Need better administration of eGift cards

[eriktaylorlmt]

I've been having a real problem with eGift cards over my years with Square as my payment (and scheduling) provider. Everything works fine when the customer shows up with their printed email with the card number on it, but that's about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, they haven't brought the email and the email that it was sent to isn't the same one they booked with, so the Appointment app hasn't associated the two. So thus begins an odyssey of asking if there are any other email addresses they use that the eGift could've been sent to, or searching for the sender's email (even more problematic). There are very few easy options for connecting to the eGift card at that point, especially at the end of a massage session when the customer is feeling somewhat spaced out and unable to be very helpful. Needless to say, this is the end of their time with me for that day, and it leaves a less-than-ideal last impression when it seems like I can't get my act together to receive payment. 

I also get a few people who are unsure if they've already paid through the Appointment app at the time they scheduled. I just had one last week where the wife made an appointment for the husband, and he says she thinks she paid for it, but I don't have any record of it, and don't have the first clue where to look, so now I have to contact her to find out when she thought she paid, and if she has any documentation to back it up, etc. In the meantime, I've provided the service and sent the husband home with a promise that he'll pay an invoice if I can't find that his wife actually paid. Not professional at all...

So what I would like, at the very least, is to be cc'd on eGift sales, with the card number, so I have a chance at finding it with a search through my emails. Or add some similar feature through the transactions tab, where I can search via recipient's name.

This is harder than it needs to be.

Thank you,

Erik

[BernadetteA]

Thanks for posting, @eriktaylorlmt

I can understand the frustration you must feel when having to deal with this type of situation. At this time, the only way for an eGiftCard to be redeemed is with the full PAN that is provided in the email. 

A workaround would be to confirm with the Customer the purchase date, or month, and the last 4 digits of the card used to buy the Giftcard. Once you locate that from the Transactions tab in SQ Dashboard , the receipt will link you right to the Giftcard.

Thanks again for submitting this feature request, and we'll make sure to forward the feedback to the team. 

[eriktaylorlmt]

With respect, that’s not a workaround. 
At best, the customer may know a general timeframe (within weeks; days if I’m lucky), but it’s frequently “sometime four months ago”, and I get to do the legwork. But as for asking the gift recipient for the last four digits of the credit card that the purchaser used? Does that sound like something that they would reasonably be expected to know? And that’s with the assumption that they’re acting in good faith and actually have a gift card to redeem and aren’t trying to scam me. And I’m trying to figure it out in the five minutes I have when they’re trying to get out the door, and I need to be preparing for my next client. 

My choices are very limited at that point: trust that I’ll be able to track their gift card down, or ask for payment to cover my time because they didn’t bring the printed email with them. 

It reflects poorly on *me* and my business, despite the fact that it’s *your* shortcoming. And I’m sick of having to say that in most other ways Square is a great provider, but in this regard they’ve totally dropped the ball. All for the want of cc-ing me on the gift email. 

CC-ing me on the email would be a workaround. What you’ve suggested is not. 

Adding “Name” fields to the transactions panel would be more of a solution than a workaround. Square *has* this information from the original sale, all I’m asking is access to the same information. You have facilitated the sale, but they are *my* clients, and it is *me* who is responsible to provide my labor in return for the money that *I’ve* received. It shouldn’t be a secret kept from me. 

So if we’ve reached the end of what you are able to do about this, “workarounds” that aren’t, please escalate this to somebody who can create a workable solution. 

I appreciate your time and attention, and apologize if I’ve come across rudely. My window of tolerance for this ongoing issue is closed and I have no patience left. 

Regards,

erik