Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

[Sailor Venus]

I just recieved my Gift Certificates and they are semi-filled out... with To: From: Expiration:, Etc...

Well, my husband and I are in a disagreement over this..... Tell me what you do.

Husband says NO Expiration DATE. You are just starting out, don't make yourself out to be difficult, etc.

I say, "Yes Expiration Date, for ONE YEAR later."

I dont want someone coming to me in 5 years with a certificate they just happened to find at the bottom of their drawer. You know what I mean??

I cant make up my mind.... What do you do? Do you put an Exp. date? How long do you give before Expiration (1 Year, 2 Years, LESS)??

******KEEP in Mind! I am JUST starting out with my own practice. Would putting an Exp date, turn away a client, would that be considered rude - I took your money, but you only get a year to use it?? (That is what husband thinks!!)***************************


t017

 

[brokenlover381]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

Also in line with this question.

Say you sell a "Pack of 3" (3 Massages for Discount Rate). And, after the 1st or 2nd Massage - they want their money back for the THIRD one (or whatever..)

Have you ever had that happen? How did you deal with it?

I havent had it happen, but I am trying to prepare myself, if it were to happen.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

You'll have to check state laws regarding expiration dates. Here in Illinois, a couple years ago they passed a law that GC's/prepaid packages/prepaid services couldn't expire, and I think after 5 yrs you're supposed to send the $ from what was unused to the state or something (I don't recall the details since I don't handle that end.) The decision may have already been made for you.

As for someone wanting a refund on a package after some appointments have been used, this has been discussed here and makes the most sense to me - figure the full price charges for those massages used, then deduct that from the full cost of the package, and refund the rest. The customer doesn't get the benefit of the full package discount because they didn't use the full package. Example - where I work, members get a 1hr massage for $60, or a 3pk for $150. If someone used 2 and wanted a refund, we would take 2 X $60 = $120, so the package cost $150 - $120 used = $30 refund.

 

[kammy]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

Thank you Jae, figures the State wants the money back, not the original owner. lol. I will look into that for my state. Ohio (if anyone knows!).

That makes perfect sense about the package pricing - Thank you for explaining that!!

 

[Eunjin]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

I expire gift certificates at 1 year, but do accept expired certificates. That is appreciated, plus if there has been a rate change since the certificate expired, the difference is made up by the recipient.

And if I lived in IL, I would refund the money to the original purchaser - just before the 5 years was up, rather than sending the money to the state, just on principal. That's just wrong!!!

 

[snowbunny]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

I put a one-year expiration date on my GCs, even tho I'm in IL and I guess I'm not supposed to now. BUT I have ALWAYS honored it, even if it expired. I find that the expiration date is more of a nudge for people to get it used.

Either people call a week or two after getting it, or they call when it gets close to expiring (my experience). When they do that, oftentimes, I can't get them in until after the expiration date. It makes you seem like you're being very accomodating in accepting it even after it has expired (which is a positive thing in clients' minds).

I put an expiration date on my GCs since I first started my practice (this was before the laws changed on GCs). Nobody EVER questioned it -- I think most people expect it!

 

[Kim M]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

Awesome! Thank you guys for answering these questions!! I have found this board to be invaluable for a lot of things, as I'm sure you have also!

I would probably accept an expired gift card also, seems to me it would be bad business to not. Though, I am learning still

Thanks again!

 

[Maui Guy]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

I put a usually put 6month expiry on my certificates but honor them even after they are expired, as Ding said, it is a nudge to get them to use the thing. Most gift certificates I sell are Christmas, or Valentine's, or Mother's Day, with brithday and baby shower ones throughout the year. With the fixed predictable times, some of those I'd rather they didn't use them 6 moths later, so I make them 8 months or whatever (eg first 10 I will make 6 months expiry date, the next 10 7 months etc) that way they don't all expire the same week with lots of demand. People with gift certificates seem to want last minute appointments.

The other thing you MUST include on gift certificates and even package options is your cancellation policy, even if it is just a brief 'Cancellation Policy – 24hr notice required or services may be forfeited', otherwise the dreaded no show can be quite common.

 

[ilovejustinbieber(:]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

Re: expiration dates:
1) A nice thing that some of our customers (MTs) put on their gift certificates is, "The gift of health never expires."
2) If you can get the address of the receiver, you can send them a postcard or letter (with a brochure, for instance) after a certain number of months, reminding them of the gift certificate, and saying that you would still love to meet them. Or you can encourage them to call with any questions. One of the best ways to get new people in is with gift certificates, so do what you can to get them redeemed!

 

[Exilis]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

Since we sell GCs that are valid in 13 states, we have given up on trying to keep track of the expiration issue and make them open ended.

