i put in the exclamation points to make it LOOK like spam, but this actually works, which is weird

for example, i put in 27606 as the zip code and then chose a $50-for-$20 gift certificate for havana grill on chatham

at the checkout screen i entered KRAZY in the coupon code field and sure enough, 80% discount is applied for a total of $4

how is this even possible? granted, the website DOES specify that there are minimum purchases required for the different coupon value levels (in this case you must purchase $100 in order to use the coupon), but some of the others (grand asia buffet in this example) are $25-for-$10 with $35 minimums (so it's $12 for $35 worth of food)...66% off seems pretty good

anyone used restaurants.com and can testify that it's legit and works? i THINK this code is only valid through the end of today

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 1:37 PM. Reason : supposed BBB rating of A+, but resellerratings.com has 3.33/10 over last 6 months ]

11/29/2010 1:35:13 PM

interesting...tell us less nothing

11/29/2010 1:37:29 PM

Quote :

"80% coupon ($4 for $50 of food)"

:\

11/29/2010 1:40:02 PM

^I think he might mean $4 for a $20 coupon??

11/29/2010 1:41:26 PM

no, i mean that the coupon costs $20 (originally) and is good for $50 worth of food at the restaurant...with the 80% coupon, it becomes $4 and remains good for $50 worth of food

11/29/2010 1:43:26 PM

i have used this deal at amedioes (sp) on western.. worked fine for me. was $10 for $50 and a $75 minimum

11/29/2010 1:43:45 PM

the complaints seem to be (mostly) that it's hard to contact restaurant.com in those cases where the restaurant has gone out of business or no longer accepts the coupons...also seems like you have to be very careful about what you're agreeing to once you give them your credit card number

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Restaurant

that said, using a generated number with a maximum of your order is always recommended

BBB A+ rating seems to be valid: http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/restaurants/restaurantcom-in-arlington-heights-il-33000638

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 1:47 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2010 1:45:47 PM

So, it's 92% off the full price, not 80% off the 60% off the full price....

No, the thread title isn't at all misleading...

11/29/2010 1:47:37 PM

^^ One time like 5 years ago I went to a place that had decided they were no longer going to accept the coupons. I never got a refund despite contacting Restaurant.com, though I didn't push too hard because it cost me like $5.

Otherwise they've always worked just fine. And go to couponmom.com to find a discount code pretty much any time if the one you have expires.

11/29/2010 1:50:17 PM

Quote :

"So, it's 92% off the full price, not 80% off the 60% off the full price.... No, the thread title isn't at all misleading..."

the thread title is actually correct, as is my explanation in the first post

i'm sorry you have trouble with reading comprehension...perhaps your mother shouldn't have let her first cousin fuck her?

go troll somewhere else

Quote :

"Otherwise they've always worked just fine. And go to couponmom.com to find a discount code pretty much any time if the one you have expires."

oh, cool...i'd trust the review of a person i "know" better than some random reports...so the 80% deal isn't really uncommon?

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 1:53 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2010 1:52:50 PM

these things are sweet... I bought like 5 $25 certificates (if you spend $35) for $2 each a while back because this restaurant my wife and I eat at all the time is kinda pricey and the bill is usually about $50. You can only use one a month or something and most of the restaurant selection sucks

11/29/2010 1:53:01 PM

This does in fact work

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/29/2010 1:53:38 PM

Quote :

"anyone used restaurants.com and can testify that it's legit and works?"

used it many times with absolutely no problems ever. My wife and I love restaurants.com.

11/29/2010 1:54:39 PM

well, then...case closed

[/thread]

11/29/2010 1:55:08 PM

i've used these for years, and they work great. i've had a couple cases where the restaurant stopped taking them, and if i even care about re-couping the 30 cents to a dollar i spent on the coupon in question, restaurant.com has always been quick to send me links where i can get new coupons for a different restaurant.

pro tip: they do a 90% off coupon code every now and again...you can get the 80% off whenever

11/29/2010 1:55:19 PM

I've used Restaurant.com before with great success.

Sometimes the restaurants are dicks about it but that's not really the website's fault.

11/29/2010 1:56:32 PM

Still can't get over the hump of using a coupon for a restaurant. I'll use a gift certificate, but just can't bring myself to use a coupon.

11/29/2010 2:01:21 PM

^ you're buying a gift certificate, though...or are you saying you can't bring yourself to get a cheaper meal?

11/29/2010 2:02:13 PM

^Yes...it's the same thing as a coupon. I'll use a legitimate gift certificate that someone got me as a gift...but I like to pay dollar for dollar when at a restaurant.

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 2:03 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2010 2:03:25 PM

I use restaurant.com all the time. Be careful about T&Cs.

