So it would appear that group deals are all the rage now. Every other day, we see a new online company pop up offering group discounts. If you aren’t familiar with it, this is basically how it works.
- Group deal company gets merchant to offer a special discounted deal to its members. It could be for food or services.
- Deal goes live online but will only be available if a certain number of people have purchased it. We never know how many is this magical number. I’ve seen deals go live with as few as 1 person purchasing it.
- Customer buys the deal online and is issued an online voucher which can only be used between certain dates. If the deal doesn’t go through (too few people buying) then you get a refund (so they say)
It is usually advisable for you to make sure the time within which you can use the vouchers is suitable to you or that the location is near enough for you to get to. No point living in KL and buying a voucher to be used in Subang Jaya unless you go there often or are prepared to make the trip specially. I have purchased a few of these group deal vouchers for food and services so let me share some of my experiences with you to see if these group deal thingys are worth trying, and then you can share your story too 🙂
Group Deal – RM59 for 2 hour Spa session worth RM280 at Jari Spa (Dealmates)
You can read my experience at Jari Spa using this deal. Worth it? Not one bit. Imagine if I had paid full price! Perhaps the ones who did pay full price had a better experience? Its hard to say.
Group Deal – S$23.80 for Segway Eco-Adventure at Segway Sentosa worth S$38 (Groupon Singapore)
I wrote briefly about my experience with Segway Sentosa. Worth the deal? A little. Maybe S$10 worth for the experience. The shoddy rude service I received made it NOT worth my while. Imagine if I had paid full price! I did receive an apology about 2 weeks after I wrote in with my complaint.
Group Deal – RM68 for 2 hour Facial session worth RM337 at Absolute Beaute (Groupon Malaysia)
You can read my experience at Absolute Beaute using this deal. It was alright as far as a facial goes. I don’t think it worth RM337, but I’d have paid the full price for the facial only, and might have signed up for a small package, if the location wasn’t so far from where I live.
Group Deal – RM7.50 for food at Coffee Chemistry (OneDiscount)
This one was an excellent deal and a very good introduction to this cafe. Coffee Chemistry Cafe is a very nice place serving very good coffee with pretty coffee art, and decently priced cafe food. I’d happily return for the coffee and food if I’m in the area (Sunway Giza).
Group Deal – RM38 for Sang Har Meen for 2 at Four Seas Chinese Restaurant (Dealmates)
I quite enjoyed this deal. The sang har meen was decently good, and I was introduced to a new restaurant I’d never have known about but for the deal.
Based on my experiences, I had a better experience with food deals as opposed to service deals. Some people haven’t, getting poor quality food or smaller portions. Here are my tips you can take on board if you want to purchase a group deal:-
- Check out the facebook page of the company offering the deal for feedback. Sometimes, those who have bought previous deals will document their experiences with the vouchers purchased. Sometimes, if you are considering the deal, some other people might have done your homework for you and may even save you money. e.g. I was interested in a deal to experience paramotoring at RM75 instead of RM150 offered on Groupon Malaysia. It promised “Up to 3 hours of ground training and flying.” When I checked out the Facebook page, I saw that some people had called up the merchant and found out that you get only about 15 minutes worth of flying time. Not worth it for me!
- Check out the merchant offering the deal. Google is your best friend. Do a quick search on the merchant offering the deal. Sometimes, people who have tried it might have shared their experiences. These merchants sometimes offer repeat deals with different group deal companies. I always wonder why this is so. Or perhaps those who have been for the service or to the restaurant will have reviewed it pre-deal. As with everything, do your homework.
- Is it the deal offered from a merchant new in the business? Based on experience, the two spa services were from very new spas. Teething problems are to be expected in terms of time management but poor service should never be a compromise. I’ll never go back to a spa or any service that offers me a poor service the first time.
- Can you get better deals by just walking in? I have actually seen some people complaining that after they bought the deal for a hair salon, and went for the service, they found that they could get it cheaper with a “first trial promotion” the salon was already offering. Suggestion: Call up the salon or spa offering the deal and see if they have first time promotions and do your comparisons to see if its worth while.
- Brace yourself for bad service and hardsell Some people have reported awful experiences at hair salons (I’d never take on a hair salon deal. EVER!) and I’ve had poor service at a spa. Be prepared that your “deal” may cause you more mental trauma than its worth. Also be prepared for hardsell in salons or beauty services. They are trying to get a repeat customer and the deal is the sweetener.
- Make your service booking early. Sometimes, these merchants over-commit themselves with their deals and they could be inundated with hundreds of customers. Also, such deals have an expiry date which may be sooner than you expect. Get your foot in the door early or risk your deal expiring before you can get an appointment.
