For Administrative Professionals Day I got cards and flowers and such, and I also got a few gift cards. Every gift card I receive is a golden opportunity, and I like to use them. Sometimes I accumulate them for a bit, but they always get used. I have already planned a visit to Starbucks to get a drink or two (but not of coffee, since I’m a tea drinker). I can visit Outback for their wonderful food which will take me five visits to the gym to work off (totally worth it) and Cheesecake Factory for dessert. Then I can hit Wawa (there seems to be one every two miles around here) and Barnes & Noble (not quite as many, but I know the locations of five of them). If I get stomach distress, I have a card from CVS. Once I feel better, I’ll do Dunkin’ Donuts.
Stores seem to like their own gift cards more than cash or credit. I never get a bad attitude from somebody behind the counter when I use one. Recently I had a coupon mailed to me from McDonald’s for a free Extra Value Meal. Normally I don’t do a full meal because I like to have my own beverage–even if it’s just water–but I was on a time crunch and decided to go for it. The cashier didn’t know what to do with it and had to ask a manager. Funny how some of these things work: cards and coupons are both virtual reality cash, but one was more of an enigma than the other. Maybe they just didn’t know where to store it: under the cash or under the gift cards.
Even if you get a card from a place you don’t normally visit, it can be a fun adventure just to poke your head in and try something on your gift giver’s dollar. It’s great to discover a new favorite. Some folks go on trading websites and swap for a familiar merchant card at a loss of some value off your original gift. I can’t picture doing that, especially if the gift card involves food. I’ll try something new at least once, and often I’ll end up coming back and having it again. Those same folks who trade their gift cards sometimes seem to feel that the giver shortchanged them by not getting an actual item, but I don’t feel that way. A gift card adds something new to a regular aspect of life–the shopping or dining experience–which puts you in control of what you buy, so actually the giver is getting that item for you in a way.
Thank you for the gift card. Whatever I get, I’ll think of you as having wrapped it.
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