How doTERRA Transformed Returns from Compliance Risk into a CX Win

A global wellness brand eliminated escalations and cut return times by 90% by guiding agents through complex, compliance-heavy workflows with Zingtree.

20%

AHT reduction

90%

faster returns

Organization

doTERRA

Industry

Consumer Wellness / Direct Sales

Agents

Customers

Revenue

doTERRA, a global leader in essential oils, operates in one of the world’s most complex customer service environments. With strict consumer protection laws, convoluted logistics, and high compliance stakes, delivering accurate, timely service was both critical and challenging.

Andre Maia, Senior Director of Member Services for Brazil, had one goal: make it easier for agents to do the right thing, the first time.

Challenge: Serving with precision in a compliance minefield

In Brazil, a customer’s right to cancel an order comes with strict legal requirements and potential fines for mishandling. doTERRA agents had to verify shipping status, apply the correct return logic, and coordinate across multiple systems. 

One wrong step could mean:

  • Reputational damage via public consumer complaints platform
  • Financial penalties tied to consumer law breaches
  • Frustrated customers and overwhelmed agents

Agents were forced to jump between 10+ systems: from logistics portals to knowledge bases to order management tools. 

The result? Inconsistency, long handle times, and a high volume of escalations.

“Brazil is a very bureaucratic market… the laws are complex. If we don’t follow the right steps, we face fines – or worse, public exposure,” said Andre Maia.

Solution: Precision and compliance without the clicks

To tackle regulatory complexity, doTERRA used Zingtree to build guided workflows that encoded rule-based logic required by local law. 

From order cancellations to return labels, agents now follow structured flows that dynamically pull in real-time data, reducing human error and legal exposure.

Key capabilities deployed:

  • Compliance-driven decision logic: Ensures every agent action aligns with Brazilian consumer law—automated, auditable, and enforced
  • CX Action integration: Consolidates systems like DataTrax (internal CRM), IntelPost (logistics), and external carrier sites into a single UI
  • One-screen simplicity: Agents no longer bounce between 10 tabs – they work inside one interface
  • Dynamic logic trees: Route agents through complex scenarios with confidence, even when edge cases arise
“The system that we’re using with you guys allows the agent to really ask the right questions, to check all the boxes, to ensure that everything is where it needs to be, to then make the right decision at the end,” said Andre Maia.

Implementation: Fast, collaborative, cross-functional

The team brought in stakeholders from IT, legal, logistics, and operations, including third-party system owners. With help from Zingtree’s solutions team, they were live with their first high-impact workflows in weeks.

“The communication was great… when we had an issue or a complex question, they’d already sent the solution and helped us understand what needed to be fixed,” said Iasmin Lund, Project Author.

Results: Better outcomes, fewer escalations, and agents who love it

Since going live, doTERRA’s Brazil team has reported striking gains in speed, accuracy, and consistency across customer and employee experience. 

Measured impact:

  • 90% faster product returns – from nearly 2 minutes and 23 clicks to just 10 seconds and 5 clicks
  • 20% reduction in average handle time across all workflows, including areas not yet on Zingtree
  • Zero escalations required in Zingtree-enabled workflows, issues now resolved on the first call
  • 100% elimination of tickets for covered processes like returns and cancellations
  • Reduced quality assurance burden—less time spent correcting avoidable errors
  • Faster onboarding—agents no longer memorize policies; they follow clear, guided steps

Training time dropped, agent satisfaction soared, and customers no longer heard “I’ll need to escalate this.”

“It used to take 23 clicks to generate a return label. Now it takes 5. A process that took two minutes now takes 10 seconds,” said Lund. “Our agents literally asked if they should go back and double-check the answers. That’s how smooth it became,” Andre Maia shared.

The future: Self-service with structure – and AI where it fits

doTERRA’s next step is expanding Zingtree beyond the agent desktop to power member self-service for routine tasks like return labels – 24/7, no wait times, no tickets.

At the same time, they’re beginning to explore where AI can assist, without removing the structure and control Zingtree enables.

“We see potential in using AI to handle repetitive tasks,” Maia said. “But the logic and structure still need to stay intact. That’s what ensures we stay compliant and consistent.”

About doTERRA

doTERRA is a global leader in essential oils and natural wellness products, known for its direct-selling model and commitment to purity, sustainability, and customer care. Serving millions of customers across more than 100 countries, doTERRA empowers its network of Wellness Advocates and customers to pursue healthier lives—supported by world-class service, education, and innovation.

About Zingtree

Zingtree is the AI automation platform that gives support teams control over how AI automates complex resolutions—connecting the dots between data, logic, and compliance.