After all is said and done, my gfs and I generally spend about $15 for a $40 meal using this site. Split between four women, not too shabby! (And, of course, we always tip on the total ... and generally tip 30 to 40% because it seems like a bit of a hassle for the server to deal with the gift cert).

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 2:06 PM. Reason : d]

11/29/2010 2:04:29 PM

I guess I've never understood why some people are afraid to use coupons like this to save money. Is it just to save face like you're worried someone might think your "cheap?"

I mean, I always tip on what would have been the full amount so I'm not screwing the server and the restaurant is choosing to participate. I can't ever imagine turning down super low-hanging fruit for saving money like that. I just can't even think of a logical justification. Anyone care to share their opinion there...?

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 2:09 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2010 2:07:52 PM

The restaurants choose to participate in restaurant.com, so I have no problem with using the program. If they didn't benefit from it in some way, then they wouldn't choose to participate.

11/29/2010 2:10:37 PM

^ exactly. I can't think of any reason someone wouldn't use these besides to possibly save face in a group of people they are trying to impress or something.

11/29/2010 2:11:36 PM

Anyone know how much the Melting Pot Big Night Out usually runs? The coupon is only valid on that.

11/29/2010 2:15:57 PM

Quote :

"I just can't even think of a logical justification?"

I really don't have one...I do have some rather weak justifications.

1) This probably doesn't matter because you shouldn't present the coupon until the end, but a lot of people will say "do you guys accept this restaurant.com (or other type of coupon) coupon?" to the server/bartender before they order anything, which in turn will get you labeled as someone "cheap", the server won't be expecting a great tip because they think you are "cheap", and you could get shitty service.

2) In general I know how difficult it is to run a successful restaurant and I feel that the food and service is generally worth every penny and I want the restaurant to be rewarded for that. Now it is the restaurants choice to join restaurant.com, but I've heard of several restaurants that have gotten completely bombarded with these coupons and lots of people have made copies of coupons and it is a huge pain in the ass to call up the number and check the coupon number to see if it is still valid...and restaurant.com doesn't reimburse when that happens.

In general, I don't want to look cheap and I like to support the food and beverage industry.

11/29/2010 2:16:27 PM

Quote :

"1) This probably doesn't matter because you shouldn't present the coupon until the end, but a lot of people will say "do you guys accept this restaurant.com (or other type of coupon) coupon?" to the server/bartender before they order anything, which in turn will get you labeled as someone "cheap", the server won't be expecting a great tip because they think you are "cheap", and you could get shitty service."

A lot of these coupons you're required to present it before the meal anyways. I actually don't like that either.

11/29/2010 2:18:08 PM

yeah, if you're tipping on the full total pre-coupon, what's the big deal? I feel like a baller leaving a $10-15 on a $25 meal


yeah, I could see not getting good service if you have to present it before. The only place we use it at... the wait staff recognizes us, for some reason so I wouldn't have to deal with that anyways

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 2:19 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2010 2:18:10 PM

Quote :

"I feel like a baller leaving a $10-15 on a $25 meal"

You should feel like an idiot.

11/29/2010 2:19:29 PM

lol ok

11/29/2010 2:20:23 PM

Quote :

"1) This probably doesn't matter because you shouldn't present the coupon until the end, but a lot of people will say "do you guys accept this restaurant.com (or other type of coupon) coupon?" to the server/bartender before they order anything, which in turn will get you labeled as someone "cheap", the server won't be expecting a great tip because they think you are "cheap", and you could get shitty service. "

For restaurant.com promotions, you actually have to provide the coupon when you sit down. For a lot of Orlando restaurants, this is actually mentioned in the T&Cs. The manager can refuse to accept the gift certificate at any time, according to a lot of the T&Cs for those promotions. One of my friends learned this the hard way, when she forgot to present it ahead of time and, upon presenting it at the end of service, she found that the restaurant wouldn't accept it due to a special event going on in the nearby area.

Additionally, I haven't had a problem with service when using these, but I understand how this could happen. In general, if you're nice to your server, then they won't completely avoid your table.

Quote :

"2) In general I know how difficult it is to run a successful restaurant and I feel that the food and service is generally worth every penny and I want the restaurant to be rewarded for that. Now it is the restaurants choice to join restaurant.com, but I've heard of several restaurants that have gotten completely bombarded with these coupons and lots of people have made copies of coupons and it is a huge pain in the ass to call up the number and check the coupon number to see if it is still valid...and restaurant.com doesn't reimburse when that happens."

True ... I think some restaurants enter this program without understanding what it entails. Then they regret participating in the program. Other restaurants obviously see some benefit in it, as they've participated in the program for years.

