393 replies to this topic

[LauraB]

Today's Living Social deal is for Againn: $25 for a $50 coupon. Looks like it's only for the DC location and not Rockville as well, but can't tell for sure.

[DanielK]

Today's Living Social deal is for Againn: $25 for a $50 coupon. Looks like it's only for the DC location and not Rockville as well, but can't tell for sure.

Confirmed by the Living Social team - deal NOT good in Rockville.

[goodeats]

Today's Living Social deal is at Dangerously Delicious pies ($25 for $50 cert).

[LizLemon]

Just thought I'd post on here that LivingSocial has a deal running right now--get a $60 Cedar giftcard for $30. Usually I'm a little leary of places on LivingSocial, Groupon etc. but having been to Cedar recently, I would say this is probably a bet worth taking. LivingSocial Cedar Deal

[ema]

It's entirely up to the establishment I believe. The most sophisticated system for tracking Groupon's I have witnessed has been a sheet with all of the individual coupon codes printed out that are crossed out when they are redeemed.

I was wondering about this too. On my living social account, I can mark coupons as used, but it doesn't seem like the system know if a particular coupon has been redeemed.

[fuzzy510]

Today at Groupon: $15 for $30 at Veritas.

[Ericandblueboy]

WaPo on Grouponomics:

Chicago-based Groupon, credited with creating the group discount concept and still the ballooning trend's leader, typically keeps half the coupon's selling price and charges retailers a processing fee.

So a restaurant typically collects less than 1/4 of the face amount of the coupon.

[monavano]

I realise it's a chain, but Chicken Out Rotisserie is the Groupon today. 14 area locations. You get a meal for 4 for $14, with plenty of healthy options. Great for those dog days of summer when roasting a chicken in your kitchen isn't so attractive.

[monavano]

I just found Buy With Me today and signed up (and bought half price massages )

[goodeats]

^ other ones are:

Tippr and halfpricedc.

[deangold]

Different operations have different payout percentages and payout times. Groupon, I believe, has their payout to the restaurant spread out over three checks. I do not know the intervals on the checks. Living Social pays out within 10 days of the day the offer runs. The payout to the restaurant does in fact amount to a little over 30% to less depending on who the service is.

[cjsadler]

And there's http://sowhatsthedeal.com/

[monavano]

Half off a cooking class with Carla Hall on Groupon today.

[Ericandblueboy]

Chima
$50 for $25 at Living Social

[ema]

How is Chima compares to Fogo and Texas de Brazil in terms of quality? Chima and Texas de Brazil have promotions all the time, but I have never seen Fogo give out any.

[sacrilicious]

Has anyone given/sold a Groupon or Living Social coupon to another person? It has my name on it but I doubt the restaurants care who's using it, right? I have one that's expiring soon, but I won't be able to use it and thought I would offer it up on the neighborhood listserve. I just don't want the user to run into any issues.

[monavano]

Has anyone given/sold a Groupon or Living Social coupon to another person? It has my name on it but I doubt the restaurants care who's using it, right? I have one that's expiring soon, but I won't be able to use it and thought I would offer it up on the neighborhood listserve. I just don't want the user to run into any issues.

I recently used a LS deal and what they did was verify the code number on it. I think you'll be fine selling it, I mean, how would they know if you bought if for you or for someone else? They don't care.

[Ericandblueboy]

Ghar-E-Kebab

from Groupon if the link doesn't work. $20 certficate for $10. Deal is for sale on August 10, 2010.

[fuzzy510]

$10 for $20 today at Bobby's Crabcakes over at Groupon.

[treznor]

Different operations have different payout percentages and payout times. Groupon, I believe, has their payout to the restaurant spread out over three checks. I do not know the intervals on the checks. Living Social pays out within 10 days of the day the offer runs. The payout to the restaurant does in fact amount to a little over 30% to less depending on who the service is.

What's the incentive for a restaurant to take such a deal? Is the thought that some money is better than no money? I would think at 30% you start getting close to the point where the amount paid is barely covering the incremental cost of that customer, but I don't know much about the economics of a restaurant. Or is the thought that this is basically a marketing expense? Or that typically people would spend more than the amount of the card, thus recovering some of the 'lost' revenue?

I don't think is directly applicable to you Dean, but thought you might have some ideas as a restaurant owner.

