Demerits of a Group discount coupon
After covering few Indian group discount sites and their related news i have successfully insulated myself from buying any of the coupon since i am not crazy about discounted items. I buy things, if they have discount well and good but i never buy items just they carry discount.
I bought a coupon (paid Rs. 150 for Rs. 300 bill) for a chinese restaurant which is located close to my office from a bangalore based grouping site. I am a regular customer of this restaurant and i quite like their food. That’s the prime driving factor for me to go for the coupon.
The ordeal starts from the moment i proudly inform the manager that i have a coupon and would like to avail the offer. He gave me a perplexed look since i am his regular customer. He took back the menu from the table and brought a laminated paper which was supposed to be menu for coupon users.
I was surprised seeing laminated paper menu and told him to get the original menu and give a 50% discount on 300/- bill since i wasn’t interested in this menu. He declined and said it doesn’t work that way and you will get food listed in the laminated paper menu. I thought let me try and find out the reality
Demerits of Group Discount Coupons -
- Coupon users have customized menu and food is very different.
- Be ready to eat a very mediocre food.
- Don’t get good treatment and service as if restaurant is doing some charity by offering free food.
- Discount is valid on per user and never on bill, Pay Rs.150 for Rs.300 bill discount -50% is meaning less. Its a ploy to catch attention. My bill comes generally Rs. 130-140 in this chinese restaurant and i come out with satisfied feeling
but after paying Rs.150 i was feeling cheated and served with ordinary food 
Discount shopper said,
Wrote on July 16, 2010 @ 2:04 am
Sure it has been a bad experience for you in this case BUT to generalize to all discounting deal sites might be wrong.
I have been using coupons for a good part of my life and they work well. The secret is to read the fine print. Coupons after all are marketing gimmicks and will always have a catch.
I think this requires a two step action
1) Merchants - instead of creating random deals, focus on creating great offers for your customer. Merchants should not focus on milking the customer with the first transaction. It is the recurring transaction that matters most. Use the deal to get customers, provide great products and/or service. Customers will come back for more. Monetize that.
2) Deal sites - be transparent and clear in your offering. Terms & conditions should be stated clearly upfront. Quickly address any unhappy customers. Listen to your customers and you will benefit in the long run. One dissatisfied customer can create more just by word of mouth.