Block a customer to stop them signing in to your storefront and ordering, for example someone who keeps refusing cash-on-delivery orders at the door. You write down why, so anyone on your team can see the reason later, and you can unblock them at any time.
What blocking does
When you block a customer:
- They cannot sign in to your storefront. When they try, the storefront says This account is not available. Please contact us. It never shows them the reason you wrote.
- If they are signed in at that moment, they are signed out at once and cannot sign back in.
- They cannot place new orders from their account, even from a checkout page they already had open.
- Their account, their details and their order history stay in your console. They still appear in Customers, marked Blocked.
- The audit log, on Business and up, records who blocked them and when, as Customer blocked.
Blocking customers is on every plan. To block or unblock, your role needs the Block and unblock customers permission. The Store owner and Store manager roles have it; the Sales staff role can view and correct customers but not block them. The Block and Unblock buttons still show for them; if they try, You do not have permission to do this. appears and nothing changes. See Staff roles: what each one can see and do.
Warning
Blocking does not cancel orders the customer has already placed. Check their recent orders in their details, and cancel any you do not want to prepare.
Blocking and guest checkout
A blocked customer cannot get round the block by checking out as a guest: an order placed as a guest with the same email address or the same phone number as a blocked account is refused. The same happens if they sign in with another account but type the blocked email address or phone number at checkout.
At checkout they see only We could not place this order. Contact the store. The message never says they are blocked, and nothing is charged. If someone calls you about this message, check the Blocked tab for their email address or phone number.
The block follows that email address and phone number. Someone who uses a different email address and a different phone number looks like a new customer to your store, whether they check out as a guest or create a new account.
If you want every order to come from someone with an account, turn off Allow guest checkout in your settings. See Set tax, payment methods and guest checkout.
Tip
For cash-on-delivery orders from details you do not recognise, call the customer to confirm before you start preparing. See Confirm a new order and start preparing it.
Block a customer and give a reason
- In the sidebar, open Customers.
- Find the customer. Search by their name, email address or phone number; see Find a customer.
- Select the customer's name to open their details.
- Select Block at the bottom of the details.
The console asks Block this customer? It explains that a blocked customer cannot sign in or place new orders, and asks you to add a reason for your records.
- In Reason for blocking, write why you are blocking them, for example “Refused three cash-on-delivery orders at the door.”
- Select Block.
| Field | Required | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Reason for blocking | Yes. Block stays unavailable until you type something. | Up to 500 characters. Only you and your team see it. |
To change your mind, select Cancel, press Esc or select outside the dialog. Nothing changes.
When the block is saved, the console shows Customer blocked. If the details are open, they update straight away: the status reads Blocked and your reason appears at the top.
You can also block a customer from the list without opening their details: select the round Block icon at the end of their row. It asks the same question and needs the same reason.
If the block cannot be saved, the console shows a message saying why and the customer stays Active. Try again in a moment.
See why a customer is blocked
- Open the customer's details.
A blocked customer's details show:
- the Blocked badge under their name, in red, with their initials in red too;
- the reason you wrote, in a red line at the top: Reason: followed by your words;
- Unblock at the bottom, where Block used to be.
Everything else in the details works as usual: you can still read their recent orders and correct their name or phone number. See Find a customer and see their orders.
The Blocked tab
To see everyone you have blocked:
- In Customers, select the Blocked tab.
The list shows only blocked customers, and the count beside the tabs says how many there are. Each has the red Blocked badge, and the icon at the end of the row is the round Unblock icon.
You can search within the tab, for example to check whether a phone number belongs to a blocked customer. Select All to see everyone again.
If you have not blocked anyone, the tab says No matching customers and Try a different search term or filter. That is expected: nobody is blocked.
Unblock a customer
Unblock a customer when you are ready to let them sign in and order again.
- In Customers, find the customer. The Blocked tab lists everyone who is blocked.
- Select Unblock at the bottom of their details, or the round Unblock icon at the end of their row.
The console asks Unblock this customer? and explains that the customer can sign in and place orders again.
- Select Unblock.
The console shows Customer unblocked. The customer is Active again and can sign in straight away, with their account and order history as they were. Unblocking also clears any failed sign-in attempts on their account, so a customer who was locked out after mistyping their password can try again at once. The audit log records it as Customer unblocked.
Warning
Unblocking deletes the reason from the customer's details. The audit log on Business and up shows that the customer was blocked, by whom and when, but not the reason or the customer's name. If you might block them again, copy the reason somewhere before you unblock.