<p>Over the past month or 2 I’ve bought a couple of groupons, but haven’t used any yet! Tonight we are going to a restaurant for which I have a groupon ($25 for $50 worth of food) and I am at a loss as to how this actually works! </p>
<p>When I bought the groupon, I’m assuming it charged my credit card for $25 … right? (I know, I know, I should have chedked :rolleyes: ) So, when I go to the restaurant, and present the groupon, is it like presenting a gift card for $50? They’ll tally up the bill, and apply $50 against that?</p>
<p>Also, do I need to PRINT the groupon, or can I just present it on my mobile phone? My printer is having issues…so if I could use my mobile, that would be great!</p>
<p>I would call the restaurant ahead of time if you can’t print to make sure that it can be used from your phone. So far I have only used ones that I have printed but I did just download the app for my iPad so you should be able to do it from your phone. Also, Are there any restrictions on the groupon use re using it on a Saturday? You are correct that it would be like using a $50 gift card.</p>
<p>Yes, the Groupon works like a gift certificate. I usually tell the server we have one when we are placing our order - I am not sure this is necessary, but it seems polite. Then the amount is subtracted from the check and you pay the difference. If you spend less than the Groupon, you won’t get any change back - so spend it all. I have seen people present the coupon on their phones although I have always printed mine out. I think all they need is the bar code (or maybe the number) on the certificate. </p>
<p>Just remember to tip on the full amount.</p>
<p>And be careful, when you see how easy it is to use these, you will buy more of them!</p>
<p>Have you tried the restaurant.com certificates? Periodically, they have a sale and you can buy a $25 gift certificate for $2. You usually have to spend $35 to use it, but if you manage to do that, you end up paying $12 for $35 worth of food. That’s a better deal than 50% off. I bought my husband 10 of them for his birthday and we use about one a week.</p>
<p>When we first signed up with Groupon we were attracted to the discounts at restaurants. Locally (Phoenix metro) we are now finding that very few Groupons are offered by restaurants. I have read how some restaurants have nearly been put out of business by the overwhelming response, steep discounts and fees charged by Groupon. In any case, locally the Groupons are now almost exclusively for nail salons, spas and tanning salons (in AZ?). We have no interest in those offers and have unsubscribed from Groupon offers. It makes me wonder about the value of the company as they approach their IPO.</p>
<p>To address your question: you pay the price for the Groupon stated which is charged up front to your credit card and then you present the printout or digital equivalent to the vendor and they deduct the higher face value of the Groupon from your bill. At restaurants we are careful to tip based on the full amount of the charge to be fair to the server.</p>
<p>thanks everyone. Used it tonight successfully. I printed it out and they took the printed copy. Didn’t ask about using my mobile.</p>
<p>2dsdad…Yes. Very seldom do I see a restaurant offer - mostly spas, tanning, photography, other stuff. I did manage to get 2 local restaurants last month, and also a Red Robin one. Few and far between now.</p>
<p>I just bought one today for getting our gutters cleaned and one for my daughter to get her windows cleaned. Both are jobs I don’t want to do so I am happy.</p>
<p>A comment on Groupons, from the other point of view… A business gets HALF of the amount you pay for the Groupon; Groupon gets the other half. So a restaurant that offers a $10 Groupon toward $20 worth of food gets $5. Consequently, it works best for services that are scheduled and thus can be spread over a long period of time, and where it’s just another way of advertising for customers.</p>