Groupon problem -advice needed

[3angelsmom]

No one can make a restaurant have availability, if it is booked it is booked.

But not really. The answering machine message says availability for the first "groupon reservation" is in 7 weeks. They are still accepting non-groupon reservations.

When I used a groupon for dry cleaning, there were no restrictions and it was treated like a gift card. When I used a groupon to take the kids to a science museum, we were able to use it any day they were open and had access to the whole museum just like everyone else. This is the first time I've been treated differently b/c I"m using one of these coupon sites.

Oh well, live and learn. I'll be much more cautious about buying these in the future.

 

[VAfamily1998]

She's not grateful for the business because she's only making about 25% of what she'd pull in if you went to lunch without a Groupon. She's not grateful for the business because Groupon holds the cash they make from sales and pays business owners in three payments spread out of the course of weeks. Groupon takes a lot of the cash and charges the business a fee for every cert that was purchased using a credit card--in other words, all of them. They don't assist business owners in planning good deals, setting caps, and telling them what to expect. Some daily deals places do that well. Groupon does not. I have used them, but now have too much guilt over what the business owners go through, and too much knowledge over what probably caused them to use Groupon in the first place--needing a quick loan to stay afloat essentially-that I won't use them again.

I agree. I haven't used Groupon, and won't. Google "Groupon put me out of business" for lots of stories about how it actually hurts small bsinesses...

 

[Swan4Me]

While some of this may be correct (I know for sure Groupon takes 50% of the money) not all of these are small struggling businesses.

Heck WDW just had one for para-sailing at the Contemporary. They aren't struggling at all.

I have no guilt over buying groupons. If they don't want to do the groupon then don't. No one is forcing them to do that and taking a 75% fee for a quick loan is extremely poor business sense!

however-THE PRICE YOU ARE PAYING IS A LOT cheaper THAN NORMAL

LETS SAY LUNCH IS $15....THE GROUPON SAYS 2 FOR $15

so Groupon makes $7 and the owner makes $7-to feed 2 people!

It really hurts the buisiness if they sell too many and can not meet demand

 

[delmar411]

however-THE PRICE YOU ARE PAYING IS A LOT cheaper THAN NORMAL

LETS SAY LUNCH IS $15....THE GROUPON SAYS 2 FOR $15

so Groupon makes $7 and the owner makes $7-to feed 2 people!

It really hurts the buisiness if they sell too many and can not meet demand

obviously it's cheaper than normal. Or else it wouldn't be a deal. But it is up to a business to make the decision for themselves. Like the OP said, this restaurant in question not only knew groupon oversold them the first time but then they offered it a 2ndtime! So clearly they didn't learn their lesson the first time OR while it was annoying them, the people coming in were spending money over the groupon amount and the owner felt it was worth it.

If groupon is putting small businesses out of business then who's fault is that? The small business! They can google 'groupon put me out of business' just as easily as customers can.

Where is the personal responsibility here? If you are struggling and about to go under then groupon is not the place to save your business.

I'm not really interested in debating the merits of groupon. I like it for some things. I've been burned by somethings. I don't need to teach small businesses how to run their own business and I will purchase and use a coupon that benefits my family it is offered, guilt free.

 

[Bob NC]

however-THE PRICE YOU ARE PAYING IS A LOT cheaper THAN NORMAL

LETS SAY LUNCH IS $15....THE GROUPON SAYS 2 FOR $15

so Groupon makes $7 and the owner makes $7-to feed 2 people!

It really hurts the buisiness if they sell too many and can not meet demand

All true. BUT, in a lot of cases if you don't have a Groupon you simply aren't going there.

Then it's $0 to feed 0 people.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

It sounds like they are putting a limit of how many Groupon dinners they will accommodate in one day so that they don't lose money on any given day. Since "regular" customers can come and make reservations. I get why they're doing that, but they probably should have limited the # of Groupons sold instead.

 

[Alesia]

All true. BUT, in a lot of cases if you don't have a Groupon you simply aren't going there.

Then it's $0 to feed 0 people.

Which is better than actually losing money to feed 2 people, which is what's actually happening. Most locally owned restaurants operate on a pretty narrow profit margin.

Business owners use groupon and other sites like it in order to attract new business, but many of them are finding out that people who use groupon often won't pay full price. They just will not come back without a discount. Also, in full service restaurants, the servers are getting the short end of the stick because about 75 percent of the time the customers will only tip on what they pay - not on the undiscounted price.

 

[IndianaPrincess]

I have never been treated any differently as a Groupon customer (and am a frequent user!) I'm surprised that they restaurant is allowed to do that according to their terms. I would try again with Groupon explaining the restaurant's policy (having availability but not for voucher use).

 

[Bob NC]

but many of them are finding out that people who use groupon often won't pay full price.

Exactly, if the restaurant was popular and worth full price they would never have to offer Groupons.

Also, in full service restaurants, the servers are getting the short end of the stick because about 75 percent of the time the customers will only tip on what they pay - not on the undiscounted price.

Is there a link associated with this statistic?

 

[BeachLove]

My friend owns a small service based business. She used groupon once and never again. They oversold her coupon by hundreds! She lost money on the deal because of how much groupon charges for this service and then paying employees for the extra work.

It was supposed to put her business out there and it ended up with her getting dozens of negative reviews because they got so overwhelmed with appointments they couldn't fill. Buyers got angry that they had to wait weeks to get in. Even with her extending hours and days,hiring more employees, training costs for more employees. So what did customers do? Write tons and tons of negative reviews on whatever sites they could find. She considered closing her business because of how much debt (and bad word of mouth) she is in because of these stupid things.

