I'll never understand Groupon people. I get using coupons for necessities. But enduring a huge a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to be a pleasurable experience makes you look like an asshole.

I was out with my sis in law, her husband, and their two friends. One pediatrician, one nephrologist, a cardiologist and his patent attorney wife. I'm the poor one here. At the end of an enjoyable meal, they made all sorts of frigging hay about a goddam coupon that had expired. To say it ruined the evening would be melodramatic, but when the gross earnings of the six people at the table is somewhere between $1.5and $2M annually, there are better ways to spend your time and effort than arguing with management over a $50 coupon.

Babwa Wawa: I'll never understand Groupon people. I get using coupons for necessities. But enduring a huge a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to be a pleasurable experience makes you look like an asshole.

I was out with my sis in law, her husband, and their two friends. One pediatrician, one nephrologist, a cardiologist and his patent attorney wife. I'm the poor one here. At the end of an enjoyable meal, they made all sorts of frigging hay about a goddam coupon that had expired. To say it ruined the evening would be melodramatic, but when the gross earnings of the six people at the table is somewhere between $1.5and $2M annually, there are better ways to spend your time and effort than arguing with management over a $50 coupon.

My mom does front desk and some management stuff for a day spa. The owner wants to get into Groupon and the like. It's a nightmare for the merchant, too, from what she says.

And the stylists, etc., while they understand the need to bring new business in, hate it because they get screwed.

well, in this day of social media, i hope the hell they tweeted/FB'd the hell out of the experience.

Businesses that live by the Groupon die by the Groupon.

Walker: Businesses that live by the Groupon die by the Groupon.

This truth should be in the next revision of Kitchen Confidential as another sign of a dying restaurant.

Petit_Merdeux: Babwa Wawa: I'll never understand Groupon people. I get using coupons for necessities. But enduring a huge a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to be a pleasurable experience makes you look like an asshole.

I was thinking that while reading the story. Having to fight at every step of the process isn't worth the effort to me.

I just want to pay the fair price. One reason I hate buying cars and try to do it via email.


Burt! This bloke won't haggle.

I use Restaurant.com, groupon, Entertainment book, and some local cards and have never had a problem eating out with them. I always tip well pre-discounted price so if I return, I'll get good service.

Based on my experiences, I'd say that what happened was an isolated experience at a poorly managed restaurant.

If a restaurant uses groupon et al for advertising, they are the ones who need to hold up their end for the bargain of getting in customers.

stpauler: I always tip well pre-discounted price

I do, too. From what mom says, that's a rarity.

I could see possibly having a special "Groupon" menu of dishes that have a high "markup" (so, even getting only half price for them, they probably still come out ahead). Although, I would think that would need to be specified as part of the Groupon. But, just doing a "double price menu" because you have a Groupon is ludicrous. That is like saying because you have a $10 off $20 meal coupon, I need to charge you this $10 surcharge as well. If you are going to do Groupon's, then you are willing to get less money to bring in new customers, and if you don't think your place is so awesome that when they come in, they'll be so impressed that they'll want to come back again soon and frequently (and so, the cheap meal/service was worth it), then, you have bigger issues that won't be solved by a Groupon.


As far as personally myself..... I've bought about 4-5 Groupon's in the past for places I either know I like, or I've wanted to try anyway, but, haven't recently because either of .... (A) "tricks", not as bad as this one but still "stipulations" when using past ones or (B), I end up not using it before the expiration date. (which is, of course part of their sales pitch to the places).

Never had a problem with my groupons - two local restaurants and just recently a photo package from Target

OF COURSE a Groupon junky still has a friggin' LiveJournal.

I have to question the intelligence of management. You can write off the losses for that day on marketing.

The purpose of a coupon like that is to get people in the door to pay a lesser price than they would normally. The purpose is to get new customers and return business. What are the odds that the couple just screwed over by the restaurant will EVER set foot in that restaurant again.

The people Groupon brings in will only go places when they can get Groupon kinds of deals. You don't expand your loyal customer base.

Diogenes: And the stylists, etc., while they understand the need to bring new business in, hate it because they get screwed.

I can understand their frustration. Some idiots using coupons will only tip on the amount charged, not the cost of the full service sans coupons. I used to waitress and despised coupons for that reason. Occasionally, there'd be one normal human who understands how tips work and would tip a percentage of the full price but they were few and far between.

I used a $50 spafinder gift certificate last month for a massage. Total cost after the certificate was $28. The receptionist was plainly nervous about asking how much tip I wanted to put on the card and actually let out a relived sigh when I said $15.

