First, the Good News...

...Jesse Wong's Kitchen's manager called me again to say her programmer did finally find that the gift card had an original $60 value when it was purchased on 11/16/07 (the day before my birthday) and then it had a $0 balance without any explanation or transaction date.  Apparently there was some monkey business, but the current manager basically said it wasn't on her watch and what's past is past.

The bad news: she thinks trying to issue a credit on my Visa would cause more trouble, so she's putting the $60 balance back on my JW Kitchen card and returning it to me via registered mail to guarantee I'd get it.  And she said because she will do anything to make me happy, she will give me an additional discount on my meal there.  I said if she really wants to make me happy, she can exchange the card for Jesse Wong's Hong Kong, since we love that place. Unfortunately, the three JW restaurants are owned by separate corporations, but she'd try.  As she's also in charge of Asean Bistro, I said I would also take a card from there if Hong Kong was no go. So we'll see how it all works out.

I hope I don't have to go back on my word and eat there again.  LOL  But if I do, I'll be calling her to make sure she's there when I am, so this whole f*cked up transaction doesn't happen again.