Restaurant.com question

[rockundergirl]

I'm trying restaurant.com for the first time. I'm a little confused.. When it says Valid with a minimum purchase of 50 dollars. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean you have to spend 50 cash, then you can use the gift certificate on the rest of the bill? Or does that just mean your bill has to total at least 50? Let me know budget experts

 

[RALuck]

Your total bill has to be at least $50. There are suggestions on the certificate for how to equal that but we never seem to need the ideas.

 

[Maybelle]

The above posted was correct. Total bill must be greater than $50. Be careful though with any alcohol purchases...most rest. do not count that toward your total. This is usually listed on the certificate. Ask if it is unclear.

Gotta love Restaurant.com!!

 

[aschiele]

also seen a few where it needs to be minimum 4 guests, so read teh fine print

 

[Brer Shay]

Above poster is correct. $50 is the minimum bill that your GC can apply to. If your bill is $55, you would by $30 cash with a $25 GC.

As other poster said, make sure you read the fine print. Frequently they add in a certain gratuity amount based on the original bill.

 

[kaytieeldr]

At the risk of being reprimanded for discussing tipping anywhere except on the dedicated thread on the Dining forum... gratuity should ALWAYS be calculated on the non-discounted price. Many restaurants find they have to do this, because often the diners to not.

But back to the question, sorta. We had a restaurant.com certificate for a locals place in Las Vegas. The bill came to about $47 for the two of us - so we were "forced" to order dessert

 

[here757]

At the risk of being reprimanded for discussing tipping anywhere except on the dedicated thread on the Dining forum... gratuity should ALWAYS be calculated on the non-discounted price. Many restaurants find they have to do this, because often the diners to not.

But back to the question, sorta. We had a restaurant.com certificate for a locals place in Las Vegas. The bill came to about $47 for the two of us - so we were "forced" to order dessert

LOL "forced" to order desert!! just the thought..

 

[Crazy Hakim]

All the replies are correct, just want to add one thing. Tell the server about the coupon soon as you sit down. Make sure they are still accepting the coupon (if they don't, Restaurant.com will refund), ask if there are any limitations. And some servers may be unfamiliar with the coupon and will have to speak to another employee. Sometimes you cannot use the coupon with a special offer, like a BOGO offer for example.
Better safe than sorry.
I have been using them for no less than 6 years, very few problems, one place closed before I could use my coupon (maybe a good thing), one place stopped accepting them when they became very popular without the offer.
But, most times we have a wonderful meal at a nicely discounted price.
Oh, one more thing, never pay full price for any coupon unless it's so popular that it sells out at the beginning of the month, before any discounts are available! Wait a few days and the discounts start to show up, they usually max out at 70%, and a few times a year 80%. When you get an 80% offer, use it.

 

[Inigo]

One more tip for those who purchase additional coupons for the same restaurants they've gone to in the past: Make sure you pay attention to see if the terms have changed. Don't just assume it'll be the same as in the past. I almost bought certificates without closing checking, but checked at the last minute, fortunately, so I saved my money.

We've had The Melting Pot certificates in the past, good for two people. Now, the coupons (at least in my area) are only good for "The Big Night Out." There's no way my husband and I could eat enough of "The Big Night Out" to justify the cost, even with the coupon, , so no more Melting Pot for us.

Guess I need to start doing fondue at home.

 

[kaytieeldr]

LOL "forced" to order desert!! just the thought..

Well, it was a hardship He doesn't eat dessert, I don't need the extra calories, and portions at this place are HUGE - so not only were we full from dinner, but I already had about 80% of my entree packed to go But we forced ourselves...

 

[kaytieeldr]

Sometimes you cannot use the coupon with a special offer, like a BOGO offer for example.

There's a restaurant that participates, that has "Ladies Night" once a week, where womens' entrees are half-price. I haven't tried yet, but my brother is POSITIVE that we can't also use the restaurant.com certificate if we were to dine there that night.

Oh, one more thing, never pay full price for any coupon unless it's so popular that it sells out at the beginning of the month, before any discounts are available!

to this, too. I will only pay full price for ONE restaurant's certificate because, yes, by the time any discounts kick in, the certificates are gone.

 

[pooh136]

There's a restaurant that participates, that has "Ladies Night" once a week, where womens' entrees are half-price. I haven't tried yet, but my brother is POSITIVE that we can't also use the restaurant.com certificate if we were to dine there that night.
to this, too. I will only pay full price for ONE restaurant's certificate because, yes, by the time any discounts kick in, the certificates are gone.

I posted this in another restaurant.com thread last night, but thought I would share it here too. I hope that this tip helps some of you save, while still getting the certificates you want.

Just wanted to share a trick that I've used if a restaurant I want is sold out. You can just buy the general restaurant.com certificates with the discount and give them to yourself as a gift. Then when the certificates become available for the restaurant you want (usually on the first of the month) you can redeem them.

 

[travelgirl06]

All the replies are correct, just want to add one thing. Tell the server about the coupon soon as you sit down. Make sure they are still accepting the coupon (if they don't, Restaurant.com will refund), ask if there are any limitations. And some servers may be unfamiliar with the coupon and will have to speak to another employee. Sometimes you cannot use the coupon with a special offer, like a BOGO offer for example.
Better safe than sorry.
I have been using them for no less than 6 years, very few problems, one place closed before I could use my coupon (maybe a good thing), one place stopped accepting them when they became very popular without the offer.
But, most times we have a wonderful meal at a nicely discounted price.
Oh, one more thing, never pay full price for any coupon unless it's so popular that it sells out at the beginning of the month, before any discounts are available! Wait a few days and the discounts start to show up, they usually max out at 70%, and a few times a year 80%. When you get an 80% offer, use it.

I agree with everything said here. We always present the coupon at the beginning, which enables us to clarify any restrictions (e.g. happy hour prices are excluded, alcohol does/doesn't count toward the total, etc.) and gives the server time to deal with the certificate. We have had very few problems (once a restaurant stopped honoring the certificates, so Restaurant.com emailed us notification and let us pick a new certificate, and once there was a misunderstanding about combining happy hour with the certificate, but that was miscommunication between the server and the manager, so nothing related to restaurant.com). We LOVE these certificates as they enable us to dine at fancy restaurants for more normal prices. As a previous poster said, the tips should be made on the total price

 

[kaytieeldr]

I posted this in another restaurant.com thread last night, but thought I would share it here too. I hope that this tip helps some of you save, while still getting the certificates you want.

Just wanted to share a trick that I've used if a restaurant I want is sold out. You can just buy the general restaurant.com certificates with the discount and give them to yourself as a gift. Then when the certificates become available for the restaurant you want (usually on the first of the month) you can redeem them.

Duh. All the times I've purchased certificates, and as cost-concious as I am - and I never thought of this! Thanks for the tip!