Last week I bought my wife and her mother pedicures at Kelly's Nails. It is something they both love and I try to keep them both as happy as possible. Unfortunately my wife wrapped them up in the newspaper and they got thrown out. I thought no problem> i will go back and talk the gentleman who sold them to me and he will write me 2 more and everyone will be happy. Not the case. He without hesitation told me NO. Is this bad buisness or is this the way it is? He even said he recognized me from when I purchased them.
Mothers Day Disappointment
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Most businesses treat gift certificates like cash and even have printed on the certificate that it is not replaceable if lost.
If he recognized you then he could have replaced them. IMO he should have - in doing it he would have made your family & friends repeat customers for a LONG time.
I was getting my nails done at a place in Destin and a lady came in & said she had done the same thing, but dumped coffee grounds on the certificate. The owner happily replaced it and she was happy. He has my business monthly no matter what! (of course that's not the only reason I go, but it reinforced what I thought about the business).
Sorry to hear this!!
Sorry to hear this!!
I agree. If he remembered you buying them he could have replaced them. They should have them numbered so if he replaced them, the prior lost ones could not be used. It was a bad business decision, imho. Keeping your business in the long run would have made him more profit than how he handled it.
Is the "guy" you spoke with an owner? If not, you may want to speak with the owner directly and give them a chance. 
I don't have nails, never have been here.
I don't have nails, never have been here.
It is standard procedure, but small businesses are usually willing to make a concession. Good grief--if he recognized you from the original sale, then he would probably recognize the women in your life if they tried to double-dip with gift certificates. Now I suppose he will recognize that you and yours will find a friendlier place to get mani/pedis
I think it's a father and daughter that run the place. By posting this on here, you've probably already hit him where it's gonna hurt, and unfortunately that may be the only consolation you can hope for.
Too bad for Kelly's...one of the cleanest nail salons I've ever been in.
Too bad for Kelly's...one of the cleanest nail salons I've ever been in.
If you put the purchase on your credit card, you might try to dispute the charge. The credit card will give each a chance to tell the story--it might work in your favor, it might not, but it might be worth a try.
The hardest part will come if the salon begrudgedly reissues the certificates--then you'll have to figure if it is in your wife and mother-in-law's best interests to have some disgruntled pedicurist digging away at their toes with sharp implements.
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The hardest part will come if the salon begrudgedly reissues the certificates--then you'll have to figure if it is in your wife and mother-in-law's best interests to have some disgruntled pedicurist digging away at their toes with sharp implements.
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The gift certificates most likely are numbered so they would be able to know if someone was trying to use them (say they found the ones thrown out). If the business keeps records it shouldn't cause them problems.
I say he could have easily chosen to honor them if he wanted to demonstrate good customer relations. But they would be like cash.
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I say he could have easily chosen to honor them if he wanted to demonstrate good customer relations. But they would be like cash.
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I feel badly for you since it was obviously never your intent to deceive. But put yourself in the owner's shoes--yes, he might have recognized you, but what does that mean? He doesn't know your wife and her mother. Yes, they could have come in with replacement certificates but what's to say that (worse case scenario) you didn't give the originals to two other people? You are not dishonest but there are plenty of people out there who are.
I am betting that the owner has been burned before and that is the reason he was so unforgiving towards you. In small businesses losses aren't easily absorbed. There has to be a good reason you were not given any leniency because, as everyone has pointed out, it would undoubtedly given the owner a lot of loyalty business from your family had he cut you a break.