/I've only used Groupon once, for movie tickets, and it wasn't a hassle at all
//I recently bought a dinner-for-two deal and am curious how that's going to work when I use it.

stpauler: use Restaurant.com

I do use those coupons a lot and I've never had an issue with them. However, I've noticed the caliber of participating restaurants has gone down over the past couple of years.

GAT_00: brigid_fitch: I can understand their frustration. Some idiots using coupons will only tip on the amount charged, not the cost of the full service sans coupons. I used to waitress and despised coupons for that reason. Occasionally, there'd be one normal human who understands how tips work and would tip a percentage of the full price but they were few and far between.

That's kind of shocking. People actually do that?

Rampant, from what mom says. And her day spa/salon is in Windermere, Tiger and Shaq's old neighborhood. Very wealthy. The rich people are even more stingy by her reports.

RussianPooper: The people Groupon brings in will only go places when they can get Groupon kinds of deals. You don't expand your loyal customer base.

Not true. Like dletter, I'll buy restaurant.com certificates or Groupon deals for places I want to try but don't want to try out at full price. And, if the restaurant is good, I'll definitely come back. I found an awesome little crab shack that way. I'm a sucker for good crab and this place looked like a total dive from the outside, so I never bothered to stop in. But when they popped up on restaurant.com with a $50 certificate that cost me $4, I was willing to give them shot. And, although they're a little ramshackle (picnic tables & mis-matched chairs inside, decor that hasn't been changed since the 80s), their crab is fresh off the boats (they're located near the fishing docks) and it's AWESOME! Now husband and I are in there at least once a month. I also use Foursquare.com deals and have found a couple of cute cafes that way.

Babwa Wawa: I'll never understand Groupon people. I get using coupons for necessities. But enduring a huge a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to be a pleasurable experience makes you look like an asshole.

I was out with my sis in law, her husband, and their two friends. One pediatrician, one nephrologist, a cardiologist and his patent attorney wife. I'm the poor one here. At the end of an enjoyable meal, they made all sorts of frigging hay about a goddam coupon that had expired. To say it ruined the evening would be melodramatic, but when the gross earnings of the six people at the table is somewhere between $1.5and $2M annually, there are better ways to spend your time and effort than arguing with management over a $50 coupon.

I f*cking hate cheap people, particularly when they have the money.

brigid_fitch: Diogenes: And the stylists, etc., while they understand the need to bring new business in, hate it because they get screwed.

I can understand their frustration. Some idiots using coupons will only tip on the amount charged, not the cost of the full service sans coupons. I used to waitress and despised coupons for that reason. Occasionally, there'd be one normal human who understands how tips work and would tip a percentage of the full price but they were few and far between.

I used a $50 spafinder gift certificate last month for a massage. Total cost after the certificate was $28. The receptionist was plainly nervous about asking how much tip I wanted to put on the card and actually let out a relived sigh when I said $15.

/I've only used Groupon once, for movie tickets, and it wasn't a hassle at all
//I recently bought a dinner-for-two deal and am curious how that's going to work when I use it.

Clearly you don't understand how tips work. They're not obligated to tip you in the first place. The customer decides if they will tip, and if so how much to tip. Not you. Don't like it? Get a job that pays a decent wage instead of one that screws you and hopes the customer makes it up.

stpauler: Restaurant.com

I had a horrible experience at a local Mexican restaurant. I don't remember the exact specifics, but basically it was pay $25 for $50 or some amazing deal like that, but your bill had to actually hit $50...our bill was like $49.84, I told them to bill me a $1 service charge, and they would not accommodate us.

Not Restaurant.com's fault per se, but it was a silly situation all around. We paid our bill, sans coupon, and got a refund back from Restaurant.com. Sad thing is that it is one of the better Mexican restaurants in the area, so...major bummer...We don't go back now out of principle.

coco ebert: Babwa Wawa: I'll never understand Groupon people. I get using coupons for necessities. But enduring a huge a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to be a pleasurable experience makes you look like an asshole.

I was out with my sis in law, her husband, and their two friends. One pediatrician, one nephrologist, a cardiologist and his patent attorney wife. I'm the poor one here. At the end of an enjoyable meal, they made all sorts of frigging hay about a goddam coupon that had expired. To say it ruined the evening would be melodramatic, but when the gross earnings of the six people at the table is somewhere between $1.5and $2M annually, there are better ways to spend your time and effort than arguing with management over a $50 coupon.

