (sellers) and consumers (buyers) are formed not by federal, but regional (or even municipal) authorities. All acts, regardless of level of origin, may be binding on the company.
Despite the fact that some types of activities are regulated relatively weakly by the laws of the Russian Federation (for example, consulting or software development), firms working in these segments should approach the design of a “corner” with proactive responsibility. By placing, for example, information that the leased premises complies with fire safety standards.
It will be useful to arrange a "corner" in the place where you can put a chair and a small desk on the stand. The path is rare, but with a certain degree of periodicity, customers will read information from the stand and, possibly, make entries in the Complaints Book. Even for such cases, it is customary in modern companies to provide people with comfort: not limited to just handing the document in their hands, but also sitting at the table, giving a pen of good quality and not interfering with writing what the client wants to reflect in the Book. Another option is not only to provide an opportunity for a person to write a complaint, but also to give him a general briefing on its preparation, to provide a sample. Thus, the buyer's corner may cease to be associated with the client with something negative. It is possible, experts say, that a person who is pleasantly surprised by the approach even in such a situation will suddenly change his mind to complain about the service.
Politeness is the key to profitability
Some experts have another interesting tip regarding how to properly place the corner of the buyer. It is recommended to execute it in a very friendly design, using bright colors, and, if appropriate, epithets such as "our dear customer." It will also help to instill positive emotions in a dissatisfied customer.
“Buyer’s corner” is a place that, unwittingly, attracts the attention of customers by virtue of its location (according to the law, as we remember, it should be the most visible place in the room). Why not use this option as an additional marketing tool? How to make a buyer's corner not only a formality, but also give it a utility property? No law prohibits, say, placing brochures on the perimeter of the stand (or even between its individual blocks ("pockets") . You can use the "corner" as a good tool for increasing brand awareness by equipping the blocks with company logos.
Document Requirements
Among the priority documents that should be placed in the corner of the buyer, which should be there unconditionally - "Complaints Book". What are the basic rules for its design? According to the laws of the Russian Federation (as well as the recommendations of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare), the Complaint Book must be flashed with thread, and each page should be numbered. The most important point - the document must be certified by the personal signature of the director of the company. Some experts talk about the desirability of placing in the book (even if this information is somewhere within the “corner” already) information about the hours of the company.
Other documents attached to the buyer's corner (printouts of laws, trade rules, etc.) can be presented in any form that is understandable to the client. Some experts talk about the permissibility (but only if it comes to some secondary details) of pointing to web pages in the form of links or hash tags. About how to properly draw the corner of the buyer in terms of appearance, as we have said, the laws of information do not give. Therefore, in some cases, you can provide information not only with the help of text, but also diagrams, graphs, drawings.
Business Responsibility
Most likely, a significant portion of entrepreneurs neglect this obligation. Moreover, sometimes it is completely unconscious. The most amazing thing is that in many foreign countries there is no such obligation to businesses. Many foreign entrepreneurs believe, having first heard of such a thing as the “Buyer’s Corner”, that Russia must not have moved from a strict Soviet model of control over the economy to a full-fledged market with all its inherent freedoms.
What will happen if the company does not equip its premises with "corners"?
In this case, you have to deal with Rospotrebnadzor. If one of the citizens (or the department inspectors accidentally happened to be near) informs that there is no “corner” in a particular commercial company, then an order will be written out about the need to arrange a stand. Responsibility to government departments may arise, not so much due to the lack of a “consumer corner”, but because the entrepreneur or organization has forgotten to place this or that document there. That is, another real reason for the increased attention of the authorities to the buyer's corner is the content of this element.
Experts note the regular occurrence of precedents when claims to the company were sent by Rospotrebnadzor due to the lack of the type of information that we indicated in paragraph number 7. We noted that in general a copy of the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" is enough. But in reality it may turn out that Rospotrebnadzor decides that other information is also needed.
Rospotrebnadzor authorized to fine
If Rospotrebnadzor does not like your “Buyer's Corner”, and the department’s requirements, in turn, are not satisfied, then the authorities will write us a fine. Possible, experts say, is a more stringent scenario in the form of bringing a company or individual entrepreneur to administrative responsibility. There are cases of litigation between Rospotrebnadzor and entrepreneurs.
Trial court
What are the chances of a judicial confrontation with supervisory authorities? Lawyers have conflicting opinions on this issue. On the one hand, the laws of the Russian Federation for the most part have a significant bias in favor of the consumer, and therefore give government departments a very wide range of powers, which determines a lot of reasons for making claims against firms. In most cases, Rospotrebnadzor is formally right, which means it will most likely win the case in court. On the other hand, experts note an increase in the number of precedents when the arbitration considers the claim in more detail. And guided not only by formalities, but also by common sense.
But you can’t predict anything, and therefore, experts recommend that businessmen, at least to some extent interacting with individuals, hang out as detailed information as possible on the field of activity. Therefore, the entrepreneur should study in detail, planning to draw up a corner of the buyer, a list of documents of all possible types related to the type of activity.
Some lawyers recommend that organizations that have reason to fear increased attention from Rospotrebnadzor act in an interesting scenario. Namely, to take a receipt from clients that they have received all the necessary information in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". That is, do not bother with thoughts about how to design the "Buyer Corner" in the best way in terms of content. By signing this document, the person confirms the fact of familiarization with the types of information that the law obliges the company to provide. It doesn’t matter how the information is received - from the stand, from the booklet or, for example, from the site. Then at the court of the company it will be easier to prove their case in the confrontation with supervisory authorities.
Penalty Limit
The typical amount of a fine issued by Rospotrebnadzor, dissatisfied with the absence of a “corner” or any information in it, is relatively small - lawyers usually call the figure of 5 thousand rubles. But it is not recommended to forget that the regulatory agency may well find several reasons for issuing a prescription for a commercial organization. A fine in this case is possible for each of them.
What deviations from the "standard" penalty rate can be? What are the "formulas" that guide Rospotrebnadzor?
The procedure for calculating the amount of fines is based on the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (most often, articles 14.8 and 6.3 are taken into consideration). Lawyers explain: in accordance with this legislative source, a recovery of 20 to 40 thousand rubles can be calculated for a legal entity, and 3-4 thousand for individual employees (or the director)