Restocking Fees aren't the Only Reason We Hate Gift Cards

So there I was....

This year my husband got me a gift card for Dunkin Donuts. (Yeah, I know what you must be thinking. Bless his heart. He knows I love boston cremes and that ultra fabulous coffee.) Today I went in to pick up a couple coffees and a couple donuts to bring home. I frequent this particular shop in Squirrel Hill. They went to the trouble to become kosher (a brilliant idea in a Jewish neighborhood) but as you'll learn they fall short on basic customer service. My total rang up and I handed the cashier my gift card. (The cashier who is often there when I visit and knows me almost by name.) "Oh no," she said. "The machine has not been accepting these." "So what do we do?" I asked. It was clear, I had to pay for the items with cash or credit. Sure, the machine can accept my Visa but not my gift card. How convenient. I asked what the manager was offering customers for the inconvenience? "There is nothing we can do," she said over and over. But I assured her there was plenty any good business could do. A free coffee? A donut? Here's one... how about an apology? No, I got nothing. I only got, "There is nothing we can do." To add insult to injury I ordered two coffees and a couple donuts therefore I asked for a carrying tray. "No, we don't have any of those. We've run out." Great. So, trying to drink my hot coffee to eliminate at least one carry item, I managed to get baby, handbag, coffee and donuts safely, if not gracefully, to the car. I do enjoy a good boston creme donut- and sometimes they get them just perfect- but there are other donut places. And, I'll miss the coffee too- outside the kind we make at home it's a second favorite. Goodbye Squirrel Hill Dunkin Donuts.

Here's another example, again that happened today while trying to use a gift card. Sephora, a great retailer that I've had wonderful service at, for the most part, over the years. I went into my local shop, in Shadyside, and saw they were out of the perfume I wanted to buy. The consultant said I could get it online. I asked if I'd be charged shipping (having learned from the Origins fiasco). Not if it is over $50 she said. And, sure enough my perfume was. OK, great. So online I go. Trouble is that the online system still wanted credit card information from me, even though my gift card had double the amount I wanted to spend with that single purchase. Not only did they want credit card info, a disclaimer said that I had to spend at least what was on the gift card to use it. Did I read that right? I read it three times. Then I abandoned the purchase and hoped my information wasn't saved (although knowing of course it was). I called the toll-free number and made the purchase with a wonderful person on the telephone who had no problem taking only the amount I wanted to spend, for my perfume, from my gift card and shipping my product promptly. Thank goodness. Sadly, she could see the purchase I attempted to make online (which let me know, unfortunately, that my information had been saved although I abandoned the transaction). Oh, well. We can't solve all the worlds problems in one day, can we?

And it isn't just a new problem, last year my mother gave me a gift card for Origins. I adore their product lines of skincare. I spent about an hour in the Origins department at my local Macy's talking with the representative and carefully choosing lotions and potions. I was really excited to have some new products to try and some trusted ones to continue with. At the time of checkout I handed the representative my gift card. "Oh no," she declared. "You can't use that gift card here." Apparently, as it states in fine print on the card, it can only be used online or at a stand alone store, not at the department in Macy's and other fine retailers. My protests were worthless. There was nothing she could do. So I went home and tried to recreate my order online. I, of course, paid more because now I had to pay shipping and a few items were higher than they were in the Origins department. I swore I'd never shop at Origins again, after all there are many fine skin care lines out there. And there are. And, I have ... found several. Goodbye Origins.

So, what does my rant offer in guidance to businesses. (1) Don't offer gift cards unless you can actually accept them without ridiculous limitations and at all times (2) Offer your clients something when that system fails... along with an apology (3) Make your cashiers, consultants, representatives, etc... aware of the fact that customers help to get their paychecks fulfilled each week and do keep businesses going. Being nice to them is the very least one can do and the wild card (4) Fire any employee or manager who says "There is nothing I/we can do." There is ALWAYS something you can do to promote customer satisfaction and loyalty.

And for even better measure: train your associates that if a client's hands are full, offer to help them to the car- ESPECIALLY if their hands are full because of your lack of supplies or caring. The Chick-fil-A at the Waterfront has this down pat. They continuously offer some of the finest examples of customer service I have ever seen. Go there to learn a thing or two.