I f*cking hate cheap people, particularly when they have the money.

Agreed. And cheap /= thrifty. I don't care if you have 800 coupons at the grocery store; you might actually need to save the money and that's called being thrifty. It's called being cheap when the good or service you're putting people out about is non-essential (meals out, trips, spa treaments, etc)..

GoodyearPimp: Why would you involve your business with Groupon (a way to introduce new customers) if you didn't want to actually follow through with it? "I like the idea of more people in the door, but I hate providing appropriate service such that all of those people will tell everyone they know to never darken my doorstep."

This place got a one time bump in business due to all the people he farked with this business model. Note how the people in the story still paid 78 dollars. Yeah it was a one time spike and chances for repeat business are gone, but hey 78 dollars and he didn't have to honor the GroupOn.

I guess if you think like a mugger, where repeat business isn't a huge issue, this was a good deal.

my wife will use groupon for the museum or the zoo, i don't think we've tried it for restaurants

AKTurkey: This restaurant should be outed and reported

Well, the guy did out the restaurant on Consum- wait, no name? Maybe on his LiveJourn- No?!

/facepalm

ShawnDoc: Clearly you don't understand how tips work. They're not obligated to tip you in the first place. The customer decides if they will tip, and if so how much to tip. Not you. Don't like it? Get a job that pays a decent wage instead of one that screws you and hopes the customer makes it up.

That is all absolutely correct.

It still doesn't mean you won't be called a cheap-ass if you tip low on excellent service.

/of course, you may not care.

Babwa Wawa: I'll never understand Groupon people. I get using coupons for necessities. But enduring a huge a pain in the ass for something that's supposed to be a pleasurable experience makes you look like an asshole.

For awhile, I was using them just as a way to check out places that I haven't tried before. It worked out fine, for awhile, since the overall hassle of using the Groupon, in most cases, isn't really that bad.

What killed it for me is that I kept passing the expiration dates on my Groupons. For a regular coupon, that's no big deal because you didn't pony up any cash. But with a Groupon, that's just lost money, which defeats the entire point of getting one in the first place.

So, ultimately, I decided that they just worth worth it.

jst3p: Diogenes: And the stylists, etc., while they understand the need to bring new business in, hate it because they get screwed.

I am going to need the name of this "spa".

The Happy Fun Finish Spank & Spa

And stay away from my mom.

brigid_fitch: RussianPooper: The people Groupon brings in will only go places when they can get Groupon kinds of deals. You don't expand your loyal customer base.

Not true. Like dletter, I'll buy restaurant.com certificates or Groupon deals for places I want to try but don't want to try out at full price. And, if the restaurant is good, I'll definitely come back. I found an awesome little crab shack that way. I'm a sucker for good crab and this place looked like a total dive from the outside, so I never bothered to stop in. But when they popped up on restaurant.com with a $50 certificate that cost me $4, I was willing to give them shot. And, although they're a little ramshackle (picnic tables & mis-matched chairs inside, decor that hasn't been changed since the 80s), their crab is fresh off the boats (they're located near the fishing docks) and it's AWESOME! Now husband and I are in there at least once a month. I also use Foursquare.com deals and have found a couple of cute cafes that way.

You are among the minority.

Told the wife "no more groupons" almost a year ago because if I like the place I'd rather they make a profit on my visit, and if I don't like the place I'm not going to miss the $20 I'd otherwise save (plus the extra $20 pays for my right to be snarky and indignant over their crap establishment. ;) ). We never saved much on groupons anyway, since the few times it did amount to a large-ish dollar amount ($50 maybe), it was for a place we already drop lots of money. Nice for a random savings, but most places will treat their regulars to that kind of discount in either comps, upgrades, or other perks. I'd rather keep the relationship happy than squeeze a few dollars back.

Of course, here in PDX most grouponers are the hipster elite, so they don't tip in the first place, let alone tip based on the original bill total. Makes it easy to make friends with bartenders when a $2 tip on a $4 drink is considered "huge." (usual first-drink tip is $5 for me) I've never seen a sock-head beardo tip, and they represent a large chunk of bar-goers at the places with decent music. Sure, the bartender didn't have to do much of anything to pop your PBR, but they're working for tips and there's 200 more of you skin-flint bastards making them dance back and forth to the cooler constantly. Flip 'em a damn dollar once in a while for the hassle!

Ah well. At least it gets me stiffer pours and skips to the front of the line when I'm dry.