Improving customer satisfaction using Stored-Value Cards

Most people only think of gift cards when someone mentions stored-value card programs. But the uses for stored-value programs go far beyond just gift cards. Stored-value cards can be used as redemptions in your loyalty or rewards program, as refund tools so you don't have to give cash back, as incentives that you can sell to other businesses, and the list goes on.

One area that we feel they are particularly useful is for improving satisfaction when a customer that has had a bad experience with your business. Here's an example of a customer dissatisfaction that could have been addressed by issuing a stored-value card:

"This last New Years, as part of our festivities, I visited a high-end restaurant with my wife and several friends, expecting a delightful evening with a beautiful five course meal. Unfortunately over the course of the evening, several of the courses came to us burned to a crisp, putting the people that received the burned food out of cycle with the rest of our group as they waited for replacements. In fact, some in the group received their deserts while others were just getting their main courses. And to top it all off, at the end of the evening it took 10 minutes to find the coats that we had "checked", as they had been moved to a table in the back of a storage room! The manager acknowledged the mistakes in cooking, but did nothing to improve our evening, except making sure that the items were replaced."

Now, any experienced manager in the retail or hospitality industries will tell you that the big test of your business and its efforts to support your loyal customers is what you do when something does go wrong.

I can think of several ways that the manager could have used a stored-value card to reduce my dissatisfaction with the meal. First and foremost, by giving me a card loaded with the value of my meal that can only be redeemed at his restaurant, he is encouraging me to come back and try his food again. Otherwise I may just walk away and never set foot in the business again because of my bad experience. It would only be to his benefit to have me return to try their food again. Hopefully my experience will be better the second time around.

Secondly, he is acknowledging that his business has made a mistake, and he is willing to provide some form of compensation for my bad experience. Not just doing the minimum by replacing the food, but by financially compensating me for the poor quality of the food that was served to me initially.

Third, by checking on the number of cards that are issued, he could track the number of customer complaints. If they are decreasing, his business is doing better in that department, and if they are increasing, he is probably not doing as good. Businesses can also get a report to see if the customer ever redeemed the value of the card, which will help them gauge how effective this strategy is for the business.

Finally, from a business perspective, he could also reduce the fraud aspect of his customer satisfaction, return or refund program by using stored-value cards. By requiring employees that provide refunds to input their employee ID number when a stored-value card is activated, he can check for any anomalies in the amount or number of refunds provided, which can help identify any fraudulent activity.

Think outside the box in the use of your stored-value programs. You may come up with an idea of ways to improve your business with stored-value cards that no-one else has ever created.

Avoid the Card Ordering Rush
Order now so your cards are ready for the holiday season

Have you thought about ordering additional cards for your gift card or loyalty program this year? Many of you may be asking yourselves, "Why are they talking about this in April? Isn't it way too early?"

The reality is that as you get closer to the fall season, the likelihood of your card order being completed in time for the holiday rush starts to diminish. In fact, according to our card manufacturing suppliers, the longer you wait in the year to make your order, the longer it will take to get your order.

For example, in 2005 if you had ordered your cards in May, our manufacturing partners could have returned your order within four to five weeks. If you had waited to make that same order in September, you would have had to wait six to eight weeks. And if you had waited until November, your order would not have been available until January 2006, missing the holiday season entirely.

Consider placing your order early this year. This will give you enough time to get all necessary approvals from your organization and help you avoid last -minute decisions and deadlines. It will also help you avoid any fees for placing a rush order to ensure that you have cards for the holiday season.