Customer Service Policy

04/04/2025

Overview

Our TikTok Shop Customer Service Policy covers communication rules between sellers and customers when using TikTok Shop Chat. TikTok Shop Chat is an instant messaging tool that allows customers to speak to sellers regarding their products and services. Customers can access TikTok Shop Chat through the TikTok app, while sellers can access it through Seller Center > Customer Messages.

This policy applies to all sellers who offer products for sale on TikTok Shop and communicate with customers through TikTok Shop Chat.

Important Note: This policy only covers situations where TikTok Shop Chat is used during customer service. In order to provide transparent and efficient customer service, we highly recommend sellers use TikTok Shop Chat to engage with customers.

Important: This policy applies to all sellers selling in the US.

This policy is not exhaustive, nor intended for legal advice. Sellers must seek independent legal advice if they have questions about the laws and regulations concerning their products.

This policy is updated periodically. Sellers must check this page regularly to ensure compliance with our current policy.

General Customer Service Requirements

The following are general principles regarding customer service:

All sellers must provide professional and timely customer service. Sellers are not allowed to engage in abusive or threatening behavior toward the customer or TikTok Shop staff.

Customer service includes but is not limited to pre-sales services such as:

Product-related consultation or general inquiry

Shipping and handling

After-sales support

Customer complaints

Customer Service Policy

If customers request support or raise tickets through the Order Detail page, they will be directed to either our Help Center, TikTok Shop agents for platform support, or to seller customer service agents through TikTok Shop Chat.

During periods when customer service agents are offline, customers will be guided to raise a ticket that will be handled by automation or human agents when they are next back online.

General Communication Requirements

Sellers must follow the communication requirements outlined below. Any sellers who violate any of this policy will be subject to enforcement actions.

Customer Service

Sellers should use TikTok Shop Chat to provide customer service where possible. Sellers must ensure that they can be contacted through TikTok Shop Chat when selling on our platform.

When using TikTok Shop Chat to provide customer service, sellers must:

Manage their customer service team or personnel at all times.

Manage their customer service team's account access and permissions appropriately.

Manage all activities and communications sent using their account.

Sellers must set their shop's operation hours in the Seller Center. Operation hours will then be displayed to customers who message them through the TikTok Shop Chat.

TikTok Shop Chat

Sellers must use appropriate language and act professionally when communicating with customers through TikTok Shop Chat. If a seller experiences any prohibited behavior from a customer, they can raise a ticket in Seller Center. When raising a ticket, sellers should submit relevant supporting materials such as historical communications with the customer. TikTok Shop will investigate any reported communications and make a decision regarding the seller's performance evaluation.

The behaviors listed below are strictly prohibited, and violation points will be issued if sellers engage in these activities using TikTok Shop Chat.

Minor Exploitation & Abuse

Sellers are prohibited from communicating or sending any messages to customers that contain or allude to Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, sexual solicitation, pedophilia, and physical or psychological abuse of minors. Sellers must not promote or redistribute any content that contains or alludes to CSAM, sextortion, grooming, or similar. Sellers must also adhere to our TikTok Community Guidelines.

Harassment, Bullying and Hateful Behaviour

TikTok Shop strictly prohibits any harassment, slanderous, bullying, or hateful behavior. All communications with customers must adhere to TikTok's Community Guidelines, as well as our Seller Terms of Service.

Illegal Activities and Promoting Prohibited Products

Sellers are prohibited from promoting illegal activities to customers through TikTok Shop Chat. These prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, the following actions:

The sale or promotion of prohibited, counterfeit, and illegal products.

Any form of gambling or incentivizing customers and users to engage in gambling.

Any fraudulent activities and scams.

Any action that could potentially deceive customers in order to gain unlawful advantages or benefits.

Sending viruses, malicious code, or software to customers or users.

Intellectual Property

Sellers are strictly prohibited from infringing, encouraging, or enabling the infringement of the intellectual property or personal rights of others. This includes but is not limited to, transmitting texts, images, photos, software, or other materials protected by copyright or trademark rights. Learn more about our TikTok Shop Intellectual Property Policy.

