how to get the gift certificates show up in the coupon admin

[delia]

So the biggest problem with gift certificates - after one figures out how they work - is that if you have a customer who calls in an order and wants to use the gift certificate, you need to delete it in the database. Finding it in phpmyadmin took a long time because I was unaware that these are actually in the coupon table. That's where the redemption code sits - it's really just another coupon. So in order to show the gift certs in the same table is only a sql query change essentially. I'm sure I can figure it out eventually but really this needs to be considered for the future. Most of my clients who use gift certs have run into this type of situation so I'm sure it's not rare.

Someone wrote an entire mod several years ago which I have not tried but sounds like a good setup to follow - it actually bypasses the gift certs completely and is essentially an add-on and not a change to the cart or to the gift cert code.

If anyone has done the changes in coupon_admin.php already, speak up so I don't have to go digging thru all that code! I can package it up as a additional mod if I get some assistance and don't have to do it all myself.

[dbltoe]

Just a suggestion.

We started using Encrypted Master Password long ago as a method to take phone orders from customers. Granted, it may take a little more time if the customer does not have an account but, with that, you could use the Guest Checkout of One Page Checkout.

With EMP, customer [email protected] calls in and wants to make an order. The e-mail is entered in the login and the admin password used instead of the users password. From there, you are shopping as the customer and can easily enter the coupon code at checkout. Zen Cart will take care of coupon management just as if the customer themselves had done all the work. If you have a separate staff for phone orders, they can have their password restricted to a particular profile that allows them to order for the customer but not cancel, refund, etc.

Should not be any big problem unless the customer is not aware of the GC's or coupon's code.

Makes you more professional to the customer, as well. We often find that the person calling left an item in the cart because of a difficulty or confusion. "I see you have our Super Dooper Widget in your cart. Is that what you were wanting to order today?" They never realize you're in your PJs with a bowl of ice cream by the phone.

[delia]

I made a couple of changes to coupon admin to get what my client needed. With a brick and mortar store, he does not run his business in a wholly online way.

I've been working with Zen Cart since about 2007. I know about that module and if it were appropriate, I would have installed it.

[dbltoe]

I made a couple of changes to coupon admin to get what my client needed. With a brick and mortar store, he does not run his business in a wholly online way.

I've been working with Zen Cart since about 2007. I know about that module and if it were appropriate, I would have installed it.

Once again, please don't take this wrong. I am certainly not above missing a vital item in a post when proposing a solution. And I would not think of intending to "harass, belittle, humiliate, threaten or cause embarrassment to a fellow member."

Sometimes the solution is lengthy as I like to "teach the person to fish". That's been my goal since 2004 when I joined Ajeh and others on the move to Zen Cart. That is the very reason I am replying to this post. No other reason than to advise the individual that posts and to have a viable solution for future lurkers.

It seems that often the problem is not in what is presented but what is not presented in a post. While you certainly did not say something like "Gift Certificates don't work", it's more of the not-mentioned things that can wind up frustrating someone needing assistance. That's why my sig asks if folks have read the posting tips. I've long ago lost count on how many successful fixes were accomplished only after finding out one bit of information that was not in the original post. And, yes, in haste we've all done it from time to time. The inverse is also true if the forum member fails to RTFQ (read the full question). Picture me raising hand as guilty.

With Zen Cart being an online, e-commerce software, without knowing this case was at a brick and mortar, one could easily assume that the problem was more online than off. The Devil is in the Detail really comes to mind in this situation. That missing detail led me to my response. Perhaps an addition to the Posting Tips as to the environment involved.

Still, when presented with a customer using Zen Cart in a brick and mortar without the POS mod, I would want to investigate the EMP method. But, that's what makes open source grand. We can mold it any way the customer wants.