Entertainment
8 July, 2021
Wayne’s World: Gift card mayhem
G’DAY Tropicairnsians, With my grandkids birthdays coming up real fast, and a new, or should I say old re-opened but in a new address, toy shop is back in town, my mind obviously meandered to all things toys and gifts.
I struggle with choice these days, back when I was a young’un I was happy with a stick for my birthday. It would become a gun, a sword, a horse or just something to bash on the tin rubbish bin and make a hell of a racket, just because I could.
But today with so many toys, hundreds of lego kits, millions of Barbies, too many bored (yes that’s my correct spelling) games, where do you start.
The obvious answer: Gift Cards.
But let me give you the history of this idea from a few years ago in Brownsville.
The ankle biters were let loose in the toy store to run amuck with their gift cards in hand to choose their own presents.
Well after a lot of exciting screams of joy at the new toys there was a few cries of anguish after finding out that some toys were too expensive.
Their selections finally arrived at the checkout only then to find that the gift cards had been left somewhere instore during the great run and scream session.
Well mum, dad and grandparents then had to search the entire store with crying kids in tow.
Unfortunately, not a single card to be found (not very surprising at this outcome) and unfortunately to keep the peace we, the grand parents had to buy new gift cards at the register to bring the calm and smiles back to their tear smeared faces.
So, with this still firmly etched in my memory, I went into the “new” toy store to enquire about the possibility of registered gift cards.
The idea of having gift cards paid for by myself and put in the gift-receiver’s name online so they can have not only a physical card but also a credit stored in the company’s data bank, I presumed was a pretty simple idea as seeing how nearly everything we do in life is done online.
Unfortunately, the store owner says it is impossible to be done. I found this response to be amazing since with the power of computers we have landed space craft on Mars. and the original computers in the late 60s with less memory than a smart phone could send a rocket and men to the moon and back.
So really, why is this? Is it because of the extra money a business can gain when cards go missing and the giver must buy the gift cards again especially for the case of crying upset children, so the store gets a larger profit?
Or perhaps the number of gift cards lost and never redeemed because the owner cannot find the actual card?
In my opinion it makes sense to create a credit account to the value of the gift card.
You then can email-market directly to the holder or creator of the account.
Sell more stuff, send them special offers, encourage them to add more funds, the options are endless.
But most of all you protect the purchase of the gift cards and show responsible management of the credit purchased.
You know it make sense, perhaps only in the eyes of the purchaser and not the business.
Gotta get back to happy rants, for being sad is sad.
Wayne