[deangold]

We track the amount spent on the Living social customers.About 1/3 of the coupons result in $50 to $70 spending: these folks seem to be in it for paying as little as possible {we had a threw top come in and spend $50 on the nose!}. About a another 1/3 spend a normal amount at the restaurant and their checks are $70-$100 if a two top and the restaurant makes $50 to $70 in net income {the additional payment plus the income the restaurant reealized from its portion of the sale of the coupon}. The remaining third are out to have a blowout or are coming in in parties of 4 or more and the discount amounts to 20% or less of their bill. Overall, the discount is probably 25-30% on average. This compares with a 25% average when you participate in mileage plus programs for airline frequent dining programs {rewards network etc}.

On the other hand, I would have to say that 50 to 70% of the customers are new customers or customers who have not been to the restaurant in over two years which is the prime target of a promotion. Another goodly portion has been folk who were "on the fence" about Dino and we got a second chance to make them "believers". SO the demographic has been great for us. The small percentage of our regulars who bought the coupon have used it and generally bought up on wine, drinks etc and have spent more, and in some cases a lot more, then they normally would. Again, cool beans.

The last cost factor is how many folk actually use the coupon. According to Living Social, a certain percentage of folk do not ever use the coupon which lowers the cost of the program. We are not anywhere near the expiration date of the coupon so I have no idea of what that percentage is/will be.

On the staffing side, we have found that tipping generally runs on the pre discount portion of the bill and the waits like the extra income.

On the marketing side, for a few days we were the talk of the internet world when the original offer ran. We were mentioned on blogs, bulletin boards and the LS offer was forwarded many a time. Secondly, it is an entree into a demographic that is hard to otherwise reach by your own actions. Third is that a lot of LS customers call the restaurant to make sure the offer is good or to make ressies and you can then have pre dining interaction which is a good thing. Lastly, many folk get here, do the math, and realize that they can do better just using our regular offers and save the living social for that night when they want a big dinner with great wine. That realization is "golden".

All in all, I feel the program has been well worth it, it brought me a big chunk of cash flow in a very slow season and it generated a lot of buzz as well as extra income. We have turned around a lot of LS newbies into regulars. A lot of the LS newbies have sent their friends, brought other new folk etc. Putting it all together, it has been a fabulous program, on a par with Restaurant Week as a great brand builder. I was a little skeptical at first and, frankly did it to get the check at the start of my slow season, but it has paid off much better than I ever thought.

[Sundae in the Park]

All in all, I feel the program has been well worth it, it brought me a big chunk of cash flow in a very slow season and it generated a lot of buzz as well as extra income. We have turned around a lot of LS newbies into regulars. A lot of the LS newbies have sent their friends, brought other new folk etc. Putting it all together, it has been a fabulous program, on a par with Restaurant Week as a great brand builder. I was a little skeptical at first and, frankly did it to get the check at the start of my slow season, but it has paid off much better than I ever thought.

Ooooh, that is very interesting Dean, thanks for posting specifics!! I am very impressed that you are tracking your data so carefully and glad the promotion works for you. I got one myself and have to come in at some point...

Also, all, Masala Art ($20 for $40, with some restrictions) is the coupon of the day at What's the Deal today.

[goodeats]

For Nielsen's Frozen Custard lovers: $6 for $12 worth.

[lekkerwijn]

FY for those purchasing coupons or gift certificates. New Federal Reserve rules that provide important protections when you purchase or use gift cards for gift cards purchased on or after August 22, 2010 went into effect last week found here. The measures limit certain fees, require balances to be honored for at least five years and require new disclosure statements on cards and certificates.

[deangold]

FY for those purchasing coupons or gift certificates. New Federal Reserve rules that provide important protections when you purchase or use gift cards for gift cards purchased on or after August 22, 2010 went into effect last week found here. The measures limit certain fees, require balances to be honored for at least five years and require new disclosure statements on cards and certificates.

There are different rules for reward cards rather than gift certificates. For example, with a gorupon or living social, the money you pay may ot expire for 5 years if you livein a stte with a specfic requirement as such, but the 50 for 25 part can expire in a year. I do not know and ahve net been able to get an andswer from DC whether this is true in DC, and Living Social says to check with DC.

And a gift card is defined very liberally. If you display a card with a ribbon on the sign on the display of the card, your card is a gift card.

[vsky]

50% off Dino from Living Social!

[Ericandblueboy]

Star & Shamrock $40 for $20 from Living Social

[LauraB]

Today's Living Social deal: $30 for $60 at Trummer's on Main.

[goodeats]

Oktoberfest in Germany. It's a pricey one, but was neat enough I thought I would post it.

[monavano]

Today's Groupon deal is Kinkead's- $50 for $25.

[dcs]

Interesting Post article on social-couponing that gives insight on the vendor's perspective.

[deangold]

Interesting Post article on social-couponing that gives insight on the vendor's perspective.