Personally, I like to use these coupons to explore a new restaurant. If it's good, we'll go back, gift cert or not. But either way this program should be considered marketing. If the food/experience is good, then it will end up being a great marketing investment, as new diners will be exposed to a new venue. The restaurant can end their affiliation with the program if they don't care for the program, or if they find that it's not generating new or qualified clientele.

11/29/2010 2:27:49 PM

seems to me that the overall selection is "meh"...not bad, and i think there are some good restaurants, but none of the big names everyone knows already

which is the point...there might be some lesser-known (or less visible) restaurants that are very good and they see this as a way to pull in customers

11/29/2010 2:29:40 PM

^ That's true in Raleigh, but it really depends on the city. The Orlando site has a ton of the area's top restaurants. But with those venues, the gift certs tend to be limited to weeknights, excluding weekends, when the restaurants tend to be a little emptier anyway.

11/29/2010 2:33:46 PM

The certificates have served their purpose for us - we had our office Christmas party there and we saw how expensive it was, I'm not sure we would have gone back without the certificates. Now that we've been a few times with the certificates,we've had a chance to try the menu and we'll definitely keep going back.

11/29/2010 2:37:53 PM

^Where? I'm not seeing a lot that I am familiar with on the list, other than the Melting Pot. And it seems we'll still end up spending ~$75 after the discount for our meal.

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 2:39 PM. Reason : ]

11/29/2010 2:38:27 PM

restaurant.com runs the 80% off promotion pretty frequently

You have to read the fine print on every restaurant listed. Some say that the certificate can not be used towards alcohol but some allow it. Cameron Bar & Grill is one that allows the certificates to be used toward alcohol (at least they used to)

I have used them countless times before and have never run into a problem. I have 2 more certificates to use that I purchased in September. One to Trali Pub in Brier Creek and one to Coldstone Creamery in Brier Creek.

11/29/2010 2:43:36 PM

The only time I've used Restaurant.com is when I got a certificate for The Mint.


It was delicious, the service was amazing, and it was a great savings!

11/29/2010 6:09:24 PM

The only two places available that I want to go (The Mint and Jiabarra) are "out of stock".

So yeah, not worth it.

Okay so still kind of worth it.

11/29/2010 7:14:29 PM

They restock the first day of each month so look back on Wednesday

11/29/2010 7:21:24 PM

JEWS

the lot of ya

11/29/2010 7:22:55 PM

Quote :

"the server won't be expecting a great tip because they think you are "cheap", and you could get shitty service."

most of the time the tip is included with the bill...

11/29/2010 7:34:36 PM

Okay, so I bought one of these things last week to Ichiban in Apex, and they wouldn't accept the coupon. Waste of money.

12/10/2010 5:24:05 PM

I bought a bunch of these once when they were 95% off. Two of the restaurants I went to didn't accept them, and I didn't realize until afterwards that some of the others had ridiculous "minimum" amounts that you had to spend.

Oh well, only wasted about $5

12/10/2010 5:46:12 PM

BTTT

Restaurant.com is giving 90% off today only w/ code WOW

9/29/2011 4:27:03 PM

I bought one last time and the restaurant went out of business. Tried to exchange for another and their website kept giving me an error message At least I only wasted a buck.

9/29/2011 6:22:34 PM

its not really saving money it seems like its just getting you to buy food in bulk.

If I buy a $50 gift card then I can take it to the restaurant and get $50 of food for free. not take it and pay 50 dollars for 100 dollars of food. thats not a gift certificate.

In reality its just a coupon that allows you to pay $50 for $25 of food as opposed to paying $100 for $25 dollars of food. The restaurant still makes money, just less, you still lose money, AND you already gave money to restaurants.com.

The worst part about it is the top restaurants never use this. It is loaded with shitty strip mall joints and struggling restaurants that need to get butts in the seats.

Such a scam.

9/29/2011 7:36:13 PM

^ That is quite possibly the dumbest fucking post I've ever seen. That's dnl level stupidity right there.

9/29/2011 8:00:56 PM

^^That is quite possibly the dumbest fucking post I've ever seen. That's dnl level stupidity right there.

9/29/2011 8:35:35 PM

what kind of gift card requires you to buy twice as much as its worth? a scam one.


I talk all this shit but i just went and bought about 5 dollars worth @ 90% off. if you're only paying .50 cent each its not a bad deal. Now I can pay 10.50 total and get 10 dollars worth of food.

9/29/2011 9:45:00 PM

It's not a gift card.

/Your conundrum.

9/29/2011 10:37:20 PM

its fraud how they advertise it as a gift card and advertise "GET 25 dollars of food for 10 dollars"...lies.

9/29/2011 11:12:56 PM