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Posted

It's contest time again!



I have, sitting next to me, a brand new copy of the "Entertainment 2014" coupon book, to be given away a week from Friday, July 4th, at 12 noon.



Between now (Wednesday, June 25th, at 9:15 PM) and then, every person who posts in the New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore forum will receive one "lottery ticket." Everyone who posts in the Professionals and Businesses forum (which requires a 100-word initial posting, or a 50-word follow-up posting accompanied by a real-name signature (see the FAQ)) will receive three, or triple the number of entries. As much as I cherish the Help Needed sub-forum there, it is excluded for the purposes of this particular contest.



There is no limit to the number of entries - if someone wants to post ten times in the Professionals and Businesses forum, they'll get 30 chances to win.



It should be obvious what I'm doing here: promoting the forums I want to see get more posts. As of the cut-off time (7/4 at 12 noon), I will put the virtual "lottery tickets" together into a virtual "fishbowl," and draw the winner using a random-number generator - the same way I always do this.



So, to summarize:



New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore posts get 1 entry each (please make them substantive to stay within the spirit of this).


Professionals and Businesses posts get 3 entries each.



You'll be helping us out, you'll be helping Entertainment 2014 out, you'll be helping our readers out, and you'll potentially be helping yourself out: Win-Win-Win-(Win?)



I'll go a step further: anyone who friends me (Don Rockwell) or follows dcdining.com on Facebook also gets an entry. Likewise, anyone who retweets @DCDining on Twitter (who lives in the DC area) gets an entry as well.



Hell, I'll go a step further: anyone who posts in the "Fine Arts And Their Variants" forum gets an entry as well.



Good luck to all, and I will make sure the book gets delivered to the winner (assuming they live in the DC area) at my own expense. If you've "never won anything in your life," now's your chance ... you have to play to win!



To summarize, the following get one "lottery ticket":



Posts in:



1) New York Restaurants and Dining


2) Philadelphia Restaurants and Dining


3) Baltimore Restaurants and Dining


4) Fine Arts And Their Variants



5) Friending Don Rockwell on Facebook


6) Following dcdining.com on Facebook



7) Retweets of @dcdining on Twitter



But, the following posts (according to the very time-consuming, stringent rules) triple the changes per post and get 3 "lottery tickets":



Posts (both new threads and replies - see FAQ for the rules) in:



8) The Professionals and Businesses Forum



In other words, between now and July 4th and noon, if someone posts 1 post in New York, 2 posts in any of the Fine Arts and Their Variants forums, Follows dcdining.com on Facebook, Retweets 2 of my posts on Twitter, Originates a thread in the Professionals and Businesses Forum, and replies to a thread in the Professionals and Businesses Forum, they get a total of how many lottery tickets for the drawing? (Calculate this on your own before reading the answer to see if you understand, and if you get it wrong, and can't figure out why the answer is what it is, just ask!)



They get 12 lottery tickets:



1 each for New York, 2 on the Fine Arts and Their Variants forum, 1 Follow on Facebook, and 2 Retweets (that's 6)


1 new thread on Professionals and Businesses (that's 3)


1 reply on Professionals and Businesses (that's 3)



for a total of 12.



Good luck to all. The book is brand new, unregistered, and has 6 months left before it expires on December 30, 2014. This is hardly a life-changing prize, but I'm happy for someone to put it to good use.



Cheers,


Rocks


Posted

FYI: None of your favorite restaurants is in the Entertainment book.

Thanks for the info, but you can still find many decent half-price casual places, subs, etc., not to mention many non-restaurant coupons (rental cars, hotels, oil changes, Buy Buy Baby, Merchant's Tire and Auto, Target, Priceline, Wizards games, Regal movie theaters, etc.). After I read your post, I picked it up and glanced at it: Elevation Burger, Popeye's, Pupuseria, Chadwicks, Pepino's, Cuba de Ayer, Minerva, Haagen Dazs, Robeck's etc. Plenty of people could use this to save money, especially given that it's free.

