Bryan wrote:
> Restaurants often participate in Groupon, Living Social, etc. Today,
> I caught one trying to pull a fast one. It happened to be a
> restaurant that I am familiar with, and I know someone who is a part
> owner, so I emailed her privately instead of plastering it all over
> everywhere. I wrote the following:
> __________________________________________________ __
>
> The numbers on your Living Social deal are fraudulent. The offer says
> "$19 (up to a $38 value) for botanas and margaritas for two"
>
> but "botanas and margaritas for two" do not cost $38, they cost
> $35.98.
>
> If both guests were to order the Botanas Especiales that cost $11,
> that would still be 2 cents short of $38.00, but the offer also
> states, "Not valid for Botanas Especiales."
>
> It doesn't add up, and you can bet that I'm not the only person who
> has or will notice.
> __________________________________________________ ___
>
>
>
> The prices on the botanas vary from $6 to $10, and the margaritas are
> $7.99. I'm sure when she reads the email she'll think, "Bryan is
> only refraining from blasting us on FB, Yelp, and everywhere else
> because we're friends," and she'll realize that someone else who
> doesn't know me might not be so amicable, especially if they buy the
> deal without looking at the menu, then realize after they sit down
> that the numbers don't add up.
>
> --Bryan

I am unfamiliar with Living Social but I have read about Groupon and never
anything good for this area. There is a Mexican place I had wanted to try,
until I saw reviews of people getting sick when they ate there. But they
did do Groupon and Restaurant.com but I read many accounts of people saying
when you tried to use one of these (or any other kind of coupon) they gave
you smaller portions, bad service and sometimes even tacked things onto your
bill that you didn't order, or put the wrong prices down.

I have also read of many businesses that would not honor the Groupon deals.
So for that reason I have never bought any.

On 12/27/2012 12:07 AM, Julie Bove wrote:

> I have also read of many businesses that would not honor the Groupon deals.
> So for that reason I have never bought any.

Cite for the "many" please?

"Cheryl" > wrote in message
...
> On 12/27/2012 12:07 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> I have also read of many businesses that would not honor the Groupon
>> deals.
>> So for that reason I have never bought any.
>
> Cite for the "many" please?

Not gonna look it up again now. I just read something about Groupon
complaints for this area.

On 12/27/2012 11:54 PM, Julie Bove wrote:

> *sigh* Okay then. Here are some complaints:
>
> http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/c.../2012/id/40010
>
> http://groupon-reviews.measuredup.com/9211950
>
> Based on what I read at these sites, I would never use them.

It's obviously your choice. FTR, the second cite was mostly about slow
receipt, or even non-receipt of GrouponGoods and yes, they're slow, and
I probably won't use them again either.

On 12/27/2012 11:54 PM, Julie Bove wrote:

> *sigh* Okay then. Here are some complaints:
>
> http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/c.../2012/id/40010
>
> http://groupon-reviews.measuredup.com/9211950
>
> Based on what I read at these sites, I would never use them.

(resending again because several posts never showed up. Already
complained to Usenet-news)

It's obviously your choice. FTR, the second cite was mostly about slow
receipt, or even non-receipt of GrouponGoods and yes, they're slow, and
I probably won't use them again either.

On 12/28/2012 5:41 PM, Susan wrote:

> Groupon goods is incredibly slow to ship, but the savings are worth a
> wait, unless you're buying, say, emergency medical supplies.
>
> I love Seven Jeans skinny corduroys, in a style and colors that have
> been discontinued and that originally retailed online and in stores for
> $178 (ridiculous!). They are incredibly comfortable and well fitting
> and I fell in love with them after buying a teal pair and then a dark
> red pair at Marshall's for $29. I found black ones on Groupon for $33 a
> pair after finding none in my size online and ordered two for posterity.
> The pair I got took weeks to get here, but I didn't go naked or cold
> without them. Still waiting for the second pair, for which there is no
> tracking number.
>
In a case like that if you can't find something elsewhere, it could be
worth the wait. I've only ordered a couple of "Goods" offers and I
wasn't completely unhappy with them, but I don't like to wait so long
and like you said, no way to track. I dunno. I'm still on the fence
about Goods. Regular Groupon I have no issue with, and their support I
find to be very good.

> Similarly, I got a huge savings on a very slow to arrive CleanRest box
> spring encasement (dust allergy, bedbug phobia).
>
> I also like that there's no expiration on the cash value of Groupons, so
> the one we failed to use that was half price for a very expensive steak
> house with terrible food still has its face value, what I paid.
> It's enough to get a couple glasses of wine and some apps at the bar.

I've let a couple of vouchers expire lately during my surgery recovery.
I just couldn't make it out to make the purchase. I like some of
their home services like duct cleaning. Not so much the house cleaning.
For house cleaning I need to get referrals from others I know who've
used them. But there's just such a wide variety of Groupon vouchers, I
can't imagine not taking advantage. You really just have to read the
fine print. I know you know that. Apparently some here don't.

On 12/28/2012 7:03 PM, Cheryl wrote:
>
> (resending again because several posts never showed up. Already
> complained to Usenet-news)

Ugh. I'm seeing some of my missing original posts here on Astraweb.
I've changed usenet providers. Usenet-news just isn't reliable anymore.
They have responded to my problems and are escalating, so I'm happy
with their support people, but now I wonder what else here I'm missing?

x-no-archive: yhes

On 12/28/2012 9:40 PM, Cheryl wrote:

> In a case like that if you can't find something elsewhere, it could be
> worth the wait. I've only ordered a couple of "Goods" offers and I
> wasn't completely unhappy with them, but I don't like to wait so long
> and like you said, no way to track. I dunno. I'm still on the fence
> about Goods. Regular Groupon I have no issue with, and their support I
> find to be very good.

Actually, there was a tracking number, but just one number for an order
that allegedly went out in two separate packages. I reached customer
service and got a follow up email the next day. I won't wait much longer
before asking to be refunded the expense of the one still allegedly out
there with no tracking number. It's been over a week since the one pair
got here.


> I've let a couple of vouchers expire lately during my surgery recovery.
> I just couldn't make it out to make the purchase. I like some of their
> home services like duct cleaning. Not so much the house cleaning. For
> house cleaning I need to get referrals from others I know who've used
> them. But there's just such a wide variety of Groupon vouchers, I can't
> imagine not taking advantage. You really just have to read the fine
> print. I know you know that. Apparently some here don't.
>
>

Clearly. :-)

Susan