It is interesting that the Post could not find one business that is enthusiastic about the Groupon/Living Social Model. I talked to several before my own, very positive experiences.

[JDawgBBall9]

I know Dean posted his experiences from the business side, but do you guys usually use these types of deals at a place you go frequently because you can, to try out new things, or extend the budget and go nicer than you normally could? I find myself rotating through these strategies but I've definitely found some places that I'd like to add to the rotation. Plus I plan on moving in the next year and restaurant.com will help me find new places once I get into the city.

[goodeats]

Today's Living Social coupon is a visit to The General Store & Post Office Tavern (but only for the dine-in & not the bar)

[Ericandblueboy]

I know Dean posted his experiences from the business side, but do you guys usually use these types of deals at a place you go frequently because you can, to try out new things, or extend the budget and go nicer than you normally could?

I would only get coupons for places that I would go anyway - that way, I'm more likely to actually use the coupon. For example, I think Kinkead's is a good restaurant but I haven't been in years and it's not on my list of places to go so why bother? A nice dinner for 2 usually costs $200 so spending $175 in order to save $25 doesn't make a lot of sense unless it's a place you really want to go to anyway.

[fuzzy510]

I know Dean posted his experiences from the business side, but do you guys usually use these types of deals at a place you go frequently because you can, to try out new things, or extend the budget and go nicer than you normally could? I find myself rotating through these strategies but I've definitely found some places that I'd like to add to the rotation. Plus I plan on moving in the next year and restaurant.com will help me find new places once I get into the city.

I definitely use it much more as a way to finally get to a place I've been meaning to try.

And I'm not sure about other cities, but the last time I looked, there seemed to be no place that was worthwhile on Restaurant.com.

[The Doctor]

Brabo has made certificates available on restaurant.com. They're offering $25 certificates for $10, but the site is running an 80 percent off sale right now. Enter the code "SHARE" when you check out. I just snagged a $25 certificate for $2. The restrictions are that it must be used Sun-Thurs, two entrees must be purchased, and a 20 percent gratuity will be added pre-discount.

Link.

[Sundae in the Park]

I know Dean posted his experiences from the business side, but do you guys usually use these types of deals at a place you go frequently because you can, to try out new things, or extend the budget and go nicer than you normally could? I find myself rotating through these strategies but I've definitely found some places that I'd like to add to the rotation. Plus I plan on moving in the next year and restaurant.com will help me find new places once I get into the city.

I generally buy the coupons for places that we already frequent, or were already planningto try/go back to. Otherwise, it really is too easy to forget about them. Coupons don't stretch the budget that much for fine dining, and often come with restrictions, so we don't bother with those.

[DanielK]

$40 gift certificate for $20 at Passage to India at What's the Deal.

or, if you haven't already registered at WTD, clickthrough here, and we each get $5.

[Ericandblueboy]

It's closed for good, confirmed by Bobby.

Dang, I still have one of those Groupon certificates(purchased on Aug 18) - thankfully it only costs $10.

[chaofun]

$20 for $45 at Present today on Specialicious

[Bimbo]

Dang, I still have one of those Groupon certificates(purchased on Aug 18) - thankfully it only costs $10.

Groupon will refund your money - we had the same issue when Posh closed. I can't remember if we contacted them or they contacted us, but it doesn't hurt to drop them a note.

[thistle]

Thanks for pointing this out, I've been meaning to try Present, this will give me some incentive....

[Ericandblueboy]

Bistrot Lepic
on Open Table, $50 certificate for $25.

[Ericandblueboy]

Bistrot Lepic
on Open Table, $50 certificate for $25.

Bought one of these and printed the certtificate today. It says to "Present this Spotlight certificate at the start of your meal so the restaurant can apply the discount to your bill." Really, the restaurant can't apply the discount if I don't present the certtificate until the end of the meal? I've used Groupon and Living Social certficiates before and never had to present them up front.

[DanielK]

Let me fix it:

"Present this Spotlight certificate at the start of your meal so the restaurant can apply the discount 18% tip pre-discount to your bill. [you cheap bastard]"

[Sundae in the Park]

Let me fix it:

"Present this Spotlight certificate at the start of your meal so the restaurant can apply the discount 18% tip pre-discount to your bill. [you cheap bastard]"

Yeah, that's what it means. It's too bad for them, since I usually tip 20% on the pre-discount bill. On all the relevant groupons, there's a reminder to tip on the pre-discount bill as well.

[Ericandblueboy]

My concern really is being perceived as a cheap bastard and then getting shitty service.

[DanielK]

It's a very valid concern, Eric, when presenting before the meal.

[chaofun]

$50 of food/drink for $25 at Kushi on Groupon today.