Maybe this is a tangent or there is another thread on the subject already, but does anyone find that one receives inferior service when mentioning the Groupon, Restaurant.com, or similar at the beginning of the meal (as requested on most of them)? I have been very hesitant to order more of these types of things because of the few times I've felt the service was considerably worse as a result of using them.

maxbrown wrote:Maybe this is a tangent or there is another thread on the subject already, but does anyone find that one receives inferior service when mentioning the Groupon, Restaurant.com, or similar at the beginning of the meal (as requested on most of them)? I have been very hesitant to order more of these types of things because of the few times I've felt the service was considerably worse as a result of using them.

I've not noticed this. Usually, the staff seems fine with it. I always make sure I tip on the original amount, but of course they don't know that's going to happen at the beginning.

I've always been treated well using Groupons. The only slight exception would be when I used a $20.00 Groupon at Stefanelli's Italian Deli in Blue Island and only purchased a tiny bit more than the amount on products. When I presented it at the checkout the cashier made a face that suggested she wasn't happy about it,but never said a word. This occured shortly before it was going to expire so her attitude could have been a result of overall negative results with the promotion.

I've always been very happy with the Restaurant.com service at their end (e.g., customer service, order processing, etc.). But, I've had mixed/ambiguous experiences at the restaurant end. At a local Thai place, the owner just went off on me in front of a crowded room when I presented the cert. The gist of it was he felt terribly abused by them and wasn't taking them any more and lost money, etc. etc.
I chalked this up to his perhaps not really understanding what he had signed up for, and then having this endless stream of certs. coming in making him feel terribly beaten up. But it did make me wonder about their sales approach on the restaurant side. Especially with small business owners who may not have great English skills.

Service-wise, I haven't noticed anything, though that may depend on particular places. I've used mine at LM, Dawali, Tratt. Roma, Fattoush, and a couple of little places on Bway that I can't recall, among others, with no noticeable falling off in service.