🛒 Checkout: Gift Card Not Working

Overview

This article outlines the steps to follow when a customer reports that their gift card isn’t working during checkout. This guide helps ensure a consistent, efficient resolution process and highlights exceptions for VIP customers or recently expired cards.

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🎯 Common Symptoms

Customers may report:

• “My gift card code isn’t valid.”

• “The system says my gift card is expired.”

• “My gift card balance shows as zero, but I haven’t used it.”

• “I can’t apply my gift card at checkout.”

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🧭 Step-by-Step Resolution

1. Confirm Customer Details

Collect the following details before proceeding:

• Customer’s full name and email address

• Gift card code (ensure there are no typos)

• Screenshot or description of the error message at checkout

• Approximate date and location of gift card purchase (if available)

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2. Validate the Gift Card in Backoffice

1. Access the Backoffice Gift Card Management System.

2. Search for the gift card code provided by the customer.

3. Check the following details:

   • Status: Active / Inactive / Expired

   • Remaining balance

   • Expiry date

   • Redemption history

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3. Identify the Issue

Based on the backoffice findings:

Status	Action
Active	Confirm the balance and advise the customer to retry checkout. If still failing, escalate to the Payments Support team.
Inactive or Suspended	Review for any flags or notes. If legitimate, follow reactivation process (see below).
Expired (within 24 hours)	Eligible for reactivation – see next step.
Expired (over 24 hours)	Not eligible for reactivation. Offer an apology and explain expiry terms politely.

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4. Reactivate Gift Card (if eligible)

Gift cards can be reinstated in the following cases:

• Customer belongs to a VIP organisation (check CRM profile or account notes).

• The card expired within the last 24 hours.

To reactivate:

1. In Backoffice, open the gift card record.

2. Select “Reactivate” or “Extend Expiry” (depending on system options).

3. Set new expiry date to 7 days from today’s date.

4. Add an internal note:

   “Reactivated per policy – VIP customer / expired <24h.”

5. Confirm with the customer that their card is now active and can be retried at checkout.

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5. Communicate with the Customer

Example response:

“Thanks for reaching out! I’ve checked your gift card and confirmed it’s now active again. You can retry your purchase, and the balance should apply automatically at checkout. If you experience any further issues, please let us know — we’re here to help!”

For cards not eligible for reactivation, use this variant:

“I’ve checked your gift card details, and it appears the card has expired. Unfortunately, we’re unable to reactivate it once it’s past the expiration period. We completely understand this can be frustrating — please let us know if we can help you with another payment option.”

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⚠️ Escalation Guidance

Escalate to the Payments Support team if:

• The gift card appears active, but checkout still fails.

• The card has incorrect balance or missing transaction history.

• The reactivation option is unavailable in the Backoffice system.

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✅ Summary

Step	Action
1	Collect customer and gift card details
2	Verify in Backoffice
3	Determine issue (active/inactive/expired)
4	Reactivate if VIP or expired within 24h
5	Communicate resolution clearly
6	Escalate if technical or payment errors persist