An interesting encounter in the BT DR this afternoon, around 12:30, just as we were starting to get a little busy with lunch. A man came in, took me aside at the host stand and showed me a gift certificate which he held out. He asked me could I honor this gift certificate, even though the expiration date was the 15th of September. I expressed my understanding of the fact, but replied, no, it was, actually, expired. He remarked how it was only four days into that expiration, that he only came "down" on weekends (but you'll be happy to know he is not from PA), and had forgotten about this gift certificate until now. Couldn't we make an exception for him? I replied, still in my most professional mode, that I was very sorry, but no, I could not, that once I made one exception it was very difficult to decide who to make future exceptions for and who not to. I was very sorry. Well, I guess that was the match that lit the fuse. He replied, "If you don't honor this gift certificate, I am going to trash your business. I am going to tell all of my friends, and I am going to trash your business".
My brain stopped for a moment. Had he really said what I thought he'd said?
I stepped back and looked at him, and then all professionalism went out the window. I repeated, in a relatively alarmed tone of voice, not caring who heard, what he had just said to me - "You are going to trash our business if I don't honor that expired gift certificate?" Yes, he said, yes, and he was going to tell all of his friends too.
This was incredible. I told him to follow me into the Kitchen, that I wanted my husband to hear this. He went with me into Kevin's lair - which was sort of surprising, considering all of the knives in there - and I told Kevin what the man had just told me. (On the way into the kitchen, I asked him if he was a business owner, and he said yes, he was. Which makes the whole thing even more remarkable - what sort of business owner would act like this?) He repeated the threat to Kevin, including that he was a weekender and only made it "down" here a couple times a year. Kevin said, "Why, that's blackmail!" Of course the fellow denied that this was blackmail, and maybe he was right, maybe it's extortion.
So, we leave the kitchen, arguing. He then takes the tactic that I am taking money from his friend unfairly, the friend who gave him the $100 (now expired) gift certificate over one year ago. Now all of a sudden it's not his gift certificate that he is upset about, but the fact that his friend is not getting his money's worth I guess. I responded that he'd had the gift certificate for a solid year, that it was good for one whole year, which is plainly written on the front, and what more could I say? He requested that we continue the "conversation" in the lobby, a request I refused by saying "No, I think these people should hear this, it is so unbelievable, that you are going to trash our business because I won't honor your expired gift certificate". By now, of course, I had lost all pretense of being a professional. I was simply furious.
He left. On the way out he proclaimed how it just wasn't "fair", that he was going to trash our business, tell all of his friends, that I was taking his friend's money. I asked him, "Do you think Target would honor your expired gift card?" He repeated his mantra as he went out the door.
I was steamed. My legs were quivering and my voice was shaking.
So now what do you think will happen? He could, of course, really trash our business. He could spread nasty rumors, he could slander us on the web or in the newspaper, he could "tell all of his friends". But the other side of the coin is this - what if I had capitulated, given in to his threat and said, okay, we'll make this one exception and take your (expired) gift certificate tonight. Please don't trash our business. Wouldn't you think it would be sort of dangerous on his part to eat here, after behaving like such a bully? I suppose we'd be too professional to actually act out the retribution fantasies, but still, would he know that, especially since he certainly was not behaving in a very professional manner, for a so-called business owner.
The point to this story? Okay, number one is in the title. Gift Certificates expire in one year, and that is clearly indicated on the certificate. We are sorry, but unless you are our Mother, that is the way it has to be, to be fair to all.
Number two - if you are a friend of this "gentleman" who came in here today and threatened us, I hope you read our side of his claim. His name is Robert O'Brien. When he tells you that we would not honor his gift certificate, please be sure to know that I was polite, and clearly sympathetic with his problem, until he began to act like a gangster. We have many, many witnesses to the event, in the kitchen and in the dining room, who heard and saw the whole situation unfold like a bad play. And please realize that the gift certificate he wanted us to honor was, simply, expired after one full year of being valid. If you know us, you know that we are very, very professional - except for a few moments, now and then - and as honest and trustworthy as anyone on this planet.
Number three - if this fellow does indeed "trash" our business, and I suppose we should take his threats seriously, please don't believe anything you think sounds suspicious until you check with us first. Not that I really think Mr. O'Brien's friends read this Blog, but, you never know where words may travel.
What a fun time we're having, eh?
Oh, yes, and what do we do with any cash that comes into the till via these expired gift certificates, you may ask? (And believe me, there aren't a whole lot that don't get used.) I don't know what other businesses do with theirs, but ours go into the "Take the Employees Out to Dinner" fund. Which is what we'll be doing this weekend.
Use your gift certificates before they expire; your friends want you to enjoy yourselves. That's why they gave it to you in the first place, okay?
My brain stopped for a moment. Had he really said what I thought he'd said?
I stepped back and looked at him, and then all professionalism went out the window. I repeated, in a relatively alarmed tone of voice, not caring who heard, what he had just said to me - "You are going to trash our business if I don't honor that expired gift certificate?" Yes, he said, yes, and he was going to tell all of his friends too.