Donated GCs are a different story -- if it is a prize or reward or uncompsensated gift you can put an expiration date on them in every state, so we go 1 year on rewards, 6 months on gifts or comps.

 

[Shivani]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

We have gift cards that are activated by being swiped through the cc machine. Supposedly (according the company) they retain full value for a year, after that $5 is deducted monthly from the full amount by them. However, I have yet to encounter a card that has had anything deducted from it even over a year.

When we did handwritten certificates, it was stated on the front that it expired one year from the date purchased. If someone found an old one though, we would honor it. We've had several people whose certs got packed away in Christmas boxes only to be found the following year expired, but they would get their service.

We had a woman call who got all kinds of nasty on the phone with the owner, saying her exhusband had given her a gift card for one of our largest package a few years ago and she couldn't find the card but still wanted to come in. The nasty started when the owner told her we needed the gc or gc reciept to honor it (when we sell a card we tell the buyer to hang on to the gc receipt, so if something happens to the card the recipient can still redeem it since reciept has the gc # on it and we can enter it manually). We say 'Otherwise, we have no way of tracking the card.' This woman said 'I can't believe you sell that many gcs that you don't know who he was!!' Umm..we sell about $8000+ the month of Dec alone, we have no way of knowing who they are going to or who will end up with them (regifting has happened), and no way of knowing if she already used the card 2 years ago and just forgot, since she says she's been in years ago. We were like !!!! She said she would call the atty general on us but apparently nothing came of that.

 

[Jonny Mick]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

Thank you all! I have been a little absent lately, been very busy getting things up and going. I appreciate all your help. I think I am going to leave that open-ended, and if I donate or give them - I will put an expiration date on them, of 1 year I guess. I think I like that idea.

Speaking of donating gift certificates - where do you donate them? We have a fundraiser for a teacher in our school, that is battling cancer, and they are asking for items that can be put into a silent auction. I am thinking of making a basket, with a gift certificate, etc.

 

[Em :)]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

About gift certs... I'm in Texas, so YMMV TX doesn't regulate gift certificates so much, and we can pretty much put whatever expiration date we'd like. I put a date on mine, 1 year from the date purchased. Does this make me look difficult? I don't think so. In fact, on the contrary, I think it sends a clear yet fair message to clients that you do have your boundaries and limits. I think that WITHOUT a date, a client might try to take more advaneforum.xxxe - it might send the message that we allow ppl to walk all over us. Granted, with GCs it's probably a small message, but a message nonetheless. However, GC laws vary widely from state to state. By putting a date in accordance with your state's laws, I don't think you'd come across as difficult, nor do I think you'd turn anyone away. Honestly, if someone was put off by a year's expiration date, I might actually question (internally) whether I really want that client. There are plenty of others out there who wouldn't put up a fuss.

About the refund on unused visits in a discounted package... Here's what I did back when I sold packages. When I started in Sept 2004, I charged $60/hr but on the back of my business cards I put an introductory offer of a 3-pack of 1-hour visits for $150. (The clients weren't just limited to a single 3-pack, they could keep purchasing 3-packs as often as they wanted to, but the catch was that this intro offer ended on Dec 31, 2004. This way, I didn't have all these pre-paid packages hanging around for years on end long after I'd gone through several rate increases, ya know?) Everyone finished out their packages and I never had to refund anyone, but I did play the situation out in my head, and this is what I came up with: I figured that if anyone asked for a refund, I would give them what was left over after their used visits had been deducted at regular single-session pricing. Meaning this: if they paid $150 for a 3-pack and after 1 massage (which retails for $60 single-session) I would give them $90 back. (I don't treat 3 sessions for $150 as $50 per session.) My reasoning is, they made a commitment to themselves and me by purchasing 3 sessions. I made a commitment to them by allowing those sessions to be sold at a discount. If they break their commitment and decide not to use the remaining sessions, the deal is off and the discount no longer applies, because the discount is for *3* massages, not 1 or 2. So, if they used 2 of the 3 sessions and wanted a refund on the 3rd session, I'd give them $30 back. (2 x $60 = $120, and $150-$120 = $30.)

Hope that helps
Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[kate86]

Gift Certificate - Expiration Date or Not???

In Minnesota, gift cards can not have expiration dates. Every now and then, we get people redeeming cards that are 3+ years old. We even got an old paper gift certificate from 1999. :shocked:

Anyway, we have found that many people are very pleased to learn we still accept those older cards, and they have been quite willing to pay the difference for price increases since the card was issued. A number of these folks have become repeat clients, and even purchased gift cards for other people. Most haven't been to our place for a massage for years, and they usually comment on the service, or on how much they liked the massage they received *this time* compared to "the last time* (years ago). In a way, those old GCs represent a second chance for us to win over clients that weren't wowed the last time they were in.