Last Friday wasn’t just any date night. It was date night with a free babysitter and a Groupon! How could we possibly go wrong with such an extreme score? Upon meeting my husband at the locally owned Italian eatery, we found ourselves uttering the following phrases:
- Let’s order an appetizer – we have a Groupon.
- Should we get another round of drinks? We have a Groupon.
- Don’t order your favorite margherita pizza, get something better – we have a Groupon.
- How about dessert? We have a Groupon.
We left this popular restaurant two hours later feeling uncomfortably full, fairly buzzed, and completely broke. This sacred Groupon somehow made us feel entitled to splurge beyond our means and our appetites. As a result, we spent more money than we would have on a normal date night with a paid sitter.
I have been purchasing these money-saving gems since the inception of Groupon. I have purchased photo framing, teeth whitening, massages, pedicures, and play date activities. In fact, next week I will be enjoying a $19 gel manicure at my favorite salon. Why do I need a $19 gel manicure? I don’t. I have 20 shades of nail polish in my closet and two hands that are perfectly capable of painting the nails on the other. Still, when that e-mail arrives in my inbox every morning with claims to save 50-60% on a service or product I don’t actually need, suddenly I would be a fool for not purchasing this convenient mobile scannable bar code of sheer value.
Good read, I simply passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And also he definitely bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
But the real question is…did your friend use a Groupon for lunch?!?!
Like your Blog Jess.
Anyway….enjoy your humor & personal perspective.
If you think you’re going broke with Groupon, think about it from the perspective of the retailer…… Groupon, Living Social (yes, check them out if they’re in your market…..& watch ur credit card debt rise like a thermometer left out in the Memphis summer sun) & the other ‘daily deals’ work on the premise that they need to offer at least 50% off as the deal & then they split the remaining 50%……which in turn gives the retailer a 25% return. Even worse, in Groupon’s case, is that is that they pay the retailer in three 30 day increments so that they are fully paid in 90 days. YIKES!!! So the retailer is fronting vertually all the money……all with the premise that they are getting new customers….which, for the most part, is BS. They are getting coupon shoppers who largely will move on to the next deal!
Poor SOBs don’t even realize it until the locomotive hits them!
Check out my blog and let me know what you think……
Take care my friend!
http://ayankeeinmemphis.blogspot.com/2011/10/social-network.html
a yankee in Memphis
I should probably unsubscribe to Groupon because most of the time I don’t even read their e-mails. It’s like looking through a catalog that comes in the mail. I don’t really need anything, but if I look through it, I can easily find a dozen things which I would really like. So now i don’t even look through my catalogs which brings up a whole other issue of my annoyance with junk mail. What an incredible waste of our natural resources!
Thanks for the comment — would love to check out your blog as well!