Gift Voucher Money

[shellbert]

I am in the process of closing down a business in the form of a Beauty room rental within a hair Salon which I started back in October. Due to the fact that it has not taken off as I thought and it was very quiet through Xmas despite it being known as a Beauty salon for 3 yrs before I started. Had the economy in general not taken a downslide then I would prob have carried on but I also have another Salon to run and a 21 months little boy who I need to think about.
Anyway... I made my decision over the weekend and told the owner I no longer had the time or money to carry on the business, and he said I needed to return the gift voucher money I took over Xmas. He said that Gv money is a great way of storing cash and an advantage in business and he doesn't believe in anyway I have earned this. I offered to go in and do the trts for the gv's that had been purchased but I suppose this wasnt a good idea if I'm still doing this 6 months down the line.But there was probably only about 5 that were sold. He said that wasn't an image he wanted to portrait to clients and would be unfair on the whoever took over (fair point).
But then I thought, if I wasnt there offering a Beauty service then he wouldn't have had those people buying them in the first place.
Would it be unreasonable of me to suggest refunding the gift vouchers when or if they are redeemed in the future?
Or do you think he has a right to take the gift voucher money?
I'd love to hear any comments please.....

 

[izzidoll]

Sorry, I agree with the salon owner and you should refund the money in order for it to be returned to the clients who bought them if they can no longer have these treatments.

When I ran my salon I always kept money taken for vouchers seperately, and then put it into the till when the treatment was carried out. To put voucher money through in your takings when you sell them is a bit risky, as what happens if the vouchers all book in on the same week, you will have no takings that week to cover your overheads.
Hope this makes sense.

 

[jeanettes]

Personally I would sooner be contacted direct by the purchaser and then refund.
Can you totally trust the landlord to return the money? - is there the slightest possibility it might still fall back on you (a dishonest landlord could say you had not honoured your commitments - you never know!). I wouldn't want the possibility that it may look bad on me (as you are still in the industry and running another shop).
Also, occasionally gift vouchers aren't redeemed so why should you pass that on the to the landlord?
However, looking at it from the shop point of view (and I hadn't done this until I started to answer this thread) - the landlord has the same dilemna - can they trust you to still be contactable when need arises.
Hmmn - difficult!
Does anyone have any other ideas to remedy the situation?
Best wishes,
JES

 

[Martin Duffy]

If the other salon you are running is nearby couldn't you phone the clients & offer them a choice between a refund or to redeem the treatments at the other salon?

 

[bombini]

Firstly have you kept a record of everyone you sold vouchers to ? I always keep details of the people that purchased the vouchers and ideally who they are intended for, incase they are ever lost/stolen.

Is he requesting that you return the gift voucher money to him or the clients ? If it is to him then I would not be agreeing to that at all ! If its to the clients then thats fair enough.

You are a seperate business so effectively you can do what you like it isn't really down to him. I would either contact all of the clients you sold the voucher to (if you have a record) and let them know that the vouchers are now valid at your other salon, if they are not happy with this then offer them a refund OR arrange with the salon owner that if/when he gets a new therapist they can do the treatment and you will pay them the value of the voucher.

If I purchased a voucher for someone and the recipient was offered the cash instead Id be a bit miffed, if i wanted to give them cash then i would of done, its a bit different if the salon was packing up completley or relocating but if an alternative location was available id rather they have the treatment.

Another thing to bear in mind is that there is nothing stopping the salon owner referring the clients to you even if you did pass the money on to him. A therapist I know had to give up her treatment room and the salon owner assured her that they would just honour the vouchers with the new therapist or in the hair salon as a gesture of goodwill but instead he gave the clients her home telephone number and address !!

 

[loubylou]

Sorry but the landlord would not be getting a penny from the gift vouchers,
they were bought from you and are your responsibility,
if you have the clients details contact them and them know where they can redeem the vouchers,
and leave some cards with contact details for the ones you can not contact with the landlord for him to give to them,
it is not his responsibility and all he has to do is explain that you have left and hand the card over with your details for the person to contact you.

 

[shellbert]

I understand people might wonder am I trustable to to contacted should a client want to redeem their vouchers- Yes I am! The Salon owner knows my husband so there is no risk of me disappearing off the earth!
He isn't going to refund the clients with vouchers as he doesn't know who they are, I received payment for the vouchers as I am a seperate business which brings me to agree with people who have said- why should I hand over the money, its my responsibility, the easiest solution is to refund the Salon when the gift vouchers are redeemed. That way they are getting money for treatments and the client is getting the service they requested.
My other salon is 20-25 mins away so I don't think offering another location would be viable.

xxxxx