Groupon

Groupon is awesome, at least in the Boston area, especially for gifts. They do 1 day sales for services and restaurants, like $20 for $50 gift certificates, or half off helicopter training school. They recently did a 3-month gym pass to a ritzy upscale gym for $27 that would've cost at least $350 otherwise! They typically only offer one sale each day, and a new one each day, so I find myself checking in often to make sure I don't miss anything :) Just make sure you ALWAYS read the fine print before buying! There are always restrictions! Such as, must be redeemed by June 1st, or only valid for 1st time customers, and they don't waiver on these restrictions so be prepared!

I've had some pretty good deals with Groupon, but then I bought a remote controlled helicopter as a Christmas present for my nephew. The thing didn't work when he took it out of the box, and since I bought it more than 15 days before Christmas, they won't take it back--not even willing to discuss it. What other reputable site has a 15 day return policy-- absurd! One horrible experience more than offsets 5 really good experiences.

I have to say... out of all the various online/deal/voucher sites... the pioneer Groupon.com rules. Their customer service always reply to you as promised (within 24 hours). I have successfully received 3 refunds due to various vendor reasons (ie: had a terrible experience but purchased more than one voucher, business closed down temporarily, etc.)... you have to be detailed in your complaint and patient in getting your refund. 98% (come on groupon.com isn't perfect) of their vendors are reputable and respect you and the voucher when presented. Simple expectations that Groupon.com executes successfully but sadly not the way of the world these days. Great job Groupon :)

I've noticed without a doubt any clients I have that purchase through Groupon have a false idea of what quality services can provide. It caters to cheap ppl looking for the best deal and act entitled when they pay a fraction of the price.
Don't use Groupon if you want your service to be great service most people will see that it's cheap and treat you differently. This is my honest opinion from first hand experience over and over again.

Let me start by saying that my children are not spoilt and I am generally an easy going person but thanks to Groupon, my daughter won't be receiving her Christmas present this year. Her iPad, I have been informed (after I chased it up) won't be arriving. No explanation! I purchased prior to the Christmas rush and my daughter has been eagerly waiting for the last 3 weeks for her anticipated parcel (required for school). At no time was I advised it would not be honoured by the hard sell but soft on service Groupon! So much for the tracking system which also failed to provide accurate details. I have used Groupon on a number of occasions but NEVER again. I will do my online shopping with Living Social. Buyer beware! Liz

I've never had a good experience using Groupon. Each time I've tried there were so many restrictions on the purchase that I never even bothered using it.

My husband has a business and when he looked into how they are set up, it is crazy. Groupon takes like 50% of the money transaction leaving nothing for the merchant. When you factor in that those who shop with Groupon are only bargain buyers, they think those deals should always apply at the stores. Makes for an non-healthy business concept.

Groupon is hit or miss. Sometimes you get a deal and the business is responsive. But there is also scam which customers are not protected against. One of my latest purchases - the business simply was not responding.The Groupon replied they do not issue refund after 3 days - like seriously? (note i tried scheduling appointment on the day of purchase!).
Anyways, if you have this problem, make sure you file with YOUR BANK. Your bank will compensate and if there re multiple complaints from different customers they WILL HUNT them down. So take an action!

Purchased a 2 day hotel in Hershey PA. My daughter woke up sick and had ear aches. Took her to the Dr. and confirmed she had an ear infection. So - no rides or water park for us.

Groupon does not have a phone number on their site. Email response stated my email would be addressed in 24 hours. Live Chat started out as a robot. Then when someone did respond - the responses were 15-30 minutes apart. Told me I should have made the change yesterday. I didn't know yesterday that my child had an ear infection. The person from the Chat said they could expedite my request to reschedule - but it would be 7 business days. That will be to late as we were supposed to go tomorrow.

I am out $300 dollars because they will not reschedule - even though I talked to the hotel and they said Groupon could reschedule it.

First time i use them, years ago, was fine, then i got a coupon for a laser place who did absolutely nothing for me, but let's say that was that the place was bad. This May i bought an led lightbulb with mosquito killer, they sent me a 4 step stairs, i called, they email me a return label, really? Now i have a job of returning stuff they send wrong. She said it can take two weeks and it depends on how my bank handles refunds. Sounds like trouble. I heard she had an accent and all the people in the back that were talking too, they all sound chinese, i don't think this company is in the US.

Groupon Used to be great. Not anymore! Ive been a Groupon shopper since its inception many years ago. I was an avid fan, buying multiple coupons every week for just about every type of deal offered. Customer service is nonexistent. There is no 800-number or effective live chat anymore. Customer support used to be front and center. That is no more. I recently bought a voucher that clearly states TWO people for Paint nite and yet I only received one validation code. Spent hours, days and now weeks trying to get what I purchased... all I got was frustration and bounced between Groupon 'chat' and the vendor. I have decided never to buy from Groupon again. Customer Service matters Groupon!

Can take up to 48 hours to hear back from customer service. Most reps seem to have no clue as to what is going on.

From business standpoint, payments are rarely, if ever, on time. It is very difficult, almost impossible to find out if the payments are accurate. If you cancel your deals with them, they will freeze you out of the merchant center, so you can't even verify vouchers that had been sold.

We ended our agreement early December, on vouchers that were to have a 90 day expiration date and somehow are still getting vouchers that are valid. It's odd. But try to speak with someone about it? {sigh}

I stopped using groupon 5 years ago. Recently used them again with the same awful results. Some businesses look very bad at you if you are there to use their services for cheap and will use all types of tactics to get more money from you or waste your time by asking you to come some other time.
Worst thing is the 3-days cancellation period. It relies on the fact that most people even will not attempt to use the coupon that early.

I just bought wrong horror night tickets (hollywood california, instead of orlando florida) 6 days before the event... and they said that they can't refund my money, and not even to switch to the right park. (Even though they are the "same" park of attraction).
Please don't try to buy anything from here, its not fair for people to lose $168 just because of an error, and something that can be fix soo easily. So sad for universal studios to make deals with this 3rd partie company good for nothing. (Probably won't renew my family year-pass with them anymore)

I've been using groupon for several months now for a variety of different things and have never had an issue. In fact, my boyfriend and I went on vacation and when we got to the hotel we found out that our groupon included all meals and other amenities that were not initially listed when we purchased; it was a great surprise.
We've discovered new restaurants we may have never tried before, every business has always been very accommodating and pleasant to redeem with, and any goods we order arrive within the expected time frame and work perfectly. To me, groupon has been one of my best and most favorite discoveries.

Right, I almost got hooked up with groupon as the deals look so lucrative that you find hard to resist yourself from getting. I bought voucher of £18 to spend on ladies handbag costing £70 from a website. ( i can't even remember the website $#*!!). Eventually after long wait i received it and it looked so cheap and fake that It was like something you would rather give for charity rather than keeping at home.
I didn't know groupon get 50% share of total price of whatever we pay. I see that fact that why the deal look cool. FAKE, CHEAP and RIP OFF! I will never turn around to that site and am going to delete the app from my iPhone.