- Don’t bother with slimming salon deals. I’m serious. You’re just setting yourself up for a hardsell. Most “reputable” slimming salons already offer cheap deals for “first trial” or even free trials. Paying RM18 for RM400 worth of a slimming service doesn’t get you anything. If its free, at least you don’t feel as cheated 😛
- If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. As with every “deal” you come across in your life. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Will I buy group deals again? After these few experiences, I’ll say “I’ll think about it”. I’m not about to close the door and say no because I might still be surprised, or I might actually get a deal I enjoy. But for now, its No. In fact, I’ve unsubscribed from all the group deal websites I’d been subscribed to before. I just think it more hassle than its really worth. Vivawoman discussed this phenomenon recently too from a beauty service angle.
After I drafted this post, I noticed an increase in the number of holiday group deals. I personally have not tried them but I’m very reluctant to unless its for an established hotel. I might buy a hotel deal after I’ve done my homework, but never a tour package/flight deal. I don’t want to be stranded in a foreign land! 😛 Also, if its a deal to buy something from a website, I’m less likely to purchase it unless I’m very familiar with the said website. Even if its a discounted deal, its still money!
Your Say: What do you think of Group Deals and have you had any regrets? Have you bought a deal that was a dud? Or perhaps you bought a gem of a deal? Feel free to share your experiences or advice below 🙂
Paris B
Tine and I have bought a few together. The latest one was a manicure session at Bloom. I didn’t hesitate much because she’s a freelance manicurist brought in by Bloom. And Bloom has a reputation to uphold, they won’t get in a dodgy person. Both of us were pretty happy about the results. The manicurist was friendly and we had each other in fits of laughter chatting. Was a great girly-bonding session for us.
I’ve bought some group deals as well for one of my favourite cafes- LuxBite. I frequent the place enough to know the quality of food and I know the proprietors as well as the chef (we usually get free desserts!) so I was happy to support a local cafe trying to make its mark.
There was yet another experience for a massage that was shocking. I’ll let Tine tell you that. 🙂
Like you, I’d be careful because there are rogue traders out there hoping to jump on the bandwagon. But if the deal ticks the boxes, sure, why not?
Fair enough! I guess I started out by picking the wrong deals and then getting irritated at them. I do see more new deals on different things these days so perhaps as you say, if they deal sounds and looks like a good one, I might still give it a go 🙂
I’m with you – i’ll proceed with caution. I’ve bought vouchers and ended up with a booking WEEKS away, simply because the shop is not able to cope with the influx of customers due to this promo >.<
sounds familiar jenn! i bought a few vouchers for a restaurant that made me book about 5-6 weeks in advance because they were “fully booked”. makes me wonder why they don’t cap their vouchers in the first place.
5-6 weeks? did you even remember to go in the end? 😛
belum jadi. this was very recent. we called, and they said, “please come in october”.
Yes! Some of them just don’t realise that a good deal means that people will snap it up and that will mean they maybe unable to cope. Some do cap it, but even then, you end up booking way ahead or risk losing your redemption.
I bought one voucher in Ezivoucher to enjoy a dinner at RM25 worth RM48. The place called @The Sun in Penang. I would say this is wonderful – nice setting, good service, delicious meals .. bla bla… Never regret for this. I think food vouchers are safer =P
Recently I got another voucher for facial RM48 worth RM298 (i wonder how true also), haven’t tried it yet though.. Hopefully it will still be ok. Haha..
I’ve had better deals with food vouchers too. Its a nice and inexpensive way to try out a new restaurant or cafe 🙂 I hope your facial deal was good 🙂
LOL. coincidentally, i am half way through writing some thoughts about these group deals while reviewing my latest purchase.
i think the most worthwhile that i have purchased is the photobooks
Great minds eh? 😛
Bought 4days 3 nights groupdeal to Bangkok. The price was reasonable and the hotel in a good location. So i will consider again if a good deal comes up.
Glad you had a good experience with a travel deal 🙂 I’m personally terrified, but then I think all tour companies are out to get me anyway hehe… 😉
Pretty much depends on the merchant that’s offering the deal. I only pick those that I already know of or seem to check out as pretty decent on the web. So far I haven’t had a dud deal, but my dad kena on a food deal – so much so we’ve permanently boycotted the restaurant. 😛
Ah that’s the risk the restaurant runs! I will definitely be more swayed by a group deal if its for a place I recognise but less so otherwise.
My experiences led me to believe “You get what you paid for”, but there are pleasant surprises here and there. These groupon deals have been spamming my email… that annoyed me so much that I marked it Junk. So yeah… And I’m geographically disadvantaged – most deals are in the Klang Valley. I regret clicking on the groupon ad to begin with. Hahahah!!
