Death to VISA/MC gift cards!

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I hate these things...absolutely HATE them. And it's always the same BS....

- I don't know how much is left on it, call the damned number on the back!

- That's great you think there's a bunch of money on there, my register disagrees, DO NOT get pissy with me and expect me to fix it when I have nothing to do with the card.

- Oh that card is not activated? Sorry, not my fault. You can whine at me all you want but it won't get you anywhere. No, I cannot give you a discount because your gift card won't work (yes I did actually get asked that).

- No it's not my fault some of the numbers aren't readable. No, I do not have superpowers, I cannot read them for you. No I will NOT help you find out what they are because that's not my job.

Every post-holiday season I go through this nonsense...

[Indigo]

Same here. Add on this:

- No, my register will not magically divine how much is left on there.

-That little pop-up from our card service does NOT mean it worked.

- Yes, you still have to sign a charge slip. No signature and I will post-void your purchase and you can leave without the stuff. Bitch at me and you get a manager who tells you the same thing.



On the other hand, be nice to me and choose a time when we're dead and I'll look online/call for you. (and major kudos if you decide to buy a membership from me)

[MadMike]

A lot of companies are giving those damn things out instead of rebate checks. Believe me, I hate them just as much as you do.

[fireheart]

I've got one to add.

-No matter how much you piss and moan that it's not <rival company>'s card, we do not take them! And for that matter, I know that <rival company> won't take them either.
-No, we will not take the reloadable cards as well. I'm pretty sure the online services will, but we won't!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Those things need to die in a fire. A hot, sulfurous, burning fire.

You try to run them through for the amount of the purchase and they don't go through. Then you have to play "Guess The Balance" and keep retrying the damn thing for lesser and lesser amounts until it finally goes through. Calling Visa or Mastercard for the amount just isn't an option when the customer is at the register.

It would be great if businesses would just stop accepting them as payment. But then again it could be in the merchant agreement that if you take the issuer's credit cards, then you have to take their gift cards too.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

The problem with the gift cards isn't the gift cards themselves, it is (as always) the people who use them.

When I get a card for say $100, I will tell the person that it is for the $100 and I'll pay any difference beyond that in cash or on another card if I have it.

If I buy something less than the $100, I'll make a note of it or I'll go online and find out what is left and tell the person that there is $7.25 and I'll pay the difference.

Don't go blaming the card companies for it. Put the blame on the idiots who can't be bothered to use them responsibly.

After all, what's the difference between a reloadable pre-paid visa/mastercard and a bank's debit card? There is none when they are in the hands of an anal-dwelling twat monkey who can't be bothered to keep track of what is actually on the card/in the bank.

[tigger222]

Another thing to add:

No I can't do a return on the stupid things. It doesn't matter what your reason is, or if you swear up and down you didn't use it. I would tell you that it says it on the back of the card but I just know that you didn't bother to read it in the first place and if you did you don't think that it aplies to you because you are a special snowflake who we should break the rules for.

[TheSHAD0W]

Ha.

I just got a couple of them as cellphone rebates.

I had to stop in at the bank, so while I was there I asked the teller if she could do anything about them; she ran cash advances on both for the total amount and handed me twenties.

[BusBus]

After all, what's the difference between a reloadable pre-paid visa/mastercard and a bank's debit card? There is none when they are in the hands of an anal-dwelling twat monkey who can't be bothered to keep track of what is actually on the card/in the bank.

I was just thinking that...tend to have to play "guess the balance" with people's debit cards on a semi-regular business.

[JLG]

I get a lot of customers that think the register will automatically take the exact amount on the card off their purchase amount. I often have to ask how much they think is on it and start with like $2 less than what they say and keep trying it. If there is no line and the customer is willing I will start with $1 and keep putting it through with that amount until it stops taking it. I only do this if they say they have less than $10 left on it.

If they have a brand new card that has never been used I tell them to keep track of what is left so it will be easier for them the next time they want to use it.

Also some of these cards will show the remaining balance on the receipt at our store. But not all the time. Sometimes when I key in the amount the customers says is left and it goes through the receipt shows a remaining balance so I put it through again for that amount.

[Palsgraf]

Our restaurant computer system searches for approval for an amount larger than what I run the card for, because it's assuming that a tip will later be added when I close the sale.

For example, the card is for $100. It has never been used. The guest wants me to put $100 of his check on the gift card, and the remainder on his own credit card. Our computer, assuming that the guest's dinner is $100, looks for $120 available because it knows I'm an awesome waiter (or something like that) and assumes Mr. Customer will want to add a $20 tip.

I used to be able to call the number on the back to check the balance - mostly just to piss off my manager for using my cell phone in front of her when we're not supposed to have them in the building. But now the gift card issuing bank wants some sort of pin or id number.

It doesn't matter anyway. Beacuse the balance has always been what the customer told me it was. So I'd have to unnecessarily piss off a potentially good tipping customer by telling him that he can only use $80 of his $100 gift card at my restaurant.

[Android Kaeli]

I hate those things as well, I can't run them about 98% of the time because my store's current system won't accept them without knowing *exactly* how much is on it. Customers get upset when I ask them how much is on these cards, or how much do they think is on it, sorry I can't run these Visa gift cards through without knowing.

[Shalom]

I'll try them once. Then it's "That card is declined, do you have another form of payment?"

We get charged a fee by our processor for each transaction, regardless of whether it goes through or not. I'm not siphoning money out of my boss's pocket to try and figure out how much is left on that card; you call them and find out yourself. If it's slow I might even lend you a phone to call them on.

(I have one of the damned things in my wallet this minute: it was a $30 rebate on some desktop memory from microcenter. I've spent $20 on it so far; I'm waiting for an opportunity to get rid of another 10 so I can retire it. I assume the companies distributing the things are doing it so they can have that $30 sitting in their bank account earning interest for them, rather than in mine earning it for me. Not that my bank is paying much in the way of interest these days, but still.)

[Cassandra]

Mom gave me one of these for Christmas this year. When I went to use it the first time, it had more than I needed on it so I wrote down the amount and did some quick math and kept a little post it with the amount in my wallet. When I used it the second time, I first asked if the store took them, then asked if they needed me to pay the balance first then use the card if it was over what I had left. The look on the cashier's face was of pure amazement and she was so thankful that I asked the questions before she began to ring me up. Those cards are a pain, but I wanted gift cards to several stores this year and mom thought that a visa gift card would be better.

[EvilEmpryss]

I get a lot of customers that think the register will automatically take the exact amount on the card off their purchase amount.

That's probably due to the fact that some store gift cards (or the in-store credit cards you get when you return something without a receipt) will do that. All you have to do is swipe it and it will take off up to the total available balance on the card and then ask for a second form of payment if it's not enough to cover the purchase.

Still, not knowing and then expecting the cashier to call a third party to find out the balance is sucky.