Is Restaurant.com a Scam?
So I bought my first gift certificate from Restaurant.com today.
What a big, fat waste of time and money!
Restaurant.com advertised that I could buy a $25 Gift Certificate for a small restaurant located near me…The End Zone…in Horton, MI FOR ONLY $10!!!
What a great deal, I was excited to try a new place! I loaded up my 4 kids, and my wife, and jumped into the Ford Expedition for our mini road trip.
So we get to The End Zone, order drinks, and immediately give our gift certificate to the waitress. We are excited to try $35 worth of food and drinks (that is a stipulation of the deal, our gift certificate clearly says that to use the $25, we need to spend at least $35…not hard for a family of six!
The waitress frowns and tells me that The End Zone in Horton, MI, DOES NOT participate with Restaurant.com, and that I’ve been scammed!
I WAS MAD! How does this happen? Restaurant.com seemed like a legal website. Are they selling gift certificates to restaurants WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE RESTAURANT OWNER?
Please let me know if this has happened to anyone else!!!
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July 16th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
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July 16th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
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July 17th, 2011 at 6:55 am
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
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July 17th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Wowee! This is pretty upsetting even to me and I don’t even know you because I have also been scammed by another company and know how you feel. Try contacting them first and explain and see what they can do for you. Sometimes restaurants back out of deals with other companies; it’s hard to tell.
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Franca Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
http://www.burtsfoodblog.com/2011/11/restaurantcom-coupon-ripoffscam-alert.html Take a look at that! Proof of restaurant.com’s scams! You have got to look at this please.
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Angela Reply:
December 6th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
My son bought a $50 gift certificate from restaurant.com for me for mothers day, this year, and we have used it at an elegant local Italian restaurant here in AZ named Tutti Santi. No problem whatsoever. We did, however, call first to ensure they would honor it. Do your due diligence! You can’t blame restaurants for opting out in this economic climate, which is probably what happened.
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July 18th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Looks like a big scam to me, what is wrong with companies.
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July 18th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Looks like you’re not the only one:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Restaurant
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July 19th, 2011 at 8:10 am
Thats a shame that you guys had to go through that experience, hopefully though this post will prevent others from also going through the same scam.
-Jean
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July 22nd, 2011 at 3:02 am
This is a shame… I’ve wondered why only very small local restaurants are listed on Restaurants.com; they probably figure they won’t get sued by them? This kind of thing is going to continue to discourage consumers to use these 3rd party sites. Restaurants need to get in the business of creating their own presence online.
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July 23rd, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I am a business owner who has been scammed by Restaurant.com myself. Here is how their “system” works: Anyone may sign the restaurant up, it does not have to be the owner, manager or even a server! It can be you sitting at the bar, calling up a sales rep and telling them you want the restaurant on their website. I was on, and had no idea. When I requested paperwork, they could not supply any to me. The persisted on telling me it did not matter who signed the restaurant up, it was there regardless, even though they did not have my signature on contract. This is not a scam for the purchaser, more for the business owners.
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TAM Reply:
July 24th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
@NateV
Thanks for that input, what a crazy story. How is a company like Restuarant.com getting away with this? Did you ever get your restaurant off their site? Thanks for the input, I hope you are saving others the trouble you had to go through.
-TAM
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used tires Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 7:00 am
Wow NateV! They should of at least tried to work with you, I can’t see this site lasting very long for fraudulent scams like this. I mean not only is it scamming people but Its also causing more damage beyond that.
-Jean
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Aimee Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
I was skeptical when I saw a couple of listings with the street names spelled wrong. And it is interesting to note that only mom and pop type operations are listed – or if a local chain, only one of the locations is listed. Would have been a great deal as Monjuni’s in Shreveport is the best Italian food around. Probably a good idea for anyone to research before they spend the money. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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Anna Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Hello Nate,
I am business owner myself and just realize restaurant.com is a horrible company that will take down my restaurant. Can you tell me if you stop taking the certifcate? and what was their reaction? I would really appreciate any help I could get.
Thank you,
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July 27th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
I’ve recently heard of a crack-down with Boston restaurants–apparently restaurant.com wasn’t actually reimbursing the restaurants, as stated in various contracts, etc. I learned this by visiting a restaurant who had just decided not to honor their coupons anymore. Luckily, the manager honored ours anyway but now I always call the restaurant before buying a coupon to ensure they’ll accept it.
Also, don’t buy anything from that site unless it’s through their email campaigns–signing up has netted me multiple coupons at 80-90+% of (yep, a $50 coupon for $4.50!). If you navigate the system, you can still make out like a bandit as a patron. I’m not so sure there’s any real value left for restaurant owners/managers if they don’t get reimbursed. I’m curious to see how long that company survives with all this negative press!
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July 28th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
The same thing happened to us. The manager at the restaurant was so rude to us when we gave him the certificate. He said the people at restaurant.com are liers. He didn’t want to honor my certificate. But because I was with a group of 10 people ad we orderd A LOT of stuff, after a very long debate and threat from me to never go to the restaurant again, he accepeted it. I understand his frustration but he needs to honor his certificates because after all I would have never gone to that restaurant if it wasn’t for the fact that I had that certificate. Lesson learned…not purchasing from restaurant.com EVER again.
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Dave Headly Reply:
December 15th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
As you can see here, there are lots of people explaining that this is a scam. Why should the resteraunt honor something that is completely made up? I say shame on you for threatening to boycott their business for something that was NOT THEIR FAULT!
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Ruth Reply:
February 8th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
I bought a bunch of these certificates. So far I tried to use 2 and the restaurants always find a reason why they can’t take it. One of them was that the bill was short by 5.00, the required purchased was 150.00 so I offered to purchase a dessert and I was told that they had already given me the bill. At the other restaurant, the owner said that since I ordered the special, I couldn’t use it. So I had to pay the full price of the meal. Once I used them up, I’m not buying anymore.
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August 2nd, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Wowee! This is pretty upsetting even to me and I don’t even know you because I have also been scammed by another company and know how you feel. Try contacting them first and explain and see what they can do for you. Sometimes restaurants back out of deals with other companies; it’s hard to tell.
