Hi. We're Your Serve Clever Girls

This post is sponsored by Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account!

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Serve works well if you know what you're doing. 

Ahem. 

When Clever Girls told me I was going to be part of the #CleverServe project, I was psyched. Things are nuts around here, and also, given the holiday, money is...well, what money is: a fun, elusive thing that allows you to eat well and have fun but is not unlimited and nor are those blasted elves on shelves bringing any extra for kicks (at least not that I know of.) So it was really cool to be able to invite Jean, Sue, and Sarah to a nice dinner at Grapeseed Bistro in Bethesda to try out the Serve card. These are three of the busiest working moms I know, and I jumped at the chance to spend some time with them. 

Also, wine. 

Dinner was great, as it always is at Grapeseed. My favorite thing was a Mediterranean wine pairing that kicked off the night beautifully, and the pork shank that was thankfully more memorable for how delicious it was than it sheer size. We sat and ate and drank and talked for a few hours, which as you know if you're trying to grab any kind of time with friends in December is a gift itself. 

Then oysters with bacon buerre blanc. And I told you about this pork shank. 

Seriously, so full. 

I had activated my Serve card, and hoped I'd done it correctly because after all the wine and the oysters and the pork, well, no logistics, please. 

And that is where I think I screwed up. Rather than go with the best, and intended, usage of the card, which is to split and easily reimburse people for dinner, I just thought I'd cut out the middleman and pay for the meal. 

I am a dumb, dumb sugar sort of mama. 

For some reason the card was only approved for part of the amount in the account, and therefore part of the cost of the meal. This left about $100 left over, which left Sarah and Sue in charge of making up the difference, and me, aka Failed Sugar Mama, trying to sort out the whys and wherefores with a waiter who probably hated me and my Serve card. 

(This is entirely my fault and not Serve's.) (Please don't blame me if you go to Grapeseed with your Serve card and they process it, but look terrified while doing so. All my fault.) 

Jean would like you to know that this was all my fault. 

Anyway, the cool thing about this, and the silver lining and the cherry on top, etc., is that I was just able to go into my Serve account and reimburse Sue and Sarah from the account. And voila, that is, apparently, how the card is supposed to work, which is the point that I missed although it was clearly pointed out to me several times. 

Is it New Year's yet? 

So all things considered, this card is cool if you use it correctly, plus it's hooked up with American Express, so it's easy to get any problems resolved and customer service is solid. The neat thing about it is if you do split dinners, amounts can be reimbursed to bank accounts right from the table, via the Serve app, or you can handle it from a desktop later, as I did. Also, sign-up was very easy, the card came very quickly in the mail, and all communication was great. 

You just have to read the directions, Laurie. (These directions would have told me to go to the Serve blog to figure out just what in the world I was doing, and also that I'd get an extra $50 credit to somehow embarrass myself with if I referred a friend! And if you comment below? You'll be entered in a giveaway to win a $100 credit to a brand new Serve account. So do it! If you want to know more, they're of course on Facebook and Twitter too.) 

And all in all I don't think the ladies were too bothered by it. They  hang out with me enough to know to expect some...gaps here and there. 

Also, wine. 

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Remember to sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found by clicking here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

 

Comments

[jodifur]

I love grapeseed, but for some reason we haven't been in a long time. We always go to Redwood.

Seems like a fun night! Some of my favorite people!

[Sarah]

I signed up. I hope I win $100. I figure it is a good excuse to go out to dinner again.

[Gee]

I've signed up! Thanks!

[Stimey]

I had so much fun with you three. Thank you to you and to Serve for the yummy dinner with the fantastic friends. I am also very pleased that you used my angry face photo. <3

[erica best]

I signed up for a Serve account!

purple_lover_04 at msn dot com

[ClumberKim]

That pork shank gave me serious osso bucco flashbacks to San Diego! I will have thismuchwine, please!

[Jett]

I want some hundred dollars.

[Esther Irish]

I signed up! I need a girls night!

[anna pry]

i have a serve account
thepryfamily@gmail.com

[Cindy]

Looks like you had a fun time with friends. I signed up for serve.com! cindyorley @ akronohiomoms.com I would love to win to buy birthday party stuff for my 2 kids birthday parties in January! Thanks for the chance!