Angry Letter Final

Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814

Dear Ala Moana Administration,

My family and I have been coming to the Ala Moana shopping center for many years and come almost every other week. The variety of stores and restaurants, along with the location ensures that we come back.

However, recently with the introduction of the Ala Moana gift cards, it's been very inconvenient for me along with other shoppers. I was shopping at one of the stores in the mall and wanted to buy something using the Ala Moana gift card. The cashier asked me if I knew how much was on the card and I said no. Then, she gave me this website to go on to check my balance, which resulted in me just paying cash to avoid the hassle and holding up the line. I went to a couple of other stores and got the same response. Also according to your website, it says that in order to check your gift card balance, you need to visit guest services or call. It is very inconvenient to have to remember your balance whenever you purchase something, or have to call/visit the kiosk to find out how much you have on your card. I understand that this card is different from regular gift cards because of the fact that you can use it any store in the mall, but it would be much easier for the shoppers if they could just swipe the card and go.

Also, if I wanted to buy something that costed more than the amount that was on the card, the transaction wouldn't work. There are many examples of similar experiences that I saw on yelp.com, along with an article by The Honolulu Advertiser. Some customers ended up throwing away the gift card while there was still money on it to avoid the hassle of obtaining a balance. By making the gift cards easier to use, I think that more people will purchase them and be more satisfied.

Getting a gift card that you can use at whatever store you want is a perfect gift, but I feel that you should make it easier for the shoppers by allowing us to use the card without having to know the balance of it. It would be much more convenient and would make our shopping experience at the mall much more enjoyable.

Sincerely,
Kelci Sumida