This was incredible. I told him to follow me into the Kitchen, that I wanted my husband to hear this. He went with me into Kevin's lair - which was sort of surprising, considering all of the knives in there - and I told Kevin what the man had just told me. (On the way into the kitchen, I asked him if he was a business owner, and he said yes, he was. Which makes the whole thing even more remarkable - what sort of business owner would act like this?) He repeated the threat to Kevin, including that he was a weekender and only made it "down" here a couple times a year. Kevin said, "Why, that's blackmail!" Of course the fellow denied that this was blackmail, and maybe he was right, maybe it's extortion.
So, we leave the kitchen, arguing. He then takes the tactic that I am taking money from his friend unfairly, the friend who gave him the $100 (now expired) gift certificate over one year ago. Now all of a sudden it's not his gift certificate that he is upset about, but the fact that his friend is not getting his money's worth I guess. I responded that he'd had the gift certificate for a solid year, that it was good for one whole year, which is plainly written on the front, and what more could I say? He requested that we continue the "conversation" in the lobby, a request I refused by saying "No, I think these people should hear this, it is so unbelievable, that you are going to trash our business because I won't honor your expired gift certificate". By now, of course, I had lost all pretense of being a professional. I was simply furious.
He left. On the way out he proclaimed how it just wasn't "fair", that he was going to trash our business, tell all of his friends, that I was taking his friend's money. I asked him, "Do you think Target would honor your expired gift card?" He repeated his mantra as he went out the door.
I was steamed. My legs were quivering and my voice was shaking.
So now what do you think will happen? He could, of course, really trash our business. He could spread nasty rumors, he could slander us on the web or in the newspaper, he could "tell all of his friends". But the other side of the coin is this - what if I had capitulated, given in to his threat and said, okay, we'll make this one exception and take your (expired) gift certificate tonight. Please don't trash our business. Wouldn't you think it would be sort of dangerous on his part to eat here, after behaving like such a bully? I suppose we'd be too professional to actually act out the retribution fantasies, but still, would he know that, especially since he certainly was not behaving in a very professional manner, for a so-called business owner.
The point to this story? Okay, number one is in the title. Gift Certificates expire in one year, and that is clearly indicated on the certificate. We are sorry, but unless you are our Mother, that is the way it has to be, to be fair to all.
Number two - if you are a friend of this "gentleman" who came in here today and threatened us, I hope you read our side of his claim. His name is Robert O'Brien. When he tells you that we would not honor his gift certificate, please be sure to know that I was polite, and clearly sympathetic with his problem, until he began to act like a gangster. We have many, many witnesses to the event, in the kitchen and in the dining room, who heard and saw the whole situation unfold like a bad play. And please realize that the gift certificate he wanted us to honor was, simply, expired after one full year of being valid. If you know us, you know that we are very, very professional - except for a few moments, now and then - and as honest and trustworthy as anyone on this planet.
Number three - if this fellow does indeed "trash" our business, and I suppose we should take his threats seriously, please don't believe anything you think sounds suspicious until you check with us first. Not that I really think Mr. O'Brien's friends read this Blog, but, you never know where words may travel.
What a fun time we're having, eh?
Oh, yes, and what do we do with any cash that comes into the till via these expired gift certificates, you may ask? (And believe me, there aren't a whole lot that don't get used.) I don't know what other businesses do with theirs, but ours go into the "Take the Employees Out to Dinner" fund. Which is what we'll be doing this weekend.
Use your gift certificates before they expire; your friends want you to enjoy yourselves. That's why they gave it to you in the first place, okay?
I must say, I feel for the guy. I know you're a small business, but sometimes it may be good to act in good faith and honor the gift card. I work for a company that manages and tracks gift cards, and I follow gift card related issues on savvywallet.com. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not telling you to honor the gift card, because the rules are the rules on the GCs. Do you remember when Sharper Image filed for bankrutcy? There were millions in gift cards, completely unredeemed. Thousands of people were left credit list, and many people were left empty handed.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think it feels for the person that bought the card for Robert. He obviously enjoyed his experience there, enjoyed it enough that he gave robert a $100 to enjoy BT. Yes, he was 4 days late, but what if you honored it, it would have made a huge difference for him. Perhaps he would have purchased more gift cards from you. Who knows? I'll leave you and your readers with this story:
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jul/25/no-headline---nxxfcsalonfolo25/
and..
http://www.wgal.com/hotlinks/16812599/detail.html
I see your point, and I am sure others agree with you; I certainly did not create any "good will" with Mr. O'Brien or with his friend who gave him the certificate. But my problem is, where do you draw the line? If you honor one that is four days expired, why not one that is five days over? And if five, why not a week? Where does it end? And what about those people who look at their certificate that is three days expired and say, oh well, it's expired and toss it out, only to hear later that someone else was allowed to use their expired one? What kind of good will would that create? Plus, don't forget the threats - what was that all about?
ReplyDeleteThe articles you link to regard businesses that are honoring legitimate certificates, I assume, not ones that have already expired. We have done something similar when we closed one restaurant to open another - we accepted the old restaurants' certificates at the new place. But I'm not sure how this relates to honoring an expired gift certificate - when does "expired" mean "maybe expired, maybe not"?
It is a controversy, this is true, and I really appreciate your comments here. I'm sure we haven't heard the end of it!
Thanks, Barbara
You Go Girl!!!!!
ReplyDelete