Data Privacy

To promote customer safety, TikTok prohibits sellers from from disclosing customers' personal information. Sellers are also prohibited from using customers' personal information in any way other than to fulfill orders placed on TikTok Shop.

Pornography, Adult Nudity, and Sexual Content

Sellers are prohibited from communicating or sending any messages to customers that contain or alludes to pornography, sexual behavior, or adult nudity. Sellers must also adhere to our TikTok Community Guidelines.

Diverting Transactions

Sellers are strictly prohibited from diverting customer transactions of any kind off TikTok Shop.

This includes, but is not limited to, redirecting users to external websites or platforms for purchases, transactions, promotions, incentives, or rewards in any content, shop details, IMs, emails, marketing materials, or communications.

Soliciting Additional Payments

Sellers are strictly prohibited from soliciting additional payments for purchases made on TikTok Shop on the platform or offline in any way.

This includes, but is not limited to, additional purchases, add-on purchases, increasing the price, return fees, shipping fees, return shipping fees, exchange fees, stocking fees, restocking fees, warranty fees, or extended warranty fees.

Redirecting Customers from TikTok Shop

To promote customer safety, TikTok Shop prohibits any attempt to bypass TikTok Shop's sales process or redirect users to unauthorized websites or sales processes. Prohibited behaviors include, but are not limited to:

Soliciting any customer's personal information.

Diverting transactions off of TikTok Shop.

Soliciting additional payments of any kind.

Sending any unauthorized third-party information to customers (such as sending unauthorized third-party links, bank accounts, third-party payment accounts, QR codes, or other instant communication accounts, e-mail addresses, offline store addresses, and contact information).

Offering customers an off-platform return or refund. All return and refund requests must be carried out through TikTok Shop. Refer to TikTok Shop Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy for Sellers.

Asking customers to cancel an order.

Prompting customers to purchase items through external links, usernames, websites, etc. or adding a seller's contact information in video and product descriptions, direct messages, etc.

Sharing promotions such as discounts, free shipping, wholesale prices, etc. that take place off of TikTok Shop.

Sellers who attempt to redirect traffic in any way will be subject to enforcement actions in accordance with our TikTok Shop Seller Performance Evaluation Policy. Learn more about Redirecting Traffic.

Soliciting Feedback and Tampering

Sellers must not use TikTok Shop Chat to solicit, incentivize, or offer customers any form of monetary or non-monetary reward in exchange for a positive review or altered feedback. All communication with customers must adhere to our TikTok Shop Review Policy.

Spamming or Unsolicited Marketing

TikTok Shop prohibits unsolicited marketing or promotional messages to customers. This includes, but is not limited to, sending spam or any repeated advertising information without the customer's consent. TikTok Shop sellers may not send SMS messages to customers unless the customer has explicitly opted into receiving such communications with the seller off-platform.

Communication Service Requirements

Sellers must comply with the following requirements when providing customer service.

Before-sales Service

Customer Service Response Time (Before-sales)

Customers may raise inquiries about the product, logistics, warranties, and or anything else relevant to the product or brand, before an actual purchase.

Sellers must respond to such inquiries within 24 hours of the customer message being sent.

Provision of Accurate Information

Sellers must ensure that the information in messages sent to customers is accurate and consistent with the information on the product detail page. Sellers must take immediate action to correct any information that is inaccurate about their product.

Sellers are solely responsible for any customer confusion or dispute arising due to unclear, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

Sellers must handle any resulting customer inquiries, requests, or complaints swiftly and appropriately, that complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

Sellers are prohibited from using misleading or fraudulent language during customer communications (such as offering better prices or discounts, favorable warranties or services, and other after-sale deductions).

After-sales Service

Customer Service Response Time (After-sales)

Customers may raise after-sales inquiries or complaints on topics such as order cancellation, shipping details, shipping status, returns and refunds, and other warranty requests.

Sellers must respond to such inquiries within 24 hours of the customer message being sent.