After seeing what happened I can't bring myself to use these things. The people she got from the groupon seemed to just want a one time service for the cheap price. She gained maybe a 8 reoccurring clients, the rest, bargain hunters who wanted to spend as little money as possible. When they had to wait for appointments=bad review. When she took expired coupons=bad reviews saying she shouldn't have an expiration date.

Just look at some of these coupons-these companies are losing money each time. Just google groupon for small businesses. Most businesses that offer deals are lucky if they break even.

 

[Lemurone]

Of course no one forces then but in this climate a lot of businesses are desperate to get their name out there and daily deals seem like "free" advertising. $1600 for a newspaper ad or no upfront cost for a groupon? Just bc someone has a small biz doesn't mean they have an MBA and a mktg degree. They take more than 50% bc there are additional fees. If you actually google things look at how hospitality feels about groupon users. It's not the server or busboy that chose to discount people yet they do get the shaft on tips and attitude. People are loyal to discounts not businesses and that sucks.

 

[disneysteve]

I am so done with Groupon. I've had a few coupons expire recently and have decided they are too much trouble.

I hope you, and others, realize that although the offer expires, you don't lose the purchase value of the Groupon. Let's say you pay $10 for $20 worth of food at a restaurant. After the expiration date, you can still redeem the $10 for $10 worth of food. So you haven't lost anything even if you aren't able to use the deal before it expires. Obviously, that wouldn't be what you intended when you bought it, but at least you don't actually lose money.

 

[Sagginit]

these deals can be hit or miss, buyer beware. i have used them but they can always have their own set of issues or terms that can get you.

i have a friend who has bought loads of these. she never goes back to the places after using them. she admitted that after a while of running around and trying to squeeze in appts before the deals expired and having to meet the conditions it was just not worth the hassle.

i think the restaurant has done nothing wrong. i sometimes used restaurant.com and will always call ahead if i have questions before i buy the certificates.

 

[tasha99]

Even though I'm through with them, I did find one great restaurant to go to whenever we're in Anchorage. We only go to Anchorage about once a month or less, though, so how many "go to" restaurants do we need? It was brand new when we first went there, and empty. Lately it's always been full on our visits, probably because they didn't skimp on any of their Groupon customers.

 

[disneysteve]

OP wrote about trouble getting a reservation as a "Groupon customer" and others have mentioned different treatment when using a Groupon. I'm wondering how the place even knows. When I use a Groupon, I present it when I'm given the bill at the end of the meal, just like any other coupon. I don't mention it when I make my reservation. I don't wave it around when I'm seated. The server and staff have no idea that I'm going to be using a Groupon so why would they treat me any differently?

 

[torinsmom]

I had a problem with a Groupon last year. It was for a photography sessions and I bought it to get some casual senior pics done of my son. I kept calling and could never get a live person. Noone would call or email me back either and her website said she was booked up through when the Groupon expired. I emailed Groupon and they gave me a credit immediately. Maybe it depends on who you talk to? I kept the credit until last week, when they had a great deal for Canvas on Demand. I got a 20x24 and a 16x20 shipped for around $20 after the. Can't beat that. I think I will stick to places I know or online deals from now on.

 

[sookie]

She's not grateful for the business because she's only making about 25% of what she'd pull in if you went to lunch without a Groupon. She's not grateful for the business because Groupon holds the cash they make from sales and pays business owners in three payments spread out of the course of weeks. Groupon takes a lot of the cash and charges the business a fee for every cert that was purchased using a credit card--in other words, all of them. They don't assist business owners in planning good deals, setting caps, and telling them what to expect. Some daily deals places do that well. Groupon does not. I have used them, but now have too much guilt over what the business owners go through, and too much knowledge over what probably caused them to use Groupon in the first place--needing a quick loan to stay afloat essentially-that I won't use them again.

But why is she not treating the customer right? Sounds like the fault lies with her (owner) and groupon.

We live in a metro area and we do Groupon fairly regularly. I like it because we don't know where to go still - we haven't lived here long. So we try new places with it. For instance, we tried a new ice cream place a few weeks ago. Walked in and we were absolutely thrilled that they went above and beyond to make sure that they accommodated my daughter's peanut / nut allergy. Have we gone back without a Groupon? Absolutely!!! They just opened an adjoining lunch bistro and we will be going there the next time I get my hair cut (next weekend). That is why we like to use a Groupon.

 

[disneysteve]

She's not grateful for the business because she's only making about 25% of what she'd pull in if you went to lunch without a Groupon. She's not grateful for the business because Groupon holds the cash they make from sales and pays business owners in three payments spread out of the course of weeks. Groupon takes a lot of the cash and charges the business a fee for every cert that was purchased using a credit card--in other words, all of them. They don't assist business owners in planning good deals, setting caps, and telling them what to expect. Some daily deals places do that well. Groupon does not.

I have a friend who has a retail business and he's told me that he was approached by Groupon to participate in a deal with them. Had he done it, he would have taken a loss on every single Groupon redemption. The sales pitch, of course, is that it drives customers to your business who might not have otherwise come which can result in additional sales then and in the future, but it really can be a gamble for a small business.

We've only used Groupon and Living Social a few times and we've had mixed experience. We have used it to try a new restaurant in our area that we otherwise wouldn't have gone to. We didn't like the place at all (Elevation Burger) and wouldn't ever return so we're happy that we didn't pay full price. That didn't benefit the business owner of course, though it would have if we had liked the place. Another time, we used it to try out an independent Italian restaurant that we liked very much. We haven't been back yet but fully intend to put it in our "restaurant rotation" and return there. We've also recommended it to several friends so in that case, the Groupon did pay off for the owners. We've also used Living Social to get a deal on a place we go regularly (AMC theater). I'm not sure where the benefit is for them there as we'd go to the movies anyway. It probably does draw in some people who have trouble affording the high cost of movie tickets today.