Posted

I apologize, Don. I didn't mean to be a party pooper. I have a personal bias. In 1991, I bought a restaurant in Chevy Chase, MD, with 2 friends. It was an old family restaurant. It had horrible food yet was always packed. Lines out the door of people waiting (even with reservations). The price was right. One of my partners had been the executive chef of the Watergate Hotel. Our lawyer examined 3 years of financial statements from the current owners without uncovering anything unusual. Our first weekend was incredibly busy. 250 dinners on our first Saturday night. The chef did all the butchering of the fresh products we served. Customers instantly noticed that things had changed for the better. The previous owners had the Sysco truck pull up once a week with 600 pounds of frozen chickens, pre-cut steaks and frozen vegetables. At the end of the first week, it became clear why this formerly terrible restaurant was packed all the time. 99% of the customers whipped out their Entertainment coupon. The previous owners had not disclosed their participation in the program or the two other twofer programs they participated in. After a month, we put up a sign that said that we no longer honored Entertainment due to a change in ownership. Business plummeted to almost nothing. It was a difficult learning experience. A year later, our partnership fell apart and I got a new job because there was no money to pay 3 of us.

  • Like 1
Posted

I apologize, Don. I didn't mean to be a party pooper. I have a personal bias. In 1991, I bought a restaurant in Chevy Chase, MD, with 2 friends. It was an old family restaurant. It had horrible food yet was always packed. Lines out the door of people waiting (even with reservations). The price was right. One of my partners had been the executive chef of the Watergate Hotel. Our lawyer examined 3 years of financial statements from the current owners without uncovering anything unusual. Our first weekend was incredibly busy. 250 dinners on our first Saturday night. The chef did all the butchering of the fresh products we served. Customers instantly noticed that things had changed for the better. The previous owners had the Sysco truck pull up once a week with 600 pounds of frozen chickens, pre-cut steaks and frozen vegetables. At the end of the first week, it became clear why this formerly terrible restaurant was packed all the time. 99% of the customers whipped out their Entertainment coupon. The previous owners had not disclosed their participation in the program or the two other twofer programs they participated in. After a month, we put up a sign that said that we no longer honored Entertainment due to a change in ownership. Business plummeted to almost nothing. It was a difficult learning experience. A year later, our partnership fell apart and I got a new job because there was no money to pay 3 of us.

Ouch!

Well, I got this book as a free sample given to me earlier this year. The PR rep for the Entertainment Company told me to go ahead and use it, but I didn't think it would be ethical, so it has sat at my house all year, losing half its utility. I thought it would be better for someone to get a chance to save some money, than for it to just expire on December 30th and never be used.

I'll be honest, we have two book giveaways coming up that are probably more interesting than this is, but unless people *really* want the Entertainment Book, they don't have to do anything they normally wouldn't. The only reason I'm doing this one first is because it's time-sensitive.

Sorry about your experience, man. I think Groupon et al have pretty much displaced Entertainment as the coupons of choice, for whatever that's worth.

Posted

I apologize, Don. I didn't mean to be a party pooper. I have a personal bias. In 1991, I bought a restaurant in Chevy Chase, MD, with 2 friends. It was an old family restaurant. It had horrible food yet was always packed. Lines out the door of people waiting (even with reservations). The price was right. One of my partners had been the executive chef of the Watergate Hotel. Our lawyer examined 3 years of financial statements from the current owners without uncovering anything unusual. Our first weekend was incredibly busy. 250 dinners on our first Saturday night. The chef did all the butchering of the fresh products we served. Customers instantly noticed that things had changed for the better. The previous owners had the Sysco truck pull up once a week with 600 pounds of frozen chickens, pre-cut steaks and frozen vegetables. At the end of the first week, it became clear why this formerly terrible restaurant was packed all the time. 99% of the customers whipped out their Entertainment coupon. The previous owners had not disclosed their participation in the program or the two other twofer programs they participated in. After a month, we put up a sign that said that we no longer honored Entertainment due to a change in ownership. Business plummeted to almost nothing. It was a difficult learning experience. A year later, our partnership fell apart and I got a new job because there was no money to pay 3 of us.