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August 4th, 2011 at 11:21 am
I think that there are not so problem occured as these are not a spam site and the images are of best quality.
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August 15th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Restaurant.com coupons work just fine. Either your waitress was misinformed or Restaurant.com will re-imburse you. I had a coupon for a restaurant that closed before I could use the coupon, and Restaurant.com gave me a credit to use on a new coupon purchase.
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Susan Reply:
December 22nd, 2011 at 7:46 am
This has been true for me also. I use them on all my vacation places Washington, Arizona, Illinois, California, Louisiana, and Nevada. I have never had an issue. I have been a happy customer for over three years.
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August 20th, 2011 at 10:53 am
I’m sorry for that
I usually visit Groupon for discount code even for foods
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August 22nd, 2011 at 4:47 am
I don’t know why you had issues, but I have used Restaurant.com certificates many times at different restaurants with never a problem. I tell them I have a certificate before I order & no worries. I’ve saved lots of money using them & usually buy when they have their 80% sale – $100 cert for @ $8 – great when going out with a group of friends.
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Rita Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 7:42 pm
My family owns a restaurant. Restaurant.com put our restaurant on there website without our consent. We never signed or agreed! They went ahead put us on there. Customers are buying a ten dollar gift certificate thats twenty five dollars off of thirty five dollars! There is no way we can afford that! So people listen the restaurants on restaurant.com do not make a penny on anything. Five restaurants contacted my restaurant we are filing a Class A lawsuit against them. Some restaurants they have on there page are closed! There not even in buisness with them. I never agreed signed or any of that. I had a dining room full of angry people. When i had no idea what was going on! never knew or saw this coupon. So do not purchase anything from that website! I contacted them several times and they still have not removed my restaurant from there site!!! You tell me half or more of the restaurants dont even know there on there or that there are outside coupons for there buisness. The restaurant doesnt make a penny. The money goes to restaurant.com. So once again you tell me…… is it a scam…?
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Aimee Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
I bet these few positive comments are planted by Restaurants.com lol
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Sharon Reply:
January 20th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
I buy some when we go to Vegas. I’ve never had anyone refuse them. The only problems I have with them is the servers seem not as attentive since they’re automatically getting a 18% tip no matter how bad they are. The other problem is that the other couple also buys them so we have to go to the restaurants at different times or we have to set separate and pretend we don’t know each other since their policy states that you can only use one coupon even if you set at different tables.
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August 23rd, 2011 at 5:40 am
I also had a very negative experience with Restaurant.com. I tried to use the gift certificate that I purchased and the restaurant said they would not honor it. The only reason I went there was because of the gift certificate. In any case, I called restaurant.com for a refund and they said they can only give credit towards another certificate. I checked their site and couldn’t find a replacement. I told them it wasn’t my fault that you have a restaurant on their site where they will not honor the certificate. They should take these restaurants off immediately. Yet instead, they further damage the reputation of the restaurant by continuing to sell certificates (so they can attract more buyers) for restaurants that no longer want to be on their site and make buyers more frustrated that they are stuck paying full price at a restaurant they may or may not have originally chosen to eat at.
Anyways, I found a website that is up and coming where you can download a really good coupon for free. There more selection in the Los Angeles area but it seems like they are adding more everyday. http://www.stretche.com I want this website to continue growing as it seems like they are providing a really good service.
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September 4th, 2011 at 4:06 am
After a third unusable “does not expire” certificate, I can tell you that this site is totally a scam!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never again, and I will never eat at these restaurants again!
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laura Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Elle. It isnt the restaurants that should pay for it! Restaurant.com puts restaurants on there that never agreed or even know whats going on. Tell me if you owned a restaurant and there is a full dining room of people who have twenty five dollars off of a thirty five dollar check, that you had no idea exsisted… how would you feel? That’s what people are not understanding. Restaurant.com is the scam not the restaurants! The restaurants do not make any money off of it. At that price of the coupon, mathematically it is a loss. plus maybe it’s just me, but I go out to eat at places I know and love. If you don’t know the restaurant and your just going in because you have a coupon…? Call me crazy but that makes no sense. You gop out to eat not to cook or to get out of the house or celebrate something. Never heard of people going to a certain place just cause theres a coupon. Anyways I don’t want to get off track. Restaurant.com is being sued by quite a few buisnesses that had no idea they were even on the website! I mean I heard from well known sources that a customer signed for a restaurant and put them on there. You can call in today call restaurant.com and say hey, for example… “Hi this is olive garden I want to be on your website.” You give them the name of the restaurant and location and they will go ahead and put it on there. That is why quite a few restaurants are not honoring the coupons. So the issue at hand should be with restaurant.com not the restaurant. Makes no sense what so ever……..
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Zydeco Way Cafe Fairbanks Reply:
December 22nd, 2011 at 2:53 am
You have shared information that I have been trying to get across to Restaurant.com. During June 14 to stop sell coupon and I would notice them if I needed them to re start. Again in August 2011 I sent another email to Restaurant.com requested them to stop the coupon program. Each time I spoke to a different person and they transferred me to several other people in 30-45 minutes of me telling the same story to each person. They told me I needed to load into the site and make any changes that I needed. At the same time the service was to expire. Now it is after December 2, 2011 and my service was to expired. I called and talked to liz and she wanted to transfer me to a corporate person. I told her to delivery the message to him her self and I am not going to coninue to call and talk to Restaurant.com when All I want is to cancell the service. Today I got the shock of my life and I was yelling at the restaurant personnel. I want the service cancell and I will not honor any thing for free food. People are bringing coupons after December 2, 2011 and Zydeco Way do not want this service anymore and cancelled it during June 14, 2011. She explain that I needed to provide a written request to cancell. I them asked her about the Email sent June 14 and was there any mis understanding about cancell the Zydeco way on Restaurant.com site. She them after talking to me as if I was a 5 year old, tells me that Restaurant.com would take legal actions to collect funds from me that They have collected on the coupons. I told her I will be contacting the BBB and the Federal Trade Commission about the tactic of cramming services into a contract that the customer is unware. If any one sign up for restaurant.com you are sick and need to be school on marketing. They are SCAM artist and the worst kind.
