Dec 26 Suckiness or And here come the giiiift cards!!

[bainsidhe]

Double death to credit card-type gift cards. Though surprisingly, most of my customer would accept my explanation about why it wasn't working. Didn't stop it from being a royal pain in the ass though.

Unless things have changed (which wouldn't surprise me a bit), most of the cards allow you to go online and get a balance for free. Calling will often charge a couple dollars for the "privilege". The cards are great in theory, but are the biggest ripoff.

[Android Kaeli]

I don't like those Visa gift cards, either. Nifty as they are, the customer HAS to know how much is on one if they wish to use the card. Otherwise it'll be declined if there's even a penny over the amount that's due.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Is it REALLY the fault of Visa for the gift cards?

Don't we hear stories day after day about people who can't keep track of what is in their checking accounts when they write a check or run their debit cards?

Aren't there people in the world who actually can do their gift cards like intelligent people?

I know the frustration level is high, but honestly who is at fault here. Visa (Master Card/Discover/AMEX/whomthefuckever)? Or is it the fault of the customers who are dumber than retarded dirt?

[MaseMan]

Agreed. A Visa gift card is just like a checking account...it's the responsibility of the owner to know how much is left in their account.

[MoonCat]

Aren't there people in the world who actually can do their gift cards like intelligent people?

Yo!

A lot depends on the card and/or the store, too. I've paid for stuff using whatever was left on a gift card combined with cash at PetSmart. It was easy to do and they didn't give me a hard time about it. Of course I asked if it was possible, first. If they had said no, fine.

I also had a Target gift card that I had forgotten about, and wasn't sure it was still good. I went to the customer service desk and asked if it was possible to check. They scanned it and it turned out to still have the full value. That was easier than going through the checkout and taking a chance that it might be declined.

But some people have difficulty using cash correctly, so it's no surprise they can't use the cards correctly. Wasn't there an old story on CS about some crazy lady who demanded that a cashier "add, subtract and multiply" to make her one-dollar bill worth ten?

[Mr. Anubite]

Don't know the balance of your gift card. You mean, people don't write down what they spend with credit/debit/gift cards in a notebook to keep track of their spending?

What have I been doing wrong for so long, writing down what I buy unless it's paid for in cash?

I do that on the Note app on my phone. I don't understand why people don't.

I mean, seriously. Being aware of yourself isn't difficult .

[Talasar]

I just have to add my cents worth here.

I work for one of the larger 'outdoor outfitters' we sell hunting/camping/fishing stuff, we're retail and mail order. OUR in house gift cards never expire, and we CAN track them for you, if you have information for us to go on. They are super easy to use even if customers lose them. Seriously today I had a customer that was bought a gift card ten years ago that I had to dig up for him. The man was very nice and not a CS at all. x.x

But any and ALL other gift cards that claim to be credit cards area HUGE pain for us in in catalog. Because we literally cannot run them and a credit card at the same time, we've got to send them to our decline department. Cue TONS of CS over that because it delays the order and lower level reps tend to tell customers 'I have to send this to our decline credit card department'. >.< I hate GCs so much.

Sorry if I thread jacked there. *blends away*

[sweetj82]

Today I had a customer get really mad and upset b/c he couldnt use another stores giftcard at our store.

My CSM was talking to him and he demanded to see someone else. She said and i quote "I will NOT call someone else because I will not waste thier time"