I would like to say at the outset that I am always impressed by people like yourself who can take on
big business and solve the small man’s problems.
I am a great believer in quality for my money and never hesitate to return goods that are faulty.
Many years ago I heard a consumer journalist say these wise words: “If you did not give the shop/person Monopoly money, demand a quality product in return.”
I have a hissy fit when I buy a gift card and they tell me that it has an expiry date. I then ask if they intend “stealing my money” if I don’t use it by the date. Surely that is illegal.
I understand that when you book a pedicure or manicure that the cost may rise in the future but then one just pays in the difference.
I see now that most salons give you a card with an amount indicated and not a specific product.
Please can you give me the answer to this problem? I have been put off gift cards for the foreseeable future.
I tidied my daughter’s house as a “Christmas gift” while they were away in America and found numerous gift vouchers. Some were very old, from 2010, but I didn’t let that deter me and trotted off to the relevant shops. Some were very accommodating and others just gave me the yada yada about expiry dates.
Pick n Pay changed ones that were the old paper ones without a problem as the manager at head office told me that their policy is to keep the customer happy. I told him I had shopped at Pick n Pay since Raymond Ackerman opened his first store and would continue to do so.
Clicks were equally helpful (also paper ones) and the manager just had to phone head office as to the correct procedure - then he gave me a new valid gift voucher.
Blue Route Mall (which no longer supplies gift vouchers) went to the trouble of contacting the supplier of the cards and phoned me last week to give me the total due and that they would phone me to come in and collect the cash refund when it arrived.
Mani Pedi in Blue Route was also accommodating and I explained that as the voucher was for a treatment which no doubt was more expensive now, I was quite happy to pay the difference but staff said it was fine.
I read an article somewhere which stated that this is a wonderful income for stores as many people either lose the vouchers or forget to claim and that in a group store configuration this amount can run into millions - money for jam!