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Dave Headly Reply:
December 15th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Are you a complete idiot? If Restaurant.com scams you and restaurants, why would you hold that against the restaurants?
Never mind, I’m pretty sure I know the answer, you’re an idiot.
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Ken Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 12:08 am
Why blame the restaurant? Mine ended up on there w/o permission as well. This site is a scam, plain and simple.
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September 7th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I’m sorry to hear all problems with this site.I have used it for over 5 years and never had a problem.I have used certificates both locally and when traveling to other states.I have also recommended to many friends and coworkers who just love it.I’m sorry for all the bad experiences but working in Customer Service I felt inclined to post a positive comment which are very rarely given.I do Not feel this site is a scam and wish better experiences for everyone in the future.
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September 20th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
I have used restaurant.com for two years and given gift certificates too, I was not aware of any problems with it, although one restaurant told me that they were no longer on the site but they would honor my certificate. The only other thing I have a problem with is the automatic gratuity. But other than that, they have been pretty good out here in California and in Michigan.
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September 22nd, 2011 at 4:24 am
Rip off City. They scammed me for 100.00 then when I purchased the certificate it stated I had to spend 200.00 at the restaurant and 18% tip on the 200.00. Demanded my money back for the secon time, next I will call my bank and let them know they are fraudulent.
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Tex Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
You being a cheap ass does not make a company fraudulent.
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September 30th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I own a restaurant that was part of the restaurant.com program in 2009. We cancelled after 1 year and were asked to honor the coupons for another year after that. We did.
When you sign the RDC contract it says credits are valid for a year after sale, then they write “does not expire” on the coupon they sell their customers. It is very dishonest.
Now we are having people present coupons that are over 2 1/2 years old and complain that we will not take them any more. That is unreasonable, especially since restaurants.com does not give a penny of the amount of sale to the restaurant. They keep it for themselves and the restaurant is responsible for the $25 bill reduction. It is not a good set up and it puts the customer and the restaurant in a bad position while restaurant.com keeps the money. In addition, once the contract is cancelled restaurants.com immediately shuts down access to the certificate validation website so there is no way to validate the certificates without calling an 800 number. Servers don’t have time during a service to call in a validation for each coupon presented. Can you imagine?
Can’t do anything about it at this point, it is just a really bad setup.
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October 13th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
I have used restaurant.com certificants successfully many times at many restaurants, but have occasionally noticed a sign in the front door of a few restaurants advising that they do not accept the certificates. I noticed that restaurant.com was still selling certificates for one of these restaurants with the sign in the door about not accepting, so I sent restaurant.com a couple of emails advising them that the restuarant was not honoring the certificates, but they continue to sell certificates to that restaurant. So they have some legitimate certificates mixed in with some that are just garbage. They appear to be somewhat dishonest.
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October 27th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I have recieved one of these cards as a present and also had purchased one. Haven’t had the opportunity of using it yet and now feel uncertain since logging onto the website restaurant.com and find that the site has some issues. I thought perhaps they are just having issues right now, so I will log on another time. But I have tried a few times since only to find that it looks the same as the last time I looked. Of course this has kept me from using the card as I wonder if they are even valid?
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October 29th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Not a scam. I’ve used restaurant.com for YEARS. Something similar happened to me but it was due to the fact that the restaurant no longer participated. I pressed the server- and then manager on one occasion and they honored. On another occasion mgmt would’nt give but I got the $10 credited to my restaurant.com account with 1 e-mail to them. I use them all the time. One note though, read the fine print for valid days of the week and if alcohol is included or not.
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November 3rd, 2011 at 12:01 am
TOTAL SCAM!!! Restaurant.com sold me $100 worth of certificates 11 days AFTER the restaurant cancelled their contract. Then Restaurant.com was so rude and unreasonable with us on the phone! They offered a credit, but I just want a refund. They don’t offer any other restaurants in our area that are fit to eat at. SCAM SCAM SCAM.
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November 12th, 2011 at 5:04 am
Tried restaurants.com today. Bought a $25 certificate for $2. Used it tonite. They were thrilled to see us. Food and service, great.
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November 13th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Form a customer standpoint it seems like a great deal.
We ordered 2 via a fundraising website and used 1 last night at a favorite Mexican food place.
I presented the coupon and the manager ( a very loud friendly guy ) frowned and said “This is Bull SH%$, I asked to be taken off months ago and the F&^%rs wont do it”.
He mentioned that he keeps his prices low (He does, had a 12oz NY strip steak cook great cheese enchilada, great homemade guacamole for only $11.00) and that the cost for the steak alone is $7, that he just can’t make money. Too many people are using this and it is hurting his bottom line. I will never use one of these there again. I really like this place and to garner that type of reaction from the owner really made me sad. I may use these at places I could care less about or maybe, not really like, but I won’t do that to a place a patron regularly.
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November 18th, 2011 at 1:04 am
Wow!! Great post…glad I found it. I thought that all of the restaurants on Restaurants.com were “partners” with the site. I never thought that you would get scammed! I am looking at ways to reduce the costs of eating out and was considering Restaurants.com, until now that is!
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November 19th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
I purchased a$50 certificate for $20 dollars, but I have not received the certificate, even though the charge for the card appeared on my credit card.
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Leah Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 6:01 am
thats because you have to print it out….they dont send the certificates in the mail. duh (check your email)
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November 21st, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Ive used these certificates and havent had a problem. Sorry u guys have such bad reviews about this site.
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November 22nd, 2011 at 2:01 am
I am from Virginia Beach, VA and was just about to order the 12 month of $25.00 e-gift certificates for my daughter and her husband and found this blog. Anyone out there know if the restaurant.com certificates are being honored in this area??
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November 22nd, 2011 at 12:59 pm
You’re full of baloney! It’s not a scam. Any exceptions are noted on the certificate. They’ll give you a credit if you change your mind, I think. If an exception is not noted and the restaurant refuses, you can report them. Either you didn’t read the certificate or your waitperson was uninformed. You owe restaurant.com an apology, you dufuss.
