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Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

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Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#71

Post by shareme »

Groupon failures, opportunities:

I see several things...

1. Businesses are not empowered the IT system of groupon should take the grudge work out of tracking groupon deals, educating those who get a groupon offer for business, etc. 2. The group IT system should empower the sales staff to be as flexible as possible in groupon deal runs.

I see is a combination of IT improvements and realizing that you are educating 3 or more distinct group s at once and the IT system has empower that approach.

Whoever, does that will at some point reach the efficiencies Groupon needs to reach to reach profitability as being more effective will all 3 groups means less salesperson time per salesperson per group.

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#72

Post by puttsmcfadden »

I had a very similar experience at an Indian restaurant in Salt Lake City. Once the server became aware we had a Groupon we were treated poorly. Since that experience, I have resisted the urge to use Groupons as I would like to avoid being treated as an inferior.

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#73

Post by paulca »

mikbetk wrote: post #50
petercooper wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it's already common to not tip anyway. Sometimes I tip, sometimes I don't (though when I do, I'm more generous than the standard 10%).

FYI: 10% isn't standard: 15% is standard, 20% is good, and 25% or more is for great service.

In the UK, 10% is standard and entirely optional. 15-20+ is if you're feeling super generous.

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#74

Post by pdovy »

mikbetk wrote: post #48

Do you really not understand why the waitress's demeanor changed the moment you mentioned using a coupon? Seriously? You know wait staff live on tips right? You know that people who use coupons are notoriously bad tippers right? There are very, very few people who feel they got a deal so leave a bigger tip. Most leave a tip based on what they paid, not on what the meal should have cost and people that use coupons tip…

I don't doubt that people that use coupons are probably statistically poor tippers, but this seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.

If you expect someone to tip poorly, so you give them poor service, of course they are going to tip poorly!

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#75

Post by contactdick »

puttsmcfadden wrote: post #72

I had a very similar experience at an Indian restaurant in Salt Lake City. Once the server became aware we had a Groupon we were treated poorly. Since that experience, I have resisted the urge to use Groupons as I would like to avoid being treated as an inferior.

Something close to 'Eat like a human' springs to mind.

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#77

Post by frobozz »

mikbetk wrote: post #48

Do you really not understand why the waitress's demeanor changed the moment you mentioned using a coupon? Seriously? You know wait staff live on tips right? You know that people who use coupons are notoriously bad tippers right? There are very, very few people who feel they got a deal so leave a bigger tip. Most leave a tip based on what they paid, not on what the meal should have cost and people that use coupons tip…

If this is the case, then as far as my reading of the story goes, upon discovering that she was serving people who she believed would be stingy tippers, she behaved in a way that would make even a generous tipper leave nothing.

This seems counterintuitive.

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#78

Post by jeromec »

noodle wrote: post #61
bdhe wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full price, and are thus tipping something like 40% of what they should be. I am not intimately familiar with the tipping culture (at least in the US), but here are some genuine questions: Is there an inherent reason you tip on the full price? Is it a tax? If tipping is to support staff wages does that mean waiters who serve fancier higher priced food items are en…

this is something that probably isn't clear to people who don't live in the US -- wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage. they rely on tips as their primary source of income, and tips are usually shared with a bartender/busboy. if a restaurant runs a groupon and all grouponers tip on the post-coupon rate, the wait staff will be taking a rather large pay cut for the length of time t…

wait staff in the US make around $2-3/hour. they aren't paid a living wage.

Not true. That's why we have federal minimum wage laws. If the wait staff are actually employed and not acting as independent contractors, then they are paid the minimum wage for their state. (Although I will grant that this being a living wage is definitely arguable.)

Edit: Correction - although not California (my state), apparently some states do allow minimum wages in the $2-3 range if employees receive tips [1]. For the downvoters, I only count about 5 states that do this, however. The original statement does not accurately reflect the majority of the U.S.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#79

Post by aquark »

burgerbrain wrote: post #59
bdhe wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is they tip on the Groupon price, not the full price, and are thus tipping something like 40% of what they should be. I am not intimately familiar with the tipping culture (at least in the US), but here are some genuine questions: Is there an inherent reason you tip on the full price? Is it a tax? If tipping is to support staff wages does that mean waiters who serve fancier higher priced food items are en…

I tip because that's how my society operates. I tip well ^ because it means I get above-par service. ^well is relative to what they expect, so this is where the quality of the restaurant is factored in by myself.

Do you tip before the meal then, or is this based on being a repeat customer?

Re: Why I won't be using Groupon again.. A consumer perspective.

#80

Post by contactdick »

vaoinwie wrote: post #76

i think you're missing that the entire point of "tapas" restaurants is to rip you off in the first place. "how can we get someone to pay for their entire meal as appetizers?" some MBA student got a good grade for that one

I hope we can contribute at least some part of the kudos for inventing tapas restaurants to the Spanish as well as the MBA students.
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