Two things:

A.  you bought it in '91.  LOL.  so you're "older" too.  LOL

B.  lawyers aren't qualified to review financial statements unless they have a strong level of financial strength.  Its not what they do.  I worked with so many attorneys on real estate leases.  So many of them didn't know squat about the financial parts.   But they do know, or are supposed to know about the legal parts of deals and businesses.

  • Like 1
Posted

Two things:

A.  you bought it in '91.  LOL.  so you're "older" too.  LOL

B.  lawyers aren't qualified to review financial statements unless they have a strong level of financial strength.  Its not what they do.  I worked with so many attorneys on real estate leases.  So many of them didn't know squat about the financial parts.   But they do know, or are supposed to know about the legal parts of deals and businesses.

Actually three things if I may:

C. Mark's story goes to show what an *incredibly valuable prize* the 2014 Entertainment Book is! So everyone get to posting!

:P

  • Like 1
Posted

You all have no idea how much of a dogfight this turned into.

I just counted the qualifying posts from 9 PM, June 25, through 12 noon, July 4, and here are the results (I counted the top 3 finishers twice to make sure - if anyone sees a discrepancy, let me know).

Keithstg  II

weinoo  VI
thistle I
Justin Bittner VI
Pool Boy VII
Choirgirl21 III
porcupine IX
KeithA I
JoeH I
Genevieve II
jasonc VII
TheHersch I
DIShGo VII
daveo VIII
Steve R. II
lperry I
Al Dente I
DanielK IV
Sasha K II
leleboo I
 
And so the winner is ... porcupine, and the post that put her over the top contained exactly 3 letters - it's right here, and was posted in the final few hours of the contest. There's no way anyone was counting, so this is entirely by chance. daveo put up a fierce battle with his postings in the Sports forum, Pool Boy nearly had it with his Baltimore posts, and DIShGo with her Literature posts. But, porcupine it is.
 
I owe ol_ironstomach a copy of Enzo's cookbook from the last contest, so I assume I can get you both your prizes at the same time?
 
Posted

Thank you, Don.  I'm reluctant to turn down your generosity, but truthfully I likely wouldn't ever use one.  I have a mild ethical issue with coupons.  Anyway I post a lot in the Fine Arts forum because I like to, not because I wanted to win something.  Please pass along the book to daveo.

  • Like 1
Posted

Thank you, Don.  I'm reluctant to turn down your generosity, but truthfully I likely wouldn't ever use one.  I have a mild ethical issue with coupons.  Anyway I post a lot in the Fine Arts forum because I like to, not because I wanted to win something.  Please pass along the book to daveo.

I had to "bold" that part of Porcupine's comments that were well said, and reflected my postings:  I did so because I enjoyed it, not because I was competing.  I similarly would have declined, but I just thought of an application where it may get more usage, so I'll accept.   Thank you, Don.  Most generous.

Meanwhile, @Porcupine  as a business person I'm interested in your perspective as to why you have an issue with coupons.   Personally over various short spells I endeavored to be a "big coupon user".   But I've never had the discipline to maintain it.  That effort has always been short lived.  Regardless of my experiences I'm interested to hear of your perspective as it reflects that of at least one consumer, if you would be willing to share.    Lordie knows our various small businesses have used a lot of coupons and discounts to spur purchasing.

Posted

It's obvious that nobody was posting with the contest in mind, but I got the book for free, and it's just sitting around, waiting to expire at year-end, so why not give it away?

I told their PR rep that I would just look at it; not use it, but she told me to go ahead and enjoy it. I figure this contest was killing two birds with one stone - giving the Entertainment company a little PR, and giving the book to someone who will benefit from it.

There are surprisingly useful coupons in the book, for many things; it's not just dying restaurants. Example: I just opened it to a random page and found $20 off a car rental at National, $10 off a $50 purchase at Office Depot (including printer ink), 10% off Hotels.com (I'm a Gold member, and didn't even know about this thing!), and some of the coupons don't expire until 6/30/2015.