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The Almost Millionaire Reply:
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:43 pm
@Mike
Well, I have not been called a dufuss in a long time, so thanks for that. As for an apology, I will not apology to restaurant.com. The End Zone Restaurant said that they contacted restaurant.com over a year ago and told them to stop selling their gift certificates…but restaurant.com chose to ignore their request and kept selling the certificates that I bought…that sounds like a scam to me, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. I called Restaurant.com, but was not able to speak with a real person, I got lost in their automated system. That is NOT good customer service…and the bottom line is that they should not have sold me an invalid gift certificate in the first place.
Thanks,
-TAM
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steve Reply:
November 25th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
I talked to a real person today by dialing 1-800-979-8985. In the menu, you hit a 2 and then a second 2 (or something like that). I then waited for about 3 minutes for someone to take my call. As far as this being a scam, I don’t know yet.
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November 23rd, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I’ve used restaurant.com coupons a number of times and in a number of states and have not had a problem with any of them including a tiny thai restaurant in an out-of-the-way strip mall in florida (which btw was one of the best thai restaurants i’ve been to). i’m not a plant by restaurant.com either. A real person living in york, pa.
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December 3rd, 2011 at 4:44 am
We were scammed by this as well. We purchased a $25 coupon with purchase of $50. The restaurant honored the coupon but then in the fine print, the 18% gratuity more than made up for the cost savings.
All in all, we would have been better off NOT buying the coupon at all and just ordering the SAME meal without it. We would have saved ourselves a lot of money.
I can believe that people would be scammed by this dishonest company, though. They NEVER publish the “extra charges” that are REQUIRED in order to use the coupon when you buy it.
Moral of the story: NEVER NEVER USE THESE COUPONS.
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Kim Reply:
December 8th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
You would have been better off only if you DID NOT LEAVE A TIP! If you can’t afford to leave a tip, you can’t afford to eat at that restaurant. 15% is the MINIMUM, and 18% is not at all unreasonable. In NC, servers are taxed on their tips, and some restaurant owners report 15% of a server’s total tickets, regardless of what the server actually got or whether the patron paid for all of it. Restaurant.com did not rip you off, they simply prevented you from ripping off another server.
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Leah Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 6:04 am
yeah seriously! what’s this guy leave for tips normally, like a couple of pennies? people like that should never, ever eat out. how disgraceful!
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December 3rd, 2011 at 8:07 pm
We’ve used restaurant.com a number of times, have gotten great deals and no problems. Maybe you should have called the restaurant first to confirm. They are not a scam, in my opinion.
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The Almost Millionaire Reply:
December 4th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Sharona,
Every time I buy a Groupon from Groupon.com, I do not call the merchant to confirm that they are participating…I SIMPLY TRUST GROUPON BECAUSE THEY HAVE EARNED MY TRUST!
My problem with Restaurant.com is that this was my first purchase from their site, and it went bad…so bad that the Restaurant that I went to that denied my coupon said that they have tried to get their coupon off Restaurant.com for over a year…that is a HUGE problem when made me ask the question of my readers that I did…Is Restaurant.com a Scam? It appears the readers have spoken and continue to speak. Some are very satisfied, others are not.
I appreciate your feedback!
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December 3rd, 2011 at 9:36 pm
PLEASE USE THIS ONE INSTEAD OF THE PRIOR ONE I SENT. I HAD SAID PRESENT COUPON WHEN BILL COMES AND I MEANT WHEN YOU ARRIVE. I FIXED BELOW:
I’ve been a user of Restaurant.com for about five years now and I love the site and the service. They are 100% legit and very customer focussed.
If you want a real win-win situation, restaurant.com is it! Now here’s the deal to correct misinformation and misunderstandings from these posts.
In my opinion, it’s best to sign up for their email newsletter and wait until an 80% off sale. To give an easy example, a $25 gift certificate will cost you $2. Each restaurant has different rules. Some require $50 to be spent, others $35. Some might not allow alcohol to be part of the discount. Others might not allow specials to be included. Some may not have # of meals required like 2. Or some might only have the dollar limit.
So in the first case I stated, you present the coupon when you are seated and when your bill comes for the $50 or $35 you would subtract the $25. So your bill would be either $25 or $10 depending on which $ limit it was. That does not include an 18% tip. But it is still a great deal.
No over the years I have had about five restaurants not accept them. I purchased them and the restaurant either stopped accepting them or went out of business. In both those cases Restaurant.com gives you a link to get a replacement of equal value. Never a question. Always polite. Very customer service oriented.
Now seems to me if one has a bad experience with the restaurant not accepting the coupon, be mad at the restaurant not restaurant.com. Some (I imagine a few) sign up and then decide they don’t like to participate, so they just tell customers they won’t accept them. But remember restaurant.com didn’t just list them on their website. The “participating” restaurant had to agree to participate. Don’t be made a restaurant.com wasn’t told the restaurant decided not to participate.
In fact, the first time it happened to me, the restaurant.com customer service rep. thanked me for bringing it to their attention so they could update the website.
I just used coupons at two very nice restaurants in Las Vegas Last week (in Luxor and Mandalay Bay) and will be using one in Ocean City, Maryland this evening.
So I have nothing but good things to say about restaurant.com. I am not affiliated with them, other than being a customer. My website is http://www.pcgm.com to show I’m real. But I am a very happy customer and use certificates at least once or twice a month.
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The Almost Millionaire Reply:
December 4th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Gene,
Thanks for the great feedback! My only comment is this, I was VERY upset with the Restaurant for not accepting the coupon…I had loaded up 4 kids and drove 10 miles for dinner…and left hungry.
I was MUCH MORE UPSET with Restaurant.COM though because I believe the merchant when they said they had been trying for over a year to get their offer removed from the Restaurant.com site.
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December 5th, 2011 at 12:32 am
I have used these certificates for over a year and only an issue once when the place told me they don’t take them anymore but they would honor it. The other thing that happened is I contacted them several times about two places that were on their list and went out of business which they had not removed. it took a long time to fix that. In any of the places I have used, I was always able to try out a restaurant and have always spent more than the coupon and found new places to go to when I liked the food and service. I would suggest calling the restaurant first and asking if they take the certificates and read the fine print. They were always willing to give me a replacement or refund if there was a problem. It’s just sad that the restaurants feel they are getting ripped off. I thought it was a great way to encourage people to eat out when we all are so broke and everyone benefits.
