Ask The Planner: A No Cash Gift Card

I received this question last week and I must say, it is an interesting one: especially in these hard economic times. Read on, Dear Reader.

Dear Katasha--

I have a problem that I quite don't know how to approach. I had a bridal shower and someone who wasn't able to attend. Gracious as she was, she sent me a card in the mail, along with a gift card. Well, when I went to use the gift card, the cashier told me there wasn't any money on it! So, I'm not really sure what I should do or say about this. I mean, she didn't have to get me anything. Should I just let it ride and say nothing? Help!
AR

Dear AR--
This is certainly a sticky situation and I'm glad it's not me! Kidding!. . .Kinda. . .

I would totally agree with you that the gift giver didn't have to get you anything, but since she did, I really think she meant for you to have something. So I would tell her about the unfortunate incident at the store. I would give her a call and keep it light: "Hey, I tried to use your gift card today and I think they may have forgotten to activate it when you bought it. . ." or something along those lines. That should then be her cue to offer up a remedy to the situation. If she does not replace the faulty gift card, well--you may be out of luck. In this situation, I wouldn't try to belabor the point.

I asked a few of my planner friends (the hilarious ones!) how they would address this sitch and here is what they had to say:

Andria of Andria Lewis Events said: "I would tell the gift giver that you greatly appreciate the thought. Then gently let [her] know that the store seems to think the card is not usable. I would avoid saying the words 'there is no money on the card'. If she doesn't make the situation right, then leave it alone. There could be any number of reasons this happened and you don't want to embarrass her any further. You want to be sure to remain gracious."

Terrica of Fabuluxe answered like this: "Well. . .they say that it's the thought that counts. Write a thank you note and let it go. How you walk out of a store with a card with no money on [it] is beyond me, because I'm not even sure it's possible. But since [you weren't] expecting a gift, and to avoid embarrassing the giver, just send a note and move on. Otherwise, the giver may truly feel obligated to give more than she probably can right now."

Lastly, Saundra of planning. . .forever had this to say: "I recently won a $25 gas gift card and I gave it to my husband and the stupid thing didn't work. It was reported back to the business that bought them, apparently it was an error on the gas side. Now imagine if this person really bought this gift card, spent cold, hard cash on it and there was an error due to an 18-year-old, pimply-faced kid who didn't run it right. If I gave the gift card, I'd be more pissed than embarrassed. So honestly, I would call the person. Thank [her] so much for their thoughtfulness and [she] should know that the store is jipping them. Don't make it a big deal, more like the gift giver should know that the store isn't providing the services that she paid for. And if the b**** did give a blank gift card, then she deserves the phone and the "call out!"

Well, my friends, there you have it. A few different answers from a few different experts. I' d love to hear from the Land of Blogosphere: How, exactly, would you approach this dilemma? Please leave a comment!
Photo Credit: Saks
Edited at 10:30 am; 12/2/08