Satisfaction Has a Legal Meaning

You may not be aware that the term "satisfaction guaranteed" has a legal meaning.  The Federal trade commission’s advertising rules are very specific about using the term "satisfaction guaranteed." Most courts when addressing cases regarding satisfaction have stated that satisfaction means "what ever a reasonable person would expect from a product or service."

The Better Business Bureau code of advertising and FTC rules both suggest that the term "Satisfaction guaranteed" should be used by a seller when advertising only if refunds for the full purchase price can be expected when requested by a customer. If there are any limitations or restrictions on a guarantee, those conditions should be clearly and prominently displayed for the customer.

Here are a few examples of a proper “satisfaction guaranteed” ad:

1.       We guarantee your satisfaction with our product/service.  If you're not completely satisfied, we will gladly refund the full purchase price.

2.       Return the product in its original package within (some limited amount of time) and we will fully refund your purchase price.

3.       If our service does not meet your complete satisfaction, your full purchase price will be refunded.

This is serious business. Businesses have been taken to court by customers and have been penalized a significant amount of money. The bottom line is that satisfaction is not only a wonderful word for marketing but also brings the responsibility of making the customer “satisfied".  There is a very strong trend in the market that customers are becoming more litigious. Not all customers are nice customers.