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December 5th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
The first time I bought a certificate and tried to use it, the reestaurant was no longer in business, but I got a credit to use towards another, never had any further issues.. I was very skeptical when I first purchased though. I have used them in springfield,, mo, branson, mo, little rock, ar, rochestete,, ny, and just a few weeks ago in ithhaca, ny.
they are for small and new. Establishments,, good way to draw in new business,
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December 13th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Before making a purchase just call the restaurant ahead of time to confirm they’ll accept it. That simple.
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December 17th, 2011 at 3:17 am
Restaurant.com is a SCAM. Today while I was out of my restaurant, one of the representatives (bmiller@restaurant.com) from restaurant.com came in my restaurant asked my employee if my restaurant is interested to participate RDC program. My employee immediately told him she is not the manager so she can’t make any decision for the restaurant. Then he asked her if he could take any pictures of the restaurant, my employee said “OK, but again I can’t authorize you to sign-up anything for this restaurant”. Before he left, he asked my employee if he could have her email. She gave it to him. Four hours later, she found an e-mail stating my restaurant has just signed-up with RDC. I am shocked that RDC could do this without my permission, neither nor my employee has given the rep permission to sign-up anything whatsoever. RDC and this rep are freaking dishonest, and unethical. Bottom line, RDC is a SCAM. I am very furious right now. My family owns this small mom and pop Chinese restaurant in Ohio, it’s been real struggle to keep my restaurant from going under water in last few years. I used to buy gift certificates on RDC, but from now on I will not buy from them anymore. I am very disappointed that RDC would scam small business like mine. I will keep you guys updated as I am still trying to contact them to void the agreement that I’ve never agreed.
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December 19th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
DO NOT purchase anything from restaurant.com. The majority of certificates they issue are not accepted. They issue certificates for restaurants that have already disontinued their program. Over 70% of the certificates they issue are not valid. This scam will cost you more than you save!
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December 19th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
SCAM! They issue certificates without approval from restaurants. In most cases, restaurants are not reimbursed for these certificates. BEWARE! Do not use restaurant.com certificates.
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December 20th, 2011 at 1:19 am
Yes! What a scam! I bought tickets to get in at the Comedy Palace and for food and beverages. Total value $75 for $35. I go there Saturday night and the Comedy Palace tells me they are not taking the coupons. Today I call and Erica, the lady who answered at Restaurant.com to ask her to refund me the money. And she said I only purchase a value of $50. I have an email receipt form them and confirmation, but she argues with me that I got $50 value and not $75. I said I have the receipt right in front of me, but she says I am mistaken. I say, “look, just refund my money” She say, “No, we have a no $ refund policy.” Then she hangs up!!!
Deceitful, dishonest, a total scam. Hope you read this before you do business with this fraudulent company.
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December 20th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
We’ve been very lucky. Every single certificate that we used was accepted. I do, prior to buying the certificate, call the restaurant to make sure that they still accept them and get a verbal verification on what the requirements are to use them. I haven’t had one single problem.
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December 20th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
My first time purchasing from them I bought 5 certificates. Mostly to new restaurants. I have so far used 4 of them without a problem. Most problems seem to be with restaurants all of a sodden deciding not to accept them.
The only time i ever had something happen was when I went to one restaurant the certificate said 18% gratuity added on and they added 20%. But I always tip 20 if the service is good so it was no problem!
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December 21st, 2011 at 6:02 am
I feel like maybe some people arent realizing that there is a restaurant.com and restaurants.com which may be two different companies? I was almost about to buy like ten certificates before I realized that maybe i should look into it. Im still not sure if I should even bother or if I should call first.
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December 22nd, 2011 at 7:27 am
I purchased two $10 gift certificates two different times to the Chatterbox restaurant in Augusta, NJ (for $2 each!) and I was able to use them with no problem. I just purchased a bunch more to many other restaurants so I hope I have no problems!
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December 22nd, 2011 at 7:52 am
I have been a member for over three years and I love it!
I use it whereever I travel, Arizona, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Washington, Nevada, and if I end up not issuing them for any reason while out of state I offer it to a larger family I see walking into the restaurant as I am leaving.
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December 22nd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I have used restuarant.com at many different locations multiple times and have never encountered a problem. I always read the small print, ie: some restaurants accept it at one location but not their sister company. Or the g/c may not be accepted on the night there is a big event in town, but this must be specified on the g/c. Many times even if it was presented on a Fri or a Sat when the g/c clearly states that it is ineligible, they allow me to use it. The trick is to present it prior to being seated. That way they do not want to lose a customer and I think in this ecomony people are just happy to have the business.
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December 25th, 2011 at 1:41 am
Yes this happened to Arlington Steak House they put them on the site and now they will not respond to any attempts to remove them, many people are buying the coupons for 100$ and we dont even accept them. The problem is, if you look at it from a small remissness owners point of view they are loosing a hundred dollars of profit. Yes it is true that they may not have made it originally but herein lies the problem the food costs and service and all for a 200$ meal at ASH is ruffly 126$ so is it trully fair?
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December 27th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Horrible scam. It was even more rotten when I had to tell my family member that they had been ripped off! She had purchased one of these so called coupons for the last three years and we didn’t have the heart to tell her we don’t use them as they are not a bargain by any sense of the word. If you couple the automatic gratuity with the amount you must purchase to use the card you can see the whole rip off. As a matter of principal you pay a gratuity based on the food and service you recieved after your meal. This rip off tells you you must pay the gratuity and it can be anywhere from 18% to 25% and this is automatic not voluntary. I decide if the food and service warrants a tip not some faceless entity or a retailer.
Not only will I not use these coupons, as this just promotes this scam, but I will not eat at the places they have on their web site for being part of it. Maybe if the retailers see thiskind of response they will opt out too and bring this outrageous ripoff to a end. This is truely a good example of how the scammers cheat people through the internet, ranks right up there with identity theft and phishing.
