Background
My role as a Retention Specialist at Quince was a masterclass in user-centered design, but not in the way I expected. It felt like working in the digital mailroom—the direct, unfiltered connection between customer needs and the business's internal workings.
This ground-level perspective gave me a humbling insight: to deliver an excellent external customer experience, we first needed a well-designed internal one. While our consumer-facing products were polished, the dashboards and tools my colleagues and I relied on needed the same level of care. This project was born from that realization.
Core problem
This project addressed two critical, user-facing problems that created friction for both employees and customers:
Internal Workflow: The internal system for processing returns was inefficient and convoluted. This led to wasted employee time, a high risk of costly errors, and operational delays that negatively impacted the customer.
External Inconsistency: The customer-facing website offered a fragmented experience, with major design and functional differences between the mobile and desktop versions. This created confusion for users and undermined brand credibility.
To address the core problems, I focused on three key areas of the user experience:
1. Improving Navigational Clarity (Dashboard Tabs)
Problem: The vendor portal's design caused significant confusion for users working in multiple browser tabs. Because every page used the generic title "Dashboard," employees couldn't distinguish between critical tasks, leading to workflow friction and a sense of being overwhelmed in time-sensitive situations.
Solution: I implemented dynamic page titles. By ensuring the
<title>element of each page corresponded to its purpose (e.g., "Returns," "Sellable Inventory"), I provided immediate clarity that allowed users to navigate between tasks with speed and confidence.
2. Redesigning the Returns Workflow (New Features & Layout)
Problem: The returns system forced specialists into a fragmented workflow, split across separate pages for "viewing" and "adding" returns. The inefficient horizontal layout scattered information, limited visibility, and required slow, manual workarounds for common tasks like exchanges or multi-item returns.
Solution: I designed a single, unified returns dashboard with an intuitive vertical layout. This new interface includes dedicated workflows for exchanges and defective items, as well as a "Duplicate Return" feature that allows specialists to process multiple identical items with a single click, eliminating repetitive data entry.
3. Unifying the Customer Experience (Desktop to Mobile)
Problem: Customers initiating a return were met with a confusing and inconsistent journey. The "Start a Return" button appeared in different places on desktop and mobile, and for large orders, it was buried at the bottom of the page after a long scroll. This 'hunt for the button' was a significant point of friction that led to abandoned attempts and increased support tickets.
Solution: I created a single source of truth by placing a prominent, globally-accessible "Start a Return" button at the top of the order page. This consistent placement across all devices empowers customers to act with confidence and self-serve effectively.
Customer-facing returns flow: desktop. Consistency is key.
Customer-facing returns flow: mobile. Consistency is key.
Results and Impact
The project was designed to achieve three primary goals, directly impacting both employee efficiency and the end customer's experience:
Enhance Internal Efficiency: By streamlining workflows, improving layouts, and automating repetitive tasks, the redesigned tools allow specialists to process returns faster and with fewer errors.
Reduce Customer Contacts: The improved clarity and consistency of the customer-facing returns process empower users to self-serve, reducing the volume of preventable support inquiries and decreasing operational load.
Improve the Customer Experience: By enabling specialists to work more efficiently, they can dedicate more time and focus to addressing complex customer needs. This shift from navigating a difficult tool to focusing on the customer directly contributes to a higher quality of service.