Yeah I guess the focus of the deals are in the Klang Valley, perhaps due to demographics. I just unsubscribed to all the deal sites and so far, I haven’t been respammed which is great of course 😀
I raved about them earlier in the year because when these websites first started, things were actually good. Then things went downhill. I’ll be blogging about this, but in a nutshell, I purchased a Thai massage at South Yarra, and when I finally made an appointment for it a couple of months later, I was told by the owner that they will not be renewing their contract with the group deals website and that I had to get the massages done by the end of the month (I purchased two coupons).
I roped LeGeeque to the massage with me, and it was the dodgiest, worst ever experience I’ve ever had. It’s 10 times worse than the ones I’ve had in Thailand. I was so embarrassed to have subjected LeGeeque to this as well.
Another issue was after purchasing yet another coupon for a spa session, the spa got back to me saying that they will not be honouring the deal because of something the group deals website did, and that they will only be communicating through their lawyers.
After that, I unsubscribed to all of the group deals discount websites. I’d rather pay full price for something I know will work.
Eeks! That’s an awful awful experience! I hope the recalled deal was refunded to you but even that will come with its own hassles. Judging from what I’ve been seeing lately, there’s not a lot of ethics being practiced on both sides of the deal company and the merchant.
I feel a little bad for the merchants; they already had to lower prices so much just to get people in the door with a slim chance of repeat customers.
I just find myself buying waxing deals 60% of the time because those are not cheap. If I don’t get nice results, it’s on the s*** list.
Dealshelve.com is a lifesaver: they aggregate deals from most of the sites (40+ and counting) in Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines (that you can sort by country, city, voucher type, etc). If you subscribe to their daily email – you only get ONE email a day with all the day’s deals from most of the sites. Of course there are others that aren’t in there, but I can’t be bothered to figure out at the moment which ones aren’t on Dealshelve yet. But with this, I’ve pretty much reduced the clutter in my inbox.
I was told just recently just how much the merchants are expected to slash their prices and really, the big winner here is the deal company. After I learnt that, it makes sense why sometimes the service/product/food isn’t up to standard which shouldn’t be the case but perhaps understandable. What I fail to understand is the merchants who are repeatedly featured on one deal company after another. Thanks for the heads up on dealshelve. I’ll just check there from time to time then 😀
Some of my experiences (both good and bad):
Good:
1) Pedicure spa at Amante by Everyday.com = Both my mom and I enjoyed the session !!
2) Hot stone massage at Holistic Esthetics by Mydeal = I enjoyed the massage so much I don’t mind signing up for the package. My mom also went there utilizing my package and she loves the massage too !!
3) Bread making class by Taylor’s Uni by Groupon = I enjoyed the session so much and made new friends !! It also triggered a new hobby; baking !!
Bad:
1) 90 mins pedicure and manicure by Princess Nail salon in Damansara Uptown that claims will do scrubbing, massage, callus removal etc. The beautician was late (I had to wait for her !!) and did a shoddy job. Bought this via Groupon
2) Slimming session by Keep Slim by Groupon. Service is ok but the consultant was very persistent in hard selling. Lucky me I only bought RM20 and no credit card in my wallet (this trick always work ladies !!)
3) Hot stone massage by Vila Manja by Groupon. Since it only covered the back part I was lying on my face for 1 hour ++. Very uncomfortable.
Yet to redeem:
– 2 piece of cake from SuChan
– Eye mask from a beauty salon in Penang. Have to top up RM8 for delivery charges
– 2 hrs hot stone massage from a salon near Tmn Mayang
– A slimming session from a salon in The Curve
I have to agree with you, it is not worth it to try the slimming deals. The beautician will be sooo persistent and quoted ridiculous price packages !! You just have to walk away and say NO !! I am also skeptical to try any facials / hair services because they might not familiar with my skin / hair condition. There are also deals who were withdrawn by the merchant but so far no bad experience for me, they did refund the money and token / credit that I had.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Fina 🙂 I’ve heard a few bad experiences with mani-pedi deals too and that’s a pity because this is one service that if done well will ensure a repeat customer!
I do buy them, but mostly for the food deals. I find that they are more “proper” as compared to the beauty ones. It’s quite a nuisance to face those who tends to turn on their hard sell mode on you. That said, there are some which I quite decent. I’ve tried MySolutions for their waxing treatment and I find that generally they don’t push, but they do recommend you to get their package. Once you said no, they generally back off.