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December 28th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
I’ve been surfing online more than 3 hours these days, yet I by no means discovered any fascinating article like yours. It?s lovely worth sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made just right content material as you did, the net will be a lot more helpful than ever before.
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December 28th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
I agree with all of the comments of Gene the PP. I have used RDC certificates for 3 yrs and never had a problem with them at all when I have used them. I always buy them when they are 80% off and only buy them if I would spend the minimum spending requirement anyway. I love the fact that I can try out different restaurants at a discount and not feel like I’ve wasted a lot of money of I don’t care for the place. The comments from the restaurant owners do disturb me a bit though. If they are indeed being signed up with out consent they should be contacting the Federal Trade Commission.
As a former professional fine dining server and manager I feel the need to speak to those who have problems with the automatic gratuities. If you have problems tipping properly, which should be an absolute minimum of 15% BEFORE DISCOUNTS, please do not eat anywhere with table service or start lobbying against the National Restaurant Association. Whether you like it or not they have made it so customers are expected to subsidize the servers wages. In most states the hourly wage is around $2.25 and out of this they are taxed based on their total sales before discounts. I used to call payday “owe day” because I would actually end up writing a check to my workplace to cover my taxes. I am not excusing crappy service, as a matter of fact I tend to be more critical because of my background. If I receive sub-par service I speak to the manager (and sometimes even the server) in a respectful manner and my complaints are almost always taken care of immediately and my check adjusted accordingly.
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December 29th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
I don’t mind the automatic gratuity, I just won’t tip in addition, as is suggested on the certificate.
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January 1st, 2012 at 3:15 am
I just tried to use one of a number of coupons I bought last week. When I arrived at the restaurant there was a large sign on the door stating that they do not accept restaurant.com coupons and had been fraudulently added to the program. I can not blame the restaurant as the offer was too good to be true $1 for $25gc, but I bought $20 worth. The referral had come from a good trustworthy source. I had my doubts at first and only bought a few, but once I got them, I decided to get more. It was very disappointing to not be able to use it tonight. I will call all of the other restaurants to make sure they are participating before driving to them. After reading some of what has been said on here, I’m not too hopeful. I thought restaurant.com would be a good way for these smaller, less known restaurants to advertise, but it appears that restaurant.com may actually ruin their reputations. Sad.
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January 1st, 2012 at 7:00 pm
I have used three certificates with no problem.
However, yesterday I used one at an Indian Resturant and the waiter/manager was really unhappy, scowled at my daughter and I when I presented the certificate. He spent a long time on the phone talking with the restaurant.com folks, didn’t seem to be happy at all with us.
I spent $30 over and above the $25 certificate, tipped and extra $5 over and above the 18%, made a point of telling the manager it was our first time at this restaurant (would never had tried it except for getting a good deal on the $25 certificate) – I was pleasnt and complimentary and really excited to find a great new place, even thought I might be a large group with me in the future.
My question is: why would the restuarant manager be upset? The place was empty, we tipped generously, told him we’d definately be back (the absolute truth, we loved the food) but it left me feeling badly that the restuarant is somehow getting stiffed? Isn’t the idea to get new patrons? They take a small loss to get us in the door but the hope is our repeat business, right?
Why make us feel as if we are stiffing them???
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January 1st, 2012 at 7:16 pm
I have had mixed experiences. I have used several at a restaurant in St. Paul, MN, and I have had no problems at all. So I bought another to a restaurant in Minneapolis. When we went there to eat, one of the stipulations on the coupon was that you cannot use it on an event/theater night. The restaurant is across from 3 theaters and the Target Center (arena)!!! So I asked the server what days/ nights weren’t event nights,and she said she couldn’t think of any. I would have to call each time I wanted to come and use it. The restaurant also has a location at the Mall of America, but the certificate is only good at the downtown location.
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January 3rd, 2012 at 4:30 am
Total scam, awful customer service! I used a coupon code and purchased 7 $25 certificates. I was re-directed to a page that said:
“Thank you for your order!
Your order has been processed.
Because this deal is so popular today, we are experiencing very high order
volume. Please do not worry – If you are reading this message, we have
received your order and we will send your order confirmation within 24
hours. You can view and/or print your certificate(s) directly from the
order confirmation email. No need to contact us.
Thank you for your patience.
Restaurant.com”
I was VERY nervous, and for good reason. I received NO CONFIRMATION EMAIL, no transaction number, nothing. The only evidence of this transaction was my paypal account (which, thankfully detailed each certificate, price paid, time etc.)
I heard nothing for 48 hours, so I emailed customer service. Heard nothing for A WEEK after contacting customer service. Finally, I filed a complaint through paypal. I wrote to customer service again, and heard back. After 15 emails back and forth (they were giving me the run around) I finally received a link to my vouchers.
I thought “whew”, well that was a lot of work. At least I have the vouchers…. until I drove by one of the restaurants I purchased a voucher for, only to see it COMPLETELY GUTTED, signs removed…out of business!! Total scam. Don’t waste your time or your money!!!!
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January 5th, 2012 at 1:17 am
[...] This seems a little bit like my Restaurant.com problem! [...]
January 5th, 2012 at 5:03 am
Looking for restaurants that have been scammed, defrauded or otherwise ripped off by Restaurant.com to join with us in a class action lawsuit against them. Please email me at rdcfraud@dlbogard.com and give me your contact info, if interested. No cost to you.
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January 5th, 2012 at 11:19 pm
I was so excited to receive a $100 certificate from a client yesterday. My husband and I looked at the restaurants and picked a yummy looking oyster place. We can’t often afford to go out. After reading the fine print we found out that we also can not afford the certificate. It would cost us $140 for starters. And that’s before tipping the server. Needless to say this is a huge giant scam. I’ve been looking around and it looks like they’ve been getting away with this for years. Needless to say there will be no lovely dinner in our future. And good luck with your suit. From what I’ve seen there’s a long line.
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January 7th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
[...] This seems a little bit like my Restaurant.com problem! [...]
