Do you love the email discount powerhouse known as Groupon? Who cares if it\u2019s apparently worth much more than the $6 billion Google offered for it? All you know is you sign up one day and local deals come a pourin\u2019 down your e-pipe the next.<\/p>\n
I admit, I\u2019ve not been paying attention to all the daily deals as well as I should. I even sometimes stare at a deal I want, but because I\u2019m checking my email in between bites of fast food with the one thumb that doesn\u2019t have guacamole on it, I\u2019m in no position to pull the trigger. I make a mental note to come back and do it, but invariably that cerebral Post-it falls off the cognitive mirror.<\/p>\n
My wife, however, was eagle-eyed and hawk hungry last week. She spied a Groupon offer for a local sushi restaurant. Yes, we\u2019d gone there before and might not have needed too much coaxing to eventually go again, but half-off is half-off. No sooner had the ink dried on her printed discount confirmation than we were on our way and seated. I sometimes wonder if the high cost of ink blows the coupon\u2019s savings\u2026<\/p>\n
With the restaurant offering a half price deal and Groupon taking a considerable portion of the online fees collected, the sushi and staff had to be spot on. And they were! As many times as we\u2019ve eaten there, we agreed this was the best tasting, most well presented occasion. The sushi was awesome. And because we were playing with house money, I even stepped up and ordered a steak that made two people weep – me because it was so delicious, and the chef because it went out for free.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s to complain about when the staff is super-friendly, the sushi sublime and the steak so stubbornly succulent? Just one thing: they never asked for my email. I\u2019m sorry, but I have to let this shouting out\u2026 WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WE OBVIOUSLY ARE PEOPLE WHO RESPOND TO EMAILS \u2013 THAT\u2019S HOW WE GOT THAT GROUPON IN THE FIRST PLACE. I REALLY WOULD SIGN UP FOR YOUR LIST.<\/p>\n
In all fairness, that Groupon had the place swamped. But it really looked like they went out of their way to make the promotion sparkle. I never felt so loved. If my hands weren\u2019t full of raw fish, I\u2019d have high-fived every employee on the way out. At least we remembered to do the right thing when you get a discount \u2013 tip well on the full amount of the original pre-discount check.<\/p>\n