sweet t.

I very rarely leave a bad review about a business but here it is. I have been both a customer and a merchant with Groupon. As a customer, I got exactly what I paid for. When I elect to make a purchase from a second party that takes on average, over 50% of the profit from the local business, and that is after they cut the cost of a service in half, it leaves the small business owner with less than 25% of what they would normally make. Imagine going into work and receiving a paycheck that is over 75% less than what you normally make. The initial lour for business owners is that this is a marketing website. It's not a marketing website, it's a penny-pincher website and Groupon customers are known for wanting to purchase a service or product for the cheapest they possibly can. Don't be surprised if you get what you pay for. That's exactly what I got. As a merchant that takes great pride in what I do, I always give the best service possible. However, when you have people coming in to redeem their Groupon for what they paid for and then they want you to upgrade them and throw in all kinds of freebees, it's a bit disheartening. As a consumer, you should take pride in your interactions with your local micro-economy. It will only serve to make your community at large, a more desirable place to live and it's important to be good to people. In return, they will more times than not, be good to you. So, if you want to try out a local business, pay the extra money or ask if they have a new customer discount. Cut out Groupon all together. They have proven that they don't care about the customer and they don't care about the merchant. If you are a penny-pincher that just wants to buy as much as you can for as little as possible, please at least remember to tip your service people on 20% of the actual full price service (as you are getting it for ridiculously cheap) and be kind and grateful as you are already taking advantage and both you and they know it. One positive thing about Groupon is that it can introduce you to a business that you may not otherwise have known about. Groupon's communication is terrible.