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Did a search and didn't find that anyone had mentioned this prior, so just in case no one has...
There's a new site similar to Living Social and Groupon with local deals for Greenville called Deal Chicken (they couldn't come up with something more catchy?)
Did a search and didn't find that anyone had mentioned this prior, so just in case no one has...
There's a new site similar to Living Social and Groupon with local deals for Greenville called Deal Chicken (they couldn't come up with something more catchy?)
Does anyone know of any other sites like this that have deals for Greenville?
I think someone on here mentioned it before, but Upstate Perks is another one: Guided walking tour for two, $12 - Deal of the Day: My Upstate Perks (http://www.getmyperks.com/publishers/entercom-greenville/deal-of-the-day - broken link)
Thanks Eldemila, jumped on the Snappy Car Wash deal. Can't beat that compared with other car washes in the area....other than there is a little more work involved such as DIY vacuuming and nobody to hand dry the car.
Thanks Eldemila, jumped on the Snappy Car Wash deal. Can't beat that compared with other car washes in the area....other than there is a little more work involved such as DIY vacuuming and nobody to hand dry the car.
I thought about doing the Snappy Car Wash deal myself.
I just have to say a couple of things about these living social-type deals.
I have a friend who owns a local small business. While he chose not to do the living social promotion, the store next door did put out a living social coupon after a relentless pursuit by a living social salesperson. She is ambivalent as to whether the coupon helped or hurt her business.
The minimum discount they allow is half off, with Living social taking half of that half. So the local store is basically selling something at a loss (and a pretty big one depending on the product/store). In return they get advertising, the hope that a lot of people will not use their coupon, and new customers who will hopefully buy something else while they are at the store and return in the future.
What this lady told me is that she got quite a lot of (mainly) female shoppers, typically in their mid-fifties or so, who did everything they could to maximize that coupon, including bending or trying to break the rules, and spend no more than the exact amount on the coupon.
So she had a lot of sales at a loss. Hundreds of sales at a loss.
She hopes she makes that up with a wider customer base, but honestly isn't very sure of that.
So just keep that in mind. If you really want to support local business, don't be a living social wh ore. Buy something else at full price while you are there. Go back again if you like what you got the first time. At least spread the word.
I can tell you that these types of deals are great, for the most part. Being new to the Upstate I started purchasing deals before moving here so when we got here we:
a) Had some places to go to eat (with some savings) before our stuff arrived and we got settled in and unpacked (which we're still doing) and b) Gave us a chance to try new places we otherwise probably would never know about or tried in our new town
There are many places we tried that we've been back to time and time again WITHOUT a coupon. Cafe Paulista, Bucky's, Velo Fellow, Yia Yia's and others. Besides restaurants I got deals for car detailing, found my new hairdresser through a deal, purchased items at a gift store I've been back to quite a few times, gone bowling, gone to the movies - places I may not have gone to otherwise, or not known about. We've actually purchased deals for places in Hendersonville and Asheville area as well, so not only have we tried places around here, we've done so elsewhere as well. OMG! There's one ending today for a cake place in Asheville that has fantastic reviews and where the cakes sound heavenly!!!!!
There are MANY people who do not use their deals - I was at Strossners the last day the coupon was to expire and when the girl went to my name on the list, there were a couple dozen names below mine just on that one page. I asked her if all those people hadn't used theirs, she had pages and pages of people who did NOT use their coupon. So, while a merchant may lose a little or break even on a coupon, for all those who do NOT use their coupons, and there will always be some, that offsets for those who do. AND, if the establishment offers good food/a good service/a good product/a good experience then they will probably have repeat customers from those who enjoyed their experience.
Some businesses, being new, could easily benefit from putting out a deal like this. I don't think anyone goes in to a deal not realizing they may not make money from the deal itself, but to think of it as an investment in the business for the future. You have to put out money to make money. Compare the cost of advertising vs what you put out after the deal is over.
On the flip side, there are many businesses who take advantage of putting out one of these deals because their business is so lousy. When a deal comes out for a place I may be interested in, like a restaurant, I'll look up the reviews. Many places, the reviews for the most part are not that favorable, so I don't purchase the deal. I've had a deal that the place closed before the deal expired, and one that was so booked up, I couldn't get an appt before the deal expired and they wouldn't extend it after that even though I was calling before it expired - both times I received a refund from the company I purchased it from.
Also, many people don't realize that even after the deal has expired, if you didn't get to use that deal for some reason, you are suppose to be able to redeem the coupon at the place of business for the amount you purchased it for. So if you paid $10 for a $20 deal, you still can use the $10 in that establishment (if they're still open).
And for those who use these coupons, when it comes to a service PLEASE TIP ON THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE BILL or what is customary. I've heard many people don't do this, and this is wrong.
One of the businesses we used a coupon at, Palmetto Oil Co, puts your name in to their computer. I'm sure they put who brought in coupons once your name is in their system. When we've gone back, (and we have gone back, and taken many others who purchased items without any coupons) they ask for the name to pull you up in their computer - they can easily see who comes back, and when. As for your friend who did the deal, only time will tell if this worked for their business, and really without knowing who is coming back that used a coupon before, then they really won't know for sure if it helped, or hurt.
As for those who try to "bend the rules" the rules are the rules, and they are stated in the offer. They can try, but that would be the fault of the business owner/worker for letting them take advantage of them. And for those who use the exact amount of the coupon, that's totally fine, they have redeemed what they purchased and got what they bought, there is nothing wrong with that. There have been many times I've used a deal that I didn't use the entire purchase amount, and many times I've gone well over the coupon amount - again, this helps take the sting out of any losses the business may have from the deal. I've purchased deals from say, an ice cream place, paid $5 for $10 off - with only two of us, I can't imagine spending $5 a piece average on ice cream. Unless there's a third person, I'll not use the entire amount, OR we'd probably go as 4 people (which we've done) and paid the difference. So where I spent $5 to buy the deal, I spent another few dollars on the overage.
I've seen businesses do repeat offers - obviously they wouldn't be doing it again if it wasn't profitable for them to do it the first time! Bucky's has been just one of them, and whenever I see a deal for them, I'll buy it. And when I don't have a coupon, we'll be there anyhow, but without a coupon, we wouldn't have known about them, at least not as soon as we did. The coupon got us in the door and has been bringing us back again, and again, and again - no coupon needed.
I think it's important to know that the businesses go (or should) into agreements with these coupon places - with the knowledge of what their loss could possibly be. Interesting to note - that Living Social does show how many offers have been bought. A company could track that with previous offers to determine if they will be blown away with extra customers.
People that cheat on coupons - drive me crazy.
Here's my experience with two different local places using Groupon/Living Single.
#1- Red Bowl, bought a coupon deal - went and used it and have returned 4 times following that based on the food/service. I probably would not have gone there initially without the coupon.
#2 - Husband bought Cade's Diner coupon (after we had been there previously and I swore I wouldn't return). We went again, saw/tasted changes and I have rethought my decision of never visiting there. We will return.
I bought the Snappy Car Wash deal, too- a friend told us about them and we'd been wanting to try them. Thanks for posting the link!
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if you go through MrRebates first 