Sellers must comply with our TikTok Shop Customer Order Shipping Policy and TikTok Shop Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy for Sellers and provide appropriate and high-quality customer service.

Return and Refund Requests

When providing after-sales services, sellers must strictly follow the order cancellation, returns, and refund information displayed on their product detail page.

Changing the service conditions to less-preferential ones after a customer's order is placed is strictly prohibited.

Sellers must ensure that their cancellation, return, and refund policies adhere to our TikTok Shop Customer Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund Policy for Sellers and Refund Without Return Program article.

Sellers are solely responsible for any customer confusion or dispute arising due to unclear, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

Sellers must swiftly and appropriately handle any resulting customer inquiry, request, or complaint and comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Customer Service Performance Evaluation

Key Performance Indicators and Targets

TikTok Shop encourages sellers to have direct, professional, and efficient communication when responding to customers.

The 24-hour Response Rate is the percentage (%) of customer-initiated chat sessions that sellers (or agents) reply to within 24 hours. It is calculated by dividing the number of chats the seller responds to within 24 hours by the total number of chat sessions initiated by customers.

All messages sent through TikTok Shop Chat must comply with the response times set out in this policy, such as the 24-hour Response Rate. These calculations are different depending on if the seller is a US-based seller or a cross-border seller.

The table below outlines the response time US-based sellers must abide by when responding to customers.

	Metric	Definition	Seller Target
Seller Response Efficiency	24-hour Response Rate	Number of chats responded within 24 hours / Total number of chats received (over the last 30 calendar days)	≥80%
Seller Response Efficiency	Resolution Rate	Number of Chats marked as resolved / Total number of chats received (over the last 30 calendar days)	≥65%
Customer Satisfaction	Customer Satisfaction Rating	Number of chats with ratings of 4 and 5 / Total chats that received ratings (over the last 30 calendar days)	≥75%

The table below outlines the response time cross-border sellers must abide by when responding to customers.

	Metric	Definition	Seller Target
Seller Response Efficiency	24-hour Response Rate	Number of chats responded within 24 hours / Total number of chats received (over the last 30 calendar days)	≥85% (for cross-border sellers only)
Seller Response Efficiency	Initial Response Rate	The amount of time in minutes that a cross-border seller takes to respond to a customer-initiated message	<30 minutes (for cross-border sellers only)
Customer Satisfaction	Customer Satisfaction Rating	Number of chats with ratings of 4 and 5 / Total chats that received ratings (over the last 30 calendar days)	≥70%

Performance Evaluation

Sellers should note that TikTok Shop will evaluate them based on their customer service response time.

TikTok Shop will monitor 24-hour Response Rate every Tuesday and determine any enforcement actions based on the seller's performance during the previous week. This evaluation applies to all sellers who have received five (5) or more customer messages that week. Enforcement actions may be taken in instances of poor seller performance. These enforcement actions are appealable and sellers can request an appeal in Shop Health.

In addition to the response times above, sellers should take note of the following:

To evaluate seller performance, TikTok Shop will consider their customer service messages over the past 30 calendar days, including weekends and public holidays. If a seller chooses not to operate on public holidays, we recommend using Holiday mode to exclude that period from the evaluation.

Auto replies, spam messages, and messages that are received outside of operating hours are excluded from the performance evaluation.

Any customer queries that are handled by TikTok Shop will not impact seller performance metrics. Only tickets that are routed to sellers will be used to calculate a seller's performance.

Enforcement Actions

If sellers fail to adhere to this policy, we reserve the right to take enforcement actions as set out in our Seller Performance Evaluation Policy and Seller Terms of Service.

In addition to that, when required, TikTok Shop reserves the right to review seller communications sent through TikTok Shop Chat to identify if there are any violations of these policies.

Appeal

If a seller believes that an enforcement action was taken against them in error, they may file an appeal through Seller Center > Help Center by raising a ticket. We will then investigate the case and take corrective actions where applicable. Please note that sellers must collect and prepare all supporting documents that may be required for a case investigation.

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