Clear Path step · Business · Your industry's rules and risks
Give staff a stop rule for gift cards, refunds and 'head office' calls
Staff have a posted rule that stops gift card, refund and remote-access requests made by phone.
Why it matters: Scammers call stores pretending to be the owner, head office or IT to get gift cards, refunds or remote access. A clear rule protects staff from judging a convincing voice.
On your path if you picked “Retail and e-commerce” for “What's your industry?”.
Do it
- Post the rule at the register: no gift cards, refunds or remote access because someone called.
- Require manager approval, verified by callback, for refunds to a different card.
- Limit gift card activation amounts without manager approval.
- Brief new hires on it during onboarding.
Say this: If a caller says they're the owner or head office and wants gift cards or a refund, I hang up and call my manager.
Check it worked: Staff never buy gift cards, issue refunds to new cards or reset accounts because of a phone call, text or email, and know to call a manager on a known number.
Simply put
It's like a sign at the register saying the owner will never phone in an order for gift cards. A clear rule means staff don't have to judge a convincing voice; they just wait and call back.
In detail
These calls often arrive at shift change or late in the day, when managers are hard to reach; the rule must say what to do if no one answers: wait.
If this is new to you: Worried staff will upset the real owner? Have the owner say the rule out loud too. Waiting for a callback costs a real request a few minutes, nothing more.
Points toward the Long View: staff who stay steady whatever voice comes down the line.