I had the unfortunate experience of seeing a Groupon go wrong at a local business. I went to purchase something with a Groupon that was good through tomorrow, and the person at the counter told me that they were no longer accepting Groupons, and that I should contact them for a refund.
Luckily for the person behind the counter, I am pretty mild-mannered in these type of situations and I made a purchase anyway. However, I could tell by the look on her face that she was expecting nothing short of a temper tantrum.
When you do a promotion for your business, be sure to make sure your business can handle the additional traffic, as well as the stress it may place it may put on your employees. From the Groupon website, there was nothing to indicate this promotion was no longer valid, nor was there any type of indication that it was going to be easy to get a refund. I've contacted customer service to see what happens from here.
I haven't had an experience like this with Groupon before, but I have heard stories like this where businesses haven't really realized the impact a promotion can have on their business, whether it is a Groupon or other special offer. Too often, the businesses look at promotions as a quick way to bring in new traffic without thinking of the effects on the people that work there. Be sure if you consider any type of promotional offer that you look at the human factor as the well.
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