Thinking of tossing old gift cards? Here’s what a Tribune columnist recommends instead
Have you ever found an elderly gift card and then thrown it away, figuring it was long outdated? Don’t!
Not unless you’re OK tossing out legal tender.
According to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, “most gift certificates and gift cards sold by retail sellers for use with the seller and its affiliates cannot contain an expiration date or a service fee, including a fee for dormancy,” no matter what the old card might say on the back.
Laws and regulations vary from state to state, however, and there are even some exceptions in California’s law.
For instance, the rule doesn’t apply to calling cards or ones that can be used with multiple unaffiliated sellers of goods or services, such as a card good for purchases at any store in a mall.
But I didn’t know any of that recently.
My extreme naivete could have cost me. Instead, it was mitigated by overactive curiosity that eventually led me to find kindness where I didn’t expect it, given the circumstances.
Keep an eye out for those old gift cards
I’d been digging through some of my many stacks of long-forgotten paperwork, which seem to multiply like Tribbles in the classic Star Trek episode.
This time, I found memories mixed among the elderly grocery lists and receipts, holiday cards, recipes I’ll never make and other useless ephemera that quickly wound up in the blue recycling bin.
And, eventually, thoughtfulness.
What I didn’t know then was the small packet of forgotten gift certificates was a potential treasure chest of meals and experiences.
Life had interfered with our ability to use the gifts, but being the packrat I am, I’d held onto them and then forgot about them. For once, that paid off.
The first card I pulled out of the plastic sleeve was an anniversary gift — from 2013.
As I went to toss it out, the mischievous leprechaun on my shoulder whispered, “Why not call and ask if the Cracked Crab in Pismo Beach could possibly still honor it?”
My late husband Richard and I had loved our meals at that restaurant, so I figured the potential for embarrassment might, just might, be worth the risk.
Feeling rather like a gullible adult who still believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny, I called.
I asked the woman who answered if there was any remote chance they might still honor that ancient a gift certificate.
To her credit, server Jasmin Beebe didn’t laugh out loud or hang up on me. She very nicely admitted she didn’t know. She asked for the long verification number on the back of the card, but couldn’t immediately find it on their computer system. Beebe reassured me that she’d have the manager call me, probably within a few days.
Somehow it didn’t feel like I’d gotten a brushoff from someone who doesn’t want to tell you, “no.” I still had hope, but it was faint.
Imagine my surprise when, at about 7 p.m. that night, I got a call from Jamie Habig, the restaurant’s manager.
He asked me to repeat the card’s fiendish number. After he asked if I’d mind hanging on while he checked a different computer, I said “of course not!” and went back to my own work station.
A few minutes later he was back.
“I found the certificate, and it still has $75 on it. Yes, we’ll honor it, without any service charge or penalty fee,” he said kindly.
After I’d thanked him repeatedly, he said, “I just like to take care of my customers.”
Then I told him why we had been unable to use the certificate in a timely manner.
“We received the gift shortly before my husband’s stroke,” I said, “and in the increasingly intensive caregiving that followed for the next seven years until he died in 2020, I forgot about and then lost the certificate.”
Later, when I talked to Habig again, he explained that, when the restaurant’s ownership changed, the new proprietors got a new computer system. That’s probably why Beebe couldn’t find the card’s listing; she didn’t know how to use the old system.
Now, when son Brian and I eat there, we’ll be honoring my late husband by doing something he definitely would want us to do.
Yes, before we try to redeem any of the other long-ago cards or certificates, I will call each of the other issuers to make sure they’ll honor the gifts.
But if they say, “no,” I’ll politely remind them of the California law.
Friendly customer service hasn’t disappeared
We’re often told to just expect rude treatment these days from overworked staffers at retail establishments and eateries. (When it happens, I simply don’t go back. And a tip? Forget it, pal.)
Equally, we’re to assume that customer service in general has gone the way of the dodo and phone calls that get answered by a real, live human who cares.
Not so fast. I find many, if not most, business owners, managers, sales folks, servers and others sincerely want to give their customers the attention and care they should be able to expect.
They know serving their customers that way surely will encourage them to return. Besides, being kind feels good.
Want another example of friendliness, this time related to simple, conversational courtesy?
Late last month, Brian and I went to the tiny El Pizmo Fish Company on Dolliver, where the total menu offered by Anthony Nagy, the owner, chef and fisherman, is delicious and gluten free.
That was the first fish and chips I’ve been able to eat in two years, and they were delicious (Brian said so, too.). Even the chowder is gluten free.
In the process, charming-but-busy server Morgan McElhenie and I chatted long enough for me to discover she’s the daughter of Matt McElhenie, general manager of Cambria’s CSD.
Small world, since I often report on the services district. Good job, Dad! She’s a delight.
Going beyond civility into the realm of kindness and wonderful customer service should be common sense for anybody who owns or works in a retail (or any) business.
But it can be rare.
So, whenever you receive that kind of treatment, enjoy it and compliment them profusely.
And hang onto those gift cards!
