Groupon's New CEO Insists The Company Is 'Misunderstood'

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Raise your hand if you think that the problem with Groupon is that the company is just misunderstood by everyone. Anyone?

Last week Groupon's shares hit an all-time low, only days after appointing Rich Williams as its new CEO in place of co-founder Eric Lefkofsky. What's more, Groupon recently ceased operations in Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and a handful of other countries, adding to notable layoffs the company announced back in September. All of this is to say that Groupon, which offers coupons and deals to online customers, is at a crucial point in its short history -- how much longer can it go on like this?
 
My wife has been starting to use them more lately for "nicer" restaurants. We went to one recently (Simply Fondue) and it was the last day to use the particular groupon and the place was freakin packed. We had to wait 45 minutes over a 8:30 reservation....on a Wednesday. The staff said nearly everyone there was using the Groupon.

But I still consider them supreme dumbasses for this passing on the chance of a lifetime

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Yeah, passing on the Google buyout was a colossal blunder. I'm sure Google's glad they dodged that bullet anyway.

Maybe the saddest thing I ever saw was a Groupon spam for "Nickelback tickets" for a local venue, and they ended up having to cancel the concert anyway. Not even Groupon bottomfeeders cared.
 
westrock2000 said:
My wife has been starting to use them more lately for "nicer" restaurants. We went to one recently (Simply Fondue) and it was the last day to use the particular groupon and the place was freakin packed. We had to wait 45 minutes over a 8:30 reservation....on a Wednesday. The staff said nearly everyone there was using the
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Restaurants that use Groupon are making serious business blunders as well...
 
I've lost money more than once on Groupon deals that I failed to notice expired within a few weeks of purchase, and the vendor refused to honor. Groupon refused the refund me as well.

Now I use them to find deals I like, then call the company directly to get the deal. It works out better for the vendor anyway, since they don't have to pay Groupon.

Fuck Groupon.
 
DPI said:
Yeah, passing on the Google buyout was a colossal blunder. I'm sure Google's glad they dodged that bullet anyway.
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Assuming that Google wouldn't have ran it better. I'm guessing they probably could have, given their marketing power and expertise.
 
Groupon is just not something that needs to exist. If your customers have to go to the distributors site it invalidates half the point of coupons. Customer sees coupon and goes into store.
 
Wrecked Em said:
I've lost money more than once on Groupon deals that I failed to notice expired within a few weeks of purchase, and the vendor refused to honor. Groupon refused the refund me as well.

Now I use them to find deals I like, then call the company directly to get the deal. It works out better for the vendor anyway, since they don't have to pay Groupon.

Fuck Groupon.
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You not paying attention isn't really Groupon's or the vendor's fault though, is it?
 
Wrecked Em said:
I've lost money more than once on Groupon deals that I failed to notice expired within a few weeks of purchase, and the vendor refused to honor. Groupon refused the refund me as well.
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The nerve they have to not honor a deal that had expiration dates you failed to notice.
 
OEM said:
The nerve they have to not honor a deal that had expiration dates you failed to notice.
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If you put down money for something it's not a coupon. If they want to have an expiry date they should then refund you your money. Otherwise it's practically a scam. Most countries in the world don't allow this sort of thing. E.G. In Canada any sort of gift certificate or paid voucher can't have an expiry date.
 
Quix said:
If you put down money for something it's not a coupon. If they want to have an expiry date they should then refund you your money. Otherwise it's practically a scam. Most countries in the world don't allow this sort of thing. E.G. In Canada any sort of gift certificate or paid voucher can't have an expiry date.
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I'm not saying I agree with the premise. But, here in America, there are expiration dates, and if you fail to realize that, why should they be responsible for your lack of attention to detail.
 
OEM said:
I'm not saying I agree with the premise. But, here in America, there are expiration dates, and if you fail to realize that, why should they be responsible for your lack of attention to detail.
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That's the thing though. The Groupon fine print says the vendor will still honor the face value that you paid, even after expiration. The vendor though plays dumb and says they don't know what you're taking about, and to take it up with Groupon. Groupon refuses the respond. Too much time has passed for a chargeback. It's not enough money for me to waste any more time on...... Lather, rinse, repeat.

There was a class action because of it. I think I got a check for $5.
 
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