Issue No. 8 - Apr 01, 2008
This was no April Fools...but more like Christmas (no kidding!)
When I opened my mail yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised by two items I received:
1) A promotional mailing from a restaurant chain called KINCAID'S FISH, CHOP & STEAK HOUSE. This restaurant concept can currently be found in 10 cities throughout the country...there is one in Norfolk, VA, near to where I live. They are part of the Seattle-based chain, RESTAURANTS UNLIMITED, INC. (found at www.r-u-i.com), with about 55 restaurants comprised of about 22 different concepts (most of them single-store concepts).
The mailing read: $20 Gift Card Enclosed." Inside was a $20 value gift card, valid through May 22, 2008. There are not very many "strings attached," all of which are quite reasonable: not valid on Mother's Day, May 11th...valid for food and beverage only...valid for Dinner only...not valid for Carry Out...one promotional card per table...and not valid for their "First Seating" menu.
Basically, it was like sending me a $20 bill in the mail. While I could go in to the place and with the value on the card alone, just have an appetizer and a beer or two, I am sure their intent is to get me to come in and have dinner with one or more other persons. Looking at their local menu, with dinner entrees averaging about $23-$25, it is almost like "buy one, get one free." Not a bad deal, especially in today's economy.
I've always enjoyed an above average experience on my visits to the local KINCAID'S. I don't know how my name made it to this list (I must have signed up soon after their 1999 opening), but this is about the fifth or sixth year running that I've received the same offer. If you live near one of their restaurants, you may want to visit for dinner and see what you need to do to get your name on this list!
(If you were lucky enough to receive one, make sure you enter it in your own "MY GIFT CARDS" account found on this site, and send yourself a reminder to use it by the May 22, 2008 end date, as the offer will not be extended. Fair enough.)
2) I finally received a reply from BLOCKBUSTER (www.blockbuster.com) about some expired gift cards. BLOCKBUSTER Gift cards issued before November 6, 2007 used to expire after 24 months of non-use. I had cards that had lost $65 in value. Their new cards do not expire.
I contacted their Dallas corporate office Customer Service department in December about the problem (in reality MY problem for letting the two cards expire). In my letter, I used the one piece of leverage I had: I would cancel my BLOCKBUSTER TOTAL ACCESS account if they did not restore the value of the expired gift cards.
It took awhile, but they did the right thing for me, enclosing a gift card valued at $65.
Receiving gift cards valued at $85 in the mail when all I expected were bills...this worked faster than President Bush's economic stimulus plan! So, now you see why it was more like Christmas Day than April Fools Day!
The sounds of "PLAY BALL" are echoing through stadiums all across the land. The sounds of "Buy a Gift Card" are silently whirring through cyberspace.
Yes, even some of the Major League Baseball teams have embraced gift cards as a new form of currency at their ball parks. Currently, 10 of the thirty MLB teams issue gift cards in various denominations: The Washington Nationals, the Texas Rangers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland Athletics, the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals.
Each gift card has its own limitations as to where in the ball park it can be used (box office admission, concessions, retail). All are available on the www.mlb.com site. There is also a "universal" MLB.com Gift Card available on the site, which is valid for online ticket purchases only (non-discounted single game) at each of the above team's own web-sites...or, for merchandise only at the MLB.com site.
I'll trade you two Atlanta Braves 2008 Gift Cards for one Cleveland Indians 2007 issue.
Not only do we have a lingering war, a housing market in the dumps, high gas prices, slowing economy, a messy mortgage crisis, banks and investment firms in trouble...but now we also have to deal with the service providers for The SmithsonianStore.com and the Smithsonian Catalogue walking off the job.
While it is technically not part of the federal government, THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION receives about 80% of its funding from the government, and, their Board of Regents includes the Vice President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court...so, we might as well call it "ours." Undertaking some research for one of the recently-added Product & Service Categories found in our GIFT CARD REPORT CARD on the site --- "Broadcast/Media, Cultural Arts & Museums" --- I ran across a posting on the website for THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (www.smithsonian.org) under the "SHOP" category:
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Smithsonian Catalogue and SmithsonianStore.com are currently unable to process orders, ship merchandise, or provide you with any other shopping services.
An outside service provider under contract with the Smithsonian to provide a variety of services critical to the day-to-day operations of our catalog and internet gift business has suddenly and unexpectedly ceased all operations. This has created a difficult and frustrating situation for us in the short term, making it impossible for the Smithsonian Catalogue to operate, let alone to perform at the level of excellence you expect and deserve from us.
This vendor served as our call center, our mail processing center, our computer center, our customer service center, our warehouse and our distribution center. Since the moment their services stopped, we have been actively exploring a wide variety of possible solutions in an effort to replace these services as quickly as possible both on a temporary and a permanent basis. And while we can assure you we will be up and running again soon, we now realize it is unlikely to be as soon as we would like it to be.
Please understand that this suspension of services was not caused in any way by the Smithsonian or the Smithsonian Catalogue. Now in our 34th year proudly serving Smithsonian's members, our catalog and internet gift business is strong, the locked warehouse is full of exciting new merchandise, the Summer Catalogue is at the printer ? and yet we must disappoint you and our other loyal customers by putting everything on hold while we locate a new service provider.
In fairness, the site does indicate that their e-Gift Certificates will be honored once SmithsonianStore.com has restored their service operations. So, if you are in possession of one of these, and you wanted to do your own little part to help stimulate the economy, hold on for a little while longer.
POSTAGE/SHIPPING COST WATCH...
As a new feature on the site...helping consumers save money when purchasing gift cards online, we'll begin to regularly offer comparisons. We try to keep the postage costs updated for each of the over 1000 retailers found on the GIFT CARD REPORT CARD function of the site, but this is another way to get you thinking when deciding the best or most economical way to get a gift card from Point A to Point B. Of course, it is up to you to consider how fast the card needs to get there, and, how secure the shipping is.
- On 03/24, ordered a $10 SILVER DINER (www.silverdiner.com) Gift Card. Selected the least expensive shipping option, USPS First Class Mail of $3.25. The envelope was shipped from the fulfillment center for SILVER DINER, NBO SYSTEMS in Salt Lake City on 03/25 and received in Virginia on 03/27.
- On 03/24, ordered a $10 RED ROBIN (www.redrobin.com) Gift Card. Selected the USPS First Class Mail shipping option for $0.75. The confirmation read "allow 7-10 days for delivery." The envelope was shipped from the RED ROBIN fulfillment center in Irvine, CA on 03/25 and received in Virginia on 03/27.
Shipping for RED ROBIN was $2.50 less expensive...but received in the same amount of time.
Both of these gift cards will soon find their way to one of our partners in GiftCardTRACKER Cares...the Navy League of the United States, Hampton Roads Chapter...to be used as recognition gifts for some deserving service men or women.
Shop with knowledge, and remember: the consumer holds all of the cards.
Ken Hawkins
The Card Shark