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Buy Online Return In Store — Operational Experience

End-to-end human journey for Buy Online Return In Store.
Modelled using the UC-BoK Experience Model (SPEC-016 / ADR-016).

Journeys

Journey Actor Touchpoint Channel Tasks Type
BORIS — Customer Journey Customer pos-terminal in-store 3 Happy path
BORIS — Store Associate Journey Store Associate pos-terminal in-store 5 Happy path

End-to-End Sequence

Happy-path flow across all actors.

sequenceDiagram
    participant customer as Customer
    participant store_associate as Store Associate

    customer->>SYS: Present Return Order
    SYS-->>customer: ReturnPresented
    customer->>SYS: Hand Over Items for Return
    SYS-->>customer: ReturnItemsHandedOver
    customer->>SYS: Receive Refund Confirmation
    SYS-->>customer: RefundIssued
    store_associate->>SYS: Search Return Order BORIS
    SYS-->>store_associate: ReturnOrderLocated
    store_associate->>SYS: Verify Return Eligibility BORIS
    SYS-->>store_associate: ReturnEligibilityVerified
    store_associate->>SYS: Inspect Returned Items
    SYS-->>store_associate: ReturnedItemsInspected
    store_associate->>SYS: Process In-Store Refund
    SYS-->>store_associate: RefundIssued
    store_associate->>SYS: Restock Returned Items
    SYS-->>store_associate: ReturnRestocked

BORIS — Customer Journey

In-store return journey for a customer presenting an online order and receiving a refund confirmation.
Actor Customer
Touchpoint pos-terminal
Channel in-store
Precondition —
Postcondition —

📥 Step 1 — Present Return Order

Customer presents the receipt, order reference, or return QR code at the store so the return can be located in the system.

Direction Business Objects
Input order, customer
Output return

Capabilities: returns-management order-management

Events: ReturnPresented

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Show Receipt or Order Reference 🟦 input order return —
2 Confirm Return Request ✅ confirm order return ReturnPresented

🤝 Step 2 — Hand Over Items for Return

Customer hands the items to the associate for condition inspection and return processing at the store counter.

Direction Business Objects
Input return, product
Output return

Capabilities: returns-management store-operations

Events: ReturnItemsHandedOver

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Present Return Items ✅ verify return return —
2 Complete Item Handover 🤝 handoff return return ReturnItemsHandedOver

👁️ Step 3 — Receive Refund Confirmation

Customer receives confirmation that the refund has been approved and will be returned to the original payment method.

Direction Business Objects
Input payment, return
Output payment

Capabilities: returns-management payment-processing

Events: RefundIssued

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Open Refund Confirmation 🔔 notify payment payment RefundIssued ←
2 Review Refund Details ✅ confirm payment payment RefundIssued

BORIS — Store Associate Journey

Associate-led BORIS return flow from order lookup through refund and restocking.
Actor Store Associate
Touchpoint pos-terminal
Channel in-store
Precondition —
Postcondition —

🔍 Step 1 — Search Return Order BORIS

Store associate searches for the original online order or return authorisation using the customer reference provided at the counter.

Direction Business Objects
Input order, customer
Output order, return

Capabilities: order-management returns-management

Events: ReturnOrderLocated

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Search Order by Reference 🔎 search order order —
2 Select Matching Order ✅ confirm order order ReturnOrderLocated

✅ Step 2 — Verify Return Eligibility BORIS

Store associate verifies that the item is within the return window and meets policy conditions before accepting the return.

Direction Business Objects
Input order, return
Output return

Capabilities: returns-management order-management

Events: ReturnEligibilityVerified

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Review Return Policy Status ✅ verify order return —
2 Confirm Return Eligibility ✅ confirm order return ReturnEligibilityVerified

✅ Step 3 — Inspect Returned Items

Store associate checks the returned item condition, tags, and completeness to decide whether it can be restocked or must be quarantined.

Direction Business Objects
Input return, product
Output return, inventory

Capabilities: returns-management store-operations

Events: ReturnedItemsInspected

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Inspect Item Condition ✅ verify return return —
2 Record Inspection Outcome ✅ confirm return return ReturnedItemsInspected

⚙️ Step 4 — Process In-Store Refund

Store associate processes the refund in POS and the system credits the original payment method or approved refund tender.

Direction Business Objects
Input return, payment
Output payment, return

Capabilities: payment-processing returns-management

Events: RefundIssued

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Review Refund Amount 👁️ review return payment —
2 Issue Refund ⚙️ execute return payment RefundIssued

⚙️ Step 5 — Restock Returned Items

Store associate updates inventory for resaleable returns and moves the returned item back to available or designated stock status.

Direction Business Objects
Input return, inventory, store
Output inventory

Capabilities: store-inventory returns-management

Events: ReturnRestocked

Interactions:

# Interaction Type Input Output Event
1 Select Restock Disposition 👁️ review return inventory —
2 Confirm Inventory Update ⚙️ execute return inventory ReturnRestocked

EXP-BORIS — Buy Online Return In Store Operational Experience — UC-BoK v0.9-alpha