USER'S FAQ's
In these early stages of the relaunched SMILE card scheme, prior to making your SMILE card purchases please present your
SMILE card and confirm that you will receive your discount. If a staff member
appears unfamiliar with the scheme please ask to speak with the manager or
owner, one of whom would have agreed the offer in the first place. If there are
any further difficulties in these early stages please ask them to call Richard
at SMILE on 07985 642245.
How does SMILE work?
1) The SMILE team has arranged, and continues to arrange, great value discounts and offers with local businesses that will encourage people to explore, shop, go out and use services locally. The Manager's or Owners of each business featured on this site have agreed to honour the offers described.
2) These offers are available to anyone who holds a valid SMILE card, each with its own unique membership number. There is currently a Free Trial available, or you can take advantage of an introductory rate and buy the 12-month card now.
3) Each offer has a number. On presentation of your SMILE card, the local business will cross the respective offer number off the back of your SMILE card, make a note of your membership number and give you your discount or bonus deal!
4) With the full 12-month SMILE card, you will have approximately 12 months to explore the local area and take advantage of as many offers on the card as possible, potentially saving yourself thousands of pounds as you do so. When you've used all the offers you think you might on a particular card, if you wish you can purchase a brand new card at a reduced rate.
5) You have great fun trying new businesses, exploring the local area, supporting local businesses AND saving money at the same time!
How much money can I save?
Most offers are in the form of a percentage discount, so the amount you
save will be directly proportionate to the amount you spend, but there
are certainly savings of well over £3000 to be made. For example, with
just one offer - 25% off your food bill at Indian Moment - if you took
a party of four and spent £20 each on food, you would receive a £20
discount, immediately getting back the price of your SMILE card... and
you'd still have all the other offers left to use!
Moreover, because we
will be adding new offers each month, the total value of the
discounts available to you is likely to increase considerably over the
year. We've put together an example of the savings a SMILE cardholder could make
through what we would consider a normal use of the card over 12 months.
How do I raise money for local community organisations
One of the initial reasons for the invention of SMILE was to find an easy way for individuals to raise money for local community organisations and for organisations to raise money for themselves.
Each time an individual buys a SMILE card for £20, £15 of this will go to the local cause they nominate on purchasing (or currently to Clapham's Trinity Hospice if no other charity is nominated). The accounts showing all SMILE card purchases and the donations made as a result will be publicly available.
If you tell people about SMILE and ask them to nominate a particular local cause, you can raise hundred's of pounds for your favourite local cause. It's a win-win situation as the person you tell will also gain access to hundreds of pounds worth of local savings.
For more information as to how you can support your community click here
There's currently a Free Trial. Why should I buy a SMILE card instead?
The Free Trial is a launch scheme that gives those who register for it around a month's free use of the offers. They will then have no further access to offers unless they become a SMILE member.
Do I need to have my card with me to get the offers?
Yes. The SMILE card needs to be presented to staff at the participating businesses in order to take advantage of the offer. If booking by phone, please ensure that you give the business your unique membership number and that you also have a valid card with you when you use a service or receive delivery of a product.
How do I know which venues have SMILE offers?
Many businesses will have a sticker on the window saying 'WE SMILE' but your main guide should be this website. All the offers currently available to SMILE cardholders are listed on Smileoffers.co.uk and its sister sites, SmileBattersea, SmileBalham, SmileEarlsfield and SmileClapham. New offers will be added on a regular basis (and some may be replaced), so it's worth checking back to see what additional savings you can make as the year progresses. Once you have a SMILE card, you are entitled to every new offer we promote during your membership. It just gets better and better value!
How will I know when new offers become available?
As well as appearing in their respective sections, new offers will be displayed on the homepage of Smileoffers.co.uk for the first few weeks of their introduction. We will also email SMILE cardholders on an infrequent basis to tell you of new local offers that have become available to you. Selected offers will also be included in Essential Local magazine, published each quarter and distributed to 20,000 local households.
I rarely have internet access. How can I discover what offers are available to me?
Look out for selected offers promoted in Essential Local magazine. Alternatively, if you are an existing cardholder you can call SMILE at Essential Local on 020 8432 3441 to request that a full list of current offers be posted to you. They will be correct at the time of going to print. There will be an administration fee of £5.
How do I know the local business or venue will accept my SMILE card?
Every offer displayed on this website has been agreed by the business concerned. In the event of a staff member not being aware of the SMILE card, please ask them to check with the manager: either they or the owner of the business will have agreed to the offer. In the unlikely event that you have any problems redeeming an offer please email us at Smile@essentiallocal.com.
What if a business offering a particular deal has closed or would not accept my SMILE card?
Unfortunately we cannot offer an alternative. Please note that when you
purchase a SMILE card you are purchasing access to a range of local
offers and not access to any particular offer. Offers may change, be
withdrawn or replaced as a result of circumstances beyond our control. Although we cannot guarantee individual
offers, new deals will be added to the website every month and your
card will continue to offer extremely good value.
Can I pay for my SMILE membership by cheque or cash?
The easiest way is to pay by debit or credit card directly using the secure Paypal section on this site. However, if you live or work locally and would rather pay by cash or cheque, please email Smile@essentiallocal.com and we can arrange for one of our representatives to give you your membership card in person.
How long are the offers valid for and how do I renew my card?
All offers which are displayed on the SMILE websites at the time of redemption will be available to SMILE cardholders. Your SMILE card will be valid until the 'Valid Until' date described on your card, inclusive of that date. Currently, the alternatives are a one-off Free Trial card, valid for approximately 30 days, and a full 12-month SMILE card available for £20 inclusive. To receive a new card, simply purchase another on this site and it will be sent to you. A 'Renew Card' option will appear on this site when that option becomes relevant later in the year. Buy card now
Will more offers become available to me even after I buy my SMILE card?
Once you have bought your SMILE card you are entitled to ALL the offers that appear on this website while your card is valid, including the additional local discounts that we will be introducing throughout the year. We cannot accurately predict how many there will be but we expect there to be at least 70+ offers available to you by the end of Summer.
How many times can I use my Card and get the offer at each business?
Each offer is available once per Card. Every offer has a unique number allocated to it which the venue will cross off from the back of your Card after it has been used. Some venues offer more than one deal, but each has offer has a unique number on your card. There are numerous offers from which to choose and venues/businesses to try, but if you find yourself having used most of your offers and want the original ones back, you can buy a second card at any time... and make twice the savings!
I've paid for my SMILE card - where is it?
If you purchased your card online it will be sent to you within 14 working days. You should have received an email from us thanking you for your purchase. If not, please check that your payment has been taken. If it hasn't then your order may not have been processed and you may need to submit your order again. If you continue to have problems, please contact us at smile@essentiallocal.com
Is my SMILE card transferable?
Sorry, No.
I have lost my SMILE card or used it so much that it's damaged, how do I get a replacement?
If you are a SMILE member and still have your card but it is damaged, we will replace it for £3. We will cross off the same offers as your original card. If you lose your card completely and need a new one, we can arrange a new SMILE card to be sent to you (with all the offers once again available) at a renewal cost of £10. To arrange either of these please email smile@essentiallocal.com from the email address that you registered the card with us in the first place.
I have other questions, how should I get in touch?
Please email us at smile@essentiallocal.com and we will answer your questions as soon as we can.