DEAR MISS MANNERS: Sometimes, when at a loss as to what to get someone, I opt for a gift card. A while later, I have pleasantly asked what they got with it.
Oh my goodness, you'd think I'd rudely asked them if they were wearing any underwear! And they won't say or can't remember. Not just one time, but every time -- the teenagers are the worst.
So I adapted, and at the giving time I have sweetly asked (with brief eye contact) to please let me know what I "got" them.
Oh yes, they certainly will. Happiness and smiles all around. But then they don't. Is it wrong to ask what someone got with their gift card? My current solution has been to tell them I will be giving them a gift card and ask where would they would like to use it.
GENTLE READER: The reason Miss Manners dislikes gift cards is that they show a lack of knowledge or effort -- or both -- on the part of the gift giver.
So it does not seem fair that, having not yourself made the effort to determine what the recipient would like, you should also burden them with having to report back the results. The simplest way to know what you give people is to give it to them.