January 8th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
TOTAL RIP-OFF! We went to use a RDC certificate last night, & presented it to the server w/ the check. He apologized & said they couldn’t accept it, because RDC is a total scam- they sign restaurants up without ever getting permission from the owners.
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January 12th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
I purchased these for christmas gifts. I relized the scam when I went to print them out there were so many strings attached. I paid through paypal thinking I could get my money back. Paypal let me down I’m out 80 bucks. Biggest scam around
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January 15th, 2012 at 3:51 am
I just used a coupon from Restaurant.com and it worked perfectly. After reading some of these reviews, I even called Crazy Otto’s to make sure they accepted it. They did, and it worked perfectly. $50 worth of food and I payed less than $30, not counting the $4 that the gift certificate actually cost. Any conflicts from this site could be avoided if you call the restaurant before you buy the gift certificates. And Im an honest person, not somebody hired to say what Restaurant.com wants to hear. It’s not a scam at all and if you cant figure that out, then you wont save as much money. That’s up to you,, but Id say it’s really worth it.
Tyler
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January 15th, 2012 at 11:28 am
Magnificent publish, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this. You must continue your writing. I’m confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!|What’s Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It absolutely useful and it has helped me out loads. I’m hoping to contribute & aid different customers like its aided me. Good job.
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January 26th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
I am from Indianapolis and we recently had a rash of restaurants that have put signs on their doors not honoring the coupons. The ARE a scam and restaurant owners are hurt by the scam. Your better off with Groupon, or Dealnews or Google Deals, or DealChicken…the list goes on.
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January 29th, 2012 at 2:50 am
This has all been very wierd to read. I have used RDC for several years in the San Mateo-Redwood City, CA area and haven’t had a bit of trouble. I even had a certificate I printed six months earlier and it was good. Twice, I have gone to restaurants that had closed since buying the coupon but RDC refunded my money.
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The Almost Millionaire Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 1:01 am
Todd,
Thanks for finding the site and leaving the comment!
Quick question though, how did you find the post? If you have had such great experiences with RDC, what made you Google something like “Restaurant.com scam?”
I’m just interested in how people find my site.
Thanks,
-The Almost Millionaire
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January 30th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Over the past year, between purchasing for myself and as gifts, I’ve purchased at least fifty RDC certificates. I had only two minor bad experiences. The first one was, the restaurant had closed down. I called RDC and was promptly given a credit towards another restaurant certificate. The second was, a restaurant, although they accepted RDC certificates, did not honor them on Tuesdays. The certificate did state that it was not to be used on specials but it didn’t mention any certain day. Tuesday happened to be their half price day. We decided to eat there anyway. The food was not good, so I called RDC, explained the situation, they immediately gave me full credit towards another certificate. I think the people, who are writing about all these restaurants that claim they are fraudulently put on RDC, should post the name and address of the restaurant. This way, other people would be able to check out the validity of the claim. There are two sides to every story and somewhere in the middle, you will find the truth.
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February 2nd, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Ah I see why the gift card wouldn’t work. On Restaurant.com it says that gift cards aren’t valid on mothers day.
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February 3rd, 2012 at 2:28 pm
I’ve used Restaurant.com in the Carolina’s for about 2 yrs with no problem.
Once a restaurant I went to was no longer accepting the Gift certificate, They said they had been a member, but had resigned 2 months earlier.
I called the company and they let me choose another restaurant – no problem.
There is some fine print, like gratuity and having to sped $35 on the $25 certificate – a friend who owns a restaurant in Myrtle Beach told me that the price you have to spend is to cover the restaurant’s food cost. Makes sense to me, ESP if I’m getting a certificate for $10!
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February 5th, 2012 at 2:00 am
Okay, so here is our story. We buy the $25 off for $1 and must spend $35. No problem, there were six of us. I had invited two friends to come who had never been to this restaurant. We eat there at least once a month so I don’t even open the menu. One of our friends does look at the menu however and notices the bid red writing across the top that says special prices don’t apply if using a coupon. I handed the waitress our coupon and my friend didn’t even know I was using it. At the end of the dinner the bill comes and once she hears I used a coupon, she says we shouldn’t have put it all on one bill since they charged more for me using a coupon. Turns out the regular price for each of our meals was $5 more than the “special” price, plus an appetizer or two. We were actually paying more to use the stupid coupon than not! I made the restaurant split the bill so at least my two friend’s bill wouldn’t be affected by this scam. When it was all said at done, using our $25 off coupon cost me $27 in up charges. I told the restaurant manager I would not be coming back if they were willing to be part of taking advantage of their customers. And the fact that I choose to blab to all my friends about it, they’ve lost more than just one customer. In this economy I can’t imagine it’s okay to loose good customers. Best of luck to them.
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February 6th, 2012 at 1:26 am
Tonight my family and I went to Lefty’s Tavern. The bill came to $160. I paid with a $75 RDC certificate and $85 cash. Gave the server a $35 tip. No problems whatsoever! I honestly do not understand why so many people are having trouble. And, why isn’t anyone naming all these restaurants that are being fraudulently added to RDC website or overcharging for using the certificates?
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February 9th, 2012 at 2:04 am
I’ve used restaurant.com certificates here in Atlanta for years and never had a problem. I’ve also used them while on vacation in Florida & Las Vegas. Again, no problem. And no, I am not with them, an employee, etc. As a matter of fact, I used one last week at our favorite pizza place. I use one a month there. And I’ve got one to take to Las Vagas to use at the Rampart Casino buffet.
I’ve given several to my brother as Christmas presents in NC and he never had a problem using them.
I buy mine when they have the one dollar end of the month specials. So, I save $24 and have a great meal. And yes, our other favorite pizza place quit taking them so we exchanged the unused ones.
Sounds more to me like some of you are just making up tales to sound like big shots.
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February 13th, 2012 at 3:24 am
Hey Restaurant.com is not a scam. If the Restaurant did not honor your Certificate you can exchange it easily for another that will. You ask them first before ordering your food if they’ll accept your certificate it they reject it. You then reject them and walk out. Easy as pie. You need to know how to play the game Buddy!
