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Fashionista ~ Career Woman ~ Op Shopper ~ Online Shopping Addict ~ Bargain Hunter ~ Child Rearer ~ Book Reader ~ Social Commentator

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Why Groupon Sucks & Needs Digital Marketing Lessons

About 3 months ago, I won a prize on the lovely Mez's blog - a $20 Groupon voucher. Groupon Australia had provided Mez with a coupon code which I could use to redeem my credit.

The problem is, there was no where in my Groupon account to put in a code to get credit. I tried various things, including getting to the last page of a mock purchase to see whether I could put the code in there.

I emailed Mez, who emailed Groupon. When I still hadn't heard from them weeks later, Mez gave me the contact email address of the specific "Blog Marketing" guy who had offered her the prize. I sent emails to both this contact, and the generic Groupon inquiries email address detailing my issue. Two weeks later I sent more emails.

Then I tried phoning Groupon. It wasn't about $20, it was about the principle of the matter. Unfortunately, Groupon are ALWAYS experiencing "above average call volumes". After spending 20+ minutes on hold on two separate occasions, I gave up on the idea of ever being able to contact Groupon.

The end result? I have a "code" which is a jumble of letters and numbers, and is completely useless. I have concluded that Groupon have shocking customer service, and deserve a bad rap for failing to provide prizes that they offered. I would not touch them with a 10 foot pole because I imagine if I had a problem redeeming a deal, I'd be met with the same dismal customer service.

Where's the logic in providing a measly $20 prize and then failing to honour it, thereby pissing off a number of people who previously had nothing against your company?

Groupon should send their "marketing" staff to a digital marketing for idiots course. All staff should also be required to wear the following stamp on their forehead:

Perhaps I should send media@groupon.com.au an email with this recommendation ;-)

In exciting news, I will soon be hosting my very first giveaway on this blog... stay tuned!

5 comments:

  1. Oh that sucks. Yay for hosting giveaways though :-) I just won another one (at passionate shopper) so I'm glad I'm hosting my own to reciprocate.

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  2. Oh that sucks!!! The deal websites are such a hit and miss :(
    x

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  3. Send them another email with a link to this post and see what they do then! That is just poor form, sorry you didn't get to use your voucher :(

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  4. What a bummer! There phone lines are probably really busy from complaints.

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  5. This makes me so mad!!! What is the point of them hosting give aways if the winner cannot win it!?!?! I won't be using them again, that is for sure.

    Sorry, this sucks :(

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