After hearing just how much the merchants give up to the deal companies, I now understand the need for the hardsell after the treatment LOL But as you have said, food deals are the best for the most part. There’s practically no hardsell! 😀
Now, that’ll be a day if ever a restaurant or cafes try to hardsell haha…
funnily enough, I am actually working at an online deal site. XD Just started though n I’m not even the one going out looking for deals. i’m the one responsible for writing it. =) i’m a long time follower of ur blog, not some staff that incidentally stumble upon your post.. ^^ i’m from milkadeal btw. check the site out.^^ i’m not sure about beauty packages since I hv only bought food deals so far but all i can say is that, the people working hard to get these deals are honest people. we tried our best to bring forth the best deals to customers n hoping the merchant would grant what they promise to offer. yeah, doing a research first is a good idea especially beauty spas & the likes. =D
Hi Aisyah 🙂 I remember you from previous comments so I know you aren’t just popping up because you work in a deal company LOL! 😀 Thanks for sharing your side of the story.
I’ve purchased quite a few from KL and SG, mostly F&B deals with a few beauty ones thrown in. The most recent was a nail art set from Groupon Msia, where the T&Cs said the item would be delivered to me within 7 working days from the confirmation email.
I placed my order on 22 Aug and got a confirmation, and then there was abject silence for two weeks. After sending her a chaser email, I got an abrupt reply saying since there was public holidays, I would only get my item up to five weeks later – and the package FINALLY arrived last Saturday.
When it comes down to these group deal sites, I guess the buyer has to be really cautious when buying deals. F&B deals are likely safer (I haven’t come across a dud yet) I reckon. I won’t necessarily stop buying deals, but it takes me a fair amount of deliberation before clicking the ‘buy’ button. 🙂
Aiyee! That is awful re: the nail pens. Thankfully you did get it in the end instead of having it just disappear into thin air.
My hubby calls me the voucher queen. Our meals out are literally from group deals. So far I’ve had no regrets except for one haircut deal. I think in general it’s best to stay away from facials/hair-care deals coz I dont believe by paying that low one can get the best service out of it. Just stick to the usual drink/food/cake/pedicure-manicure deal and you can’t go wrong.
I agree! since these group buying sites started i’ve been an addict. But i steer away from facials since I am not getting the service i ought to receive, shoddy facials.Plus the staffs tends to hardsell that they make you feel so very uncomfortable if you dont give in. And the worst part is that when a staff handed me a teeny brown envelope and asked for a tip. For me, I will gladly give if i am satisfied with the service but if not, i WOULDN’T. But this one spa clinic i’ve been to recently is just ridiculous.
They asked for a tip? Ok that’s a first for me 😛
Glad to know you’ve mainly had good experiences Cas 🙂 I have to agree with you re: hair and facial deals. Unless its an established salon or one selling established products, I’d stay away too. Food deals are for me, thus far the best 🙂
after going through the comments and your post, i can’t help feeling these group deals are a bit of a cheat, you get more negative feedbacks than positive feedbacks.
I have never purchased a group deal before, and most probably will never purchase it, too many bad experience floating around, and like you said earlier, it’s still money! maybe i’m just old fashion? :p
Haha I wouldn’t say they are cheats Plue, just that not every deal out there is a good one so as consumers, we have to be a little careful and not just bulldoze into it thinking we’re getting the moon and sun for a small price 🙂 And you’ve never bought a deal? Its not that scary, trust me, and you might even find a restaurant or cafe or service you like 😀
My boyfriend has bought a couple of coupon deals before.. one was S$20 for S$40 of food at Swensen’s, and another was a Manhattan Fish Market deal. Both were very worth the price and we were very pleased at getting a good deal =) Aside frm that have not tried anything else.
Good to know you’ve been getting good deals 😀 Those do sound awesome actually $40 worth of food – yum! 😀
Have you seen deals that can be redeemed in Kuala Terengganu? 😛
Good point Pelf!
I’d regretted most of my deals. Only 2 of which I’d liked: body massage treatment in Novotel and my diving course+trip! 😀 The latter was the best!
Yay for diving! 😀 A good (inexpensive) way to get certified 😉
The one which I regretted to buy the most is from Everyday.com.my , deal on Sentsuru Japanese buffet. It was a friend’s birthday party and well not that we didnt get enough food (trying order but was in order as they r busy serving their full paid customers) , we have waited for 1 hour before we are served and the waiter/manager is rude when we asked why there is no food. He switch his music loud and refused to listen to us. It was a total nightmare, was still hungry when we walked out + feeling angry and cheated! When we feedback to this coupon company at their website, he deleted our comments and told us not to create any trouble for him and compensate RM50 bcos we are friends?
Well now once a while I do buy a deal or two, but more careful, not greedy (especially facial deal which claims worth RM800 for RM20 ??) to fall into this kinda of traps. I have learnt my lesson ..
Aww that sounds like an awful experience! To go for a party and leave hungry 🙁 I guess we all have to learn the hard way 😛
i’ve bought movie tickets from mydeal. so far, no issue.
Good to know that Dee! I didn’t even know movie tickets went on deals.