Ten months ago, to cheer up an unhappy niece of mine, I sent her a gift certificate for a three-month subscription to Netflix, and a large box of microwave oven popcorn bags. She wrote to thank me for the gift certificate (she didn’t yet know about the popcorn).
However, UPS tried four times unsuccessfully to deliver the popcorn to her apartment. I was monitoring the package delivery at the UPS site, and after the third attempt, I e-mailed my niece to give her the address of the UPS station, told her that it was only a 12-minute walk from her, and that it was open 9 to 9 five days a week. No response. The popcorn was eventually returned to the vendor, and my money was refunded.
Recently I got an e-mail from Netflix telling me that my gift subscription had never been used over the past ten months, would expire after twelve months, and asking if I’d like to apply the amount to my own account.
The etiquette question: Do I get on her case and ask why she’s been so negligent or apathetic? Or say nothing?
I can think of times when I was young and single that I might have reacted like that. Is she really busy? A 12 minute walk doesn’t seem like much, but if it needs to happen when it’s cold, dark, and I’m alone, it’s not going to happen easily, especially if the neighborhood isn’t great. I remember packages that went to the Post Office being a huge PITA, and I usually wound up getting them on Saturday, which it doesn’t sound like would have been an option for her.
Regarding the Netflix, maybe she doesn’t realize it expires? And/or she just keeps never getting around to it. This sounds obvious, but she does have a DVD player, right?
I think it’s nice that you were trying to cheer her up. I wouldn’t make a big deal about it. You might use the Netflix expiration as an opportunity to talk with her, see if she actually wants to use the certificate, and ask how she’s doing, let her know you care.
I would let it go, but this is mostly based on my experiences with UPS. I’ve actually seen them come to my door, knock and leave the slip, without waiting at all. Just my opinion, of course, but many of these drivers just seem to want to get through the route as quickly as possible, whether delivery attempts are successful or not.
The UPS station was just 0.7 mile from where she lived in Greenwich Village, New York City. This was in May, when the sun was up until 8 p.m. I e-mailed her twice about picking up the package. The package sat at the UPS station for 16 days after the delivery attempts before it was returned. And yes, she has a DVD player.
Why not just email her and say “Hey, I got a notice from Netflix that the gift subscription I got you is going to expire without being used. Is there something else I can get for you instead?”
Since you’ll get the cost of the subscription put back to your account, you’re not out the money and it will open the topic for conversation. She probably just forgot about it.
Definitely apply the subscription to your account. Don’t sweat the gift sent UPS. She’s apparently not interested, so don’t even ask about it or waste time on a new gift.
I sent my friend a Kiva gift certficate for her birthday a year ago. Just got the email saying it hasn’t been redeemed yet. Now she’s buying a house and moving so I’ll guess she’ll not get to it. That’s OK–it becomes a donation to Kiva and that’s fine, but it would have been fun if she had chosen a recipient.