The Education of Groupon CEO Andrew Mason • Hacker News Board

Re: The Education of Groupon CEO Andrew Mason

#11

Post by pedrolll » Fri, Jul 13, 2012, 7:54 PM UTC

agwa wrote: post #5

It seems like a mistake for him to have done this interview. The Japanese restaurant was described in way too much detail, and if he's trying to shed his goofball image this article doesn't help (just look at the photographs...). And that overshadows the more interesting and important part of the article, which is the direction Groupon is moving in.

It's just a PR trick, telling investors he's taking things seriously and learning some business 101 in a restaurant. Probably the restaurant doesn't even exist.

Re: The Education of Groupon CEO Andrew Mason

#12

Post by stfu » Fri, Jul 13, 2012, 8:53 PM UTC

pedrolll wrote: post #11

agwa wrote: post #5

It seems like a mistake for him to have done this interview. The Japanese restaurant was described in way too much detail, and if he's trying to shed his goofball image this article doesn't help (just look at the photographs...). And that overshadows the more interesting and important part of the article, which is the direction Groupon is moving in.

It's just a PR trick, telling investors he's taking things seriously and learning some business 101 in a restaurant. Probably the restaurant doesn't even exist.

That was also the first thing that came into my mind. It is quite a smart human interest story, showing some humbleness, back to the basics approach, etc.

Re: The Education of Groupon CEO Andrew Mason

#13

Post by 18pfsmt » Fri, Jul 13, 2012, 9:50 PM UTC

https403 wrote: post #10

samstave wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey restaurant, You want a customer? Let me get you a customer! Groupon: How much is a lunch meal? Restaurant: $10 Groupon: Great, here Ill give you $2.50 for it! Restaurant: uh.. I'm not so sure about this... Groupon: Hey customer! Come get this lunch deal. I got a great deal for you, $10 lunch for $5! Customer: Uh, ok. Groupon: Sweet! I just pocketed $2.50! Isn't this a great deal! Restaurant: WTF! I just lost 75%…

Going forward all merchants have to consider the Groupon/GOOG Offer cost while pricing. They already factor in credit processing - and can't discriminate on Cash customers. eventually a customer paying cash and not using any promos will pay a lot more for the same merchandise.

Actually, that's not true. As of today, because of this[1] $7.2B settlement, merchants will now be able to charge customers that use cards a fee for doing so. This is already the case in Australia as I understand it, and card use has not decreased as a result. I personally use cash for most store/ restaurant purchases (I used to work in the Merchant Acquirer space), so I will finally be getting a better price in addition to reducing my behavior-tracking surface area.

[1]http://newsroom.mastercard.com/2012/07/13/mastercard-speaks-...