Others: $40 off a weekly rental at Avis, 20% off at Dick's Sporting Goods, 20% off a single item at Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc. The way to use this book is to go through the entire thing, one time, and write down the coupons you think you'll use on a single sheet of paper. When I think of how much I've spent on car rentals in the past year, I was a fool not to use this thing.

Hey now that I've done this research, I want this thing for myself!

Dave, not to answer for Elizabeth, but I personally swore off *all* discount programs years ago because I didn't want to have to *think* about things or give up my phone number, address, etc. I figure that it costs me a few hundred dollars every year not to have my wallet full of discount cards from Staples, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, etc., but I don't care - I've simply written that off as part of the cost of living, and I'm much happier not worrying about it. I was a *huge* Groupon user when they first came out; then, I started feeling exactly the way I did when I whipped out my Entertainment card in restaurants back when I was in my 20s - like a cheapskate. If you use Groupon enough times, you'll know what I mean - you just get sick and tired of servers giving you the hairy eyeball, or at least I did. When I'm in CVS, or Best Buy, or DSW Shoes, or Staples, or Target, or Safeway, I use a friend's phone number so I get the discount and they get whatever bonus points they get. And the sad truth is, I think that many restaurants who participate in discount programs are desperate for money, or overcharging to begin with (e.g., Arrowine and cheese - as much as I love their cheeses, I would *never* pay full retail for them). I remember so well when Kushi was offering huge discounts with an expiration date that was well over a year into the future - that had "financial problems" written all over it.

Posted

Meanwhile, @Porcupine  as a business person I'm interested in your perspective as to why you have an issue with coupons.   Personally over various short spells I endeavored to be a "big coupon user".   But I've never had the discipline to maintain it.  That effort has always been short lived.  Regardless of my experiences I'm interested to hear of your perspective as it reflects that of at least one consumer, if you would be willing to share.    Lordie knows our various small businesses have used a lot of coupons and discounts to spur purchasing.  

Will try not to turn this reply into a screed...  My parents were small business owners for awhile.  I came to appreciate how hard it is to follow that particular pathway of The American Dream.  I am fortunate to be in a situation where I can choose to spend my money where I will; thus, the local independently owned pharmacy, not Rite-Aid; the local quasi-independent hardware store, not Home Depot; the Bethesda Co-Op or MOM, not Whole Foods or Giant (mostly).  And so on.  I suppose since I am against Big Corporations I should show it by shopping at those places when I have coupons, but I'd rather spend a buck or two more to support my local small businesses.

Money isn't the root of all evil; greed is.  Money is just an expression of it.  In my eyes, Big Corporate America is greed personified (I can say that now that the Supreme Court has decided corporations = people, right?).  ...ooops, turning into a screed.

Anyway, I suspect that small businesses are hurt as much as helped by coupon use, so I'd just rather not.   I don't want to be the kind of person who feels compelled to save every penny at every opportunity.

Does that make sense?

...also, what Don said.  I do not participate in loyalty programs, with the exception of getting my card stamped every time I buy a bubble tea at TenRen.

Posted

@Elizabeth, @Don:   From a business perspective thanks for the comments above.  Its interesting and helpful to get the perspectives of people;  why they shop, how they shop, how they make the decisions they do.

From a business perspective....enough of the population doesn't act  the way you two do, to make "coupons" and "discounts" compelling.  And so they are in innumerable settings.

They do "hurt" small businesses.  The trick is figuring out how they can "help" a business.

Meanwhile Don is nice enough to be willing to drop the book off at the bartending school where I'm usually located.  That way the staff can get access to the discounts.  Heck maybe there is a discount for the smb for business supplies.

Meanwhile I enjoyed reading Elizabeth's comments on literature.  I still have a hard time picking up a book letting alone reading it in an e reader or tablet.  As to commentary on things like Star Trek...there are better people than I to supply perspective.  :D

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