Why are some businesses so stupid? What is it about trying to save a buck today that causes otherwise good businesses to lose thousands of dollars tomorrow?
A few nights ago, while having dinner with two other couples, our conversation turned to restaurants. One of our dinner mates began telling me about his recent experience. It didn't end like I thought it would.
Apparently, he and his wife had received a $75 gift certificate for an anniversary. Although they were anxious to try out the well regarded eatery, they never seemed to get their reservation made. After many months, they finally enjoyed an outstanding relaxed dinner. "No wonder people speak so highly of this place", they thought.
When the server brought the bill, they placed the gift card on the tray, and finished their drink. A few minutes later, the server returned with the bad news. "I'm sorry, but your gift card has expired". My friends were shocked. The server could offer no explanation other than "she was not authorized to accept an expired card".
What exactly is the reason a business would turn away a customer who presents a card for which cash had obviously been exchanged. In this case, there was no confusion regarding where the card was purchased or that some form of fraud had occurred. The only problem was that it was "expired". To me, that is an incredible "cop out". It's like a trick which appears to encourage otherwise honest people into waiting a day too long, thus forfeiting hard earned money to the benefit of the business. In this case, the restaurant may have felt like they "made $75", when in actuality, they have lost many times that in future sales and good will.
How many times do you think my friends have shared that story? How many people have forgotten about the good food and service and now only associate that particular business with denying products after having already earned over a year's worth of interest on another's money? What happened to my friends was unfair. Any employee should have realized that.
At Dave's Ace Hardware, all our staff is empowered to make decisions that are fair to our customers (even if it temporarily costs the business some money). The people we employ are smart. They possess better than average common sense and know how they would like to be treated "if the tables were turned". If they are not sure how to solve a problem, they think about WWDD (what would Dave do?). Had the gift card situation played out in one of our stores, I know what would have happened..... we would have honored it. Not only do we honor outdated gift cards, we honor long outdated gift certificates. A few years ago, I even accepted a certificate purchased 7 years before I even owned this store (1984) that was purchased from the previous owner! Why? Because I know my customers remember things like that, AND TELL THEIR FRIENDS!
I know we aren't perfect, but at least we try to be fair.
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