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February 13th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I am a merchant who had signed up for restaurant.com though one of their field agents. The agent came to my pizza shop in Swansea, SC and presented the program to me. It seemed legitimate. We discussed possible issues upfront. She assured me that customers could only buy one certificate to my place and the program was designed to bring new customers to our restaurant. A few month in, I had a customer that was able to purchase $400 worth of $25 certificates for only $16. Restaurant.com was offering $25 certificates at Christmas for $1 and their was no limit on how many a person could buy. This totally defeats the purpose of the program from a merchants point of view! When I contacted restaurant.com, they quickly informed me that in the fine print of the documents we signed, it states that we are obligated to the program for a one year period. We waited our year out and then was told their was a 90 day waiting period. 90 days after providing written notice that we wanted out of the program, we are still on the site! It is very frustrating to me because we have no choice but to disappoint and frustrate our customers by not honoring the certificates. Restaurant.com now says that we must conduct a exit interview, which they are unable to schedule with me as of today. It is a terribly flawed system where restaurant.com does not disclose the terms of the agreement and then “forces” merchants to cooperate or be faced with a $1000 fine for breaching the contract! Just wanted to make you aware as to why so many merchants are turning and running from restaurant.com. I plan to post my story on as many review sites as I can in hope of keeping a merchant like me from doing business with restaurant.com. Just to clarify, restaurant.com keeps 100% of the money they sell the certificate for. Restaurants eat that cost as a way to bring in NEW business. That’s the way the program is presented to the merchant. There is a minimum order that is supposed to cover food costs for the restaurant but in today’s economy, restaurants are selling items with a 40% food cost. Its a horrible program and I hope that they will remove us soon!
Michael Brown
Paparonis Grill, LLC
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Rob Reply:
February 14th, 2012 at 3:27 am
An individual is limited to purchase four RDC certificates. I’ve seen several restaurants on the website that have “out of stock” listed. This is because, not only do they limit how many a person may order, they also limit the total amount sold.
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February 19th, 2012 at 5:47 am
Cashed in some change at a CoinStar machine and selected a restaurant.com gift certificate instead of cash. Seemed like a great deal since I didn’t have to pay the 9% fee and I love eating out and trying new places.
I looked on the website and selected a restuarant called “Izaty’s” here in Minnesota with a $100 certificate for $40.00 (had to purchase at least $200 worth of food before tax and tip 18%). No problem. I thought, wow, a $200 meal for only $140 bucks (I would have paid an 18% tip anyway… After driving over 20 miles with my family and placing a drink/appetizer order, I presented my certificate to the waitress who informed me that the certificate was no good, Izaty’s had never signed up with them and restuarant.com was a complete scam.
While reading the posts, it’s had not to feel bad for these restaurants who allege they were unknowingly listed, however, it still seems strange to me since prior to purchasing the certificate on restaurant.com, I viewed information about the location, including an exact replica of the menu I was presented tonight before ordering. If in fact, this site is such a scam, why are owners not suing the s**t out of them? The more likely explination, it seems, is that they opted to quit participating (after signing up), but were contractually bound to continue (as has been suggested). Whatever the case, this makes both parties look BAD; a true lose/lose situation.
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February 26th, 2012 at 6:47 am
As a restaurant/bar owner I wish that I had seen this site before signing up. Customers that purchase coupons from Restaurants.com and redeem them at our restaurant purchase the minimum required and do not purchase alcohol. We have lost money on all orders for which coupons were redeemed so far under this program. I will be cancelling the program as soon as possible.
Customers should know that the restaurant gets nothing from restaurants.com from the purchase price of coupons.
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C M Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Why not up the minimum spend then? It’s human nature to use coupons in that manner! So infact, you are blaming the customers here and not restaurant.com.
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D B Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 10:17 pm
I am not blaming the customer. My problem is that RDC grossly overstates the amount of money that the average customer will spend. This is done intentianlly by RDC in order to convince the restaurant owners to join the program. How do the restaurant owners know this… you may ask? Because RDC does not gather that type of information from the restaurant owners. Once a restaurant is signed up for the program, they just reap the benefits of selling coupons at the restaruant owners expense. It was stated well in another comment… Restaurant.com is a parasite!!!
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February 27th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
ANd they have another scam, too. I bought a pkg from ’specials by restaurant.com’ for $25 in Nov. It was for $25 restaurant.com cert plus a code for 2 movie tix redeemable at movies.com. When I go to redeem this month, I find the movie code expired in January – no warning in sales info or verification email. And when I redeem the restaurant.com cert I redeem $25 for $25 value. So, I paid $25 dollars for a $25 restaurant.com certificate. Quite a bargain, yes? Plus the list of restaurants eligible for this scam was limited to about 1/4 of the usual list. They refuse to refund my money!!!!
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March 3rd, 2012 at 12:07 am
I have to say i am shocked – I have been using Restaurant.com for years – you do have to be careful to read the fine print – what days they are not honored – the amount needed to spend. My husband and I have enjoyed many dinners using certificates – several times we found out the restaurants had closed – with a single email – they rectified it and let me pick another restaurant. The have helped me with coupon coeds also. And as for only spending the minimum and not getting alcohol
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Cheryl Reply:
March 3rd, 2012 at 12:14 am
and to the person who says they upcharge look at the prices on the menu – I have never been upcharged
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March 6th, 2012 at 1:54 am
I am a restaurant owner that has recently dealt with restaurant.com. They are the worst company out there try to benefit from restaurants while giving no benefit to the restaurants. That is the textbook definition of a parasite, “benefiting from but not providing any benefit from the host”. The sales team Sergei and Dick “Richard” were a pair of the most dishonest sales reps I have ever come across. When we sat down to meet I made it perfectly clear that we were not interested in having anyone sell more “vouchers”, and that if that was the purpose of their visit that the meeting was unnecessary. They immediately went into how the restaurant.com website can benefit restaurant owners by exposure from listing on their site, a reservation system which makes it easy for both the patron and restaurant owners to accomplish the task via on-line and phone connection. I made it perfectly clear that we already had many unredeemed vouchers out there from sales from Google offers, and Livingsocial, and that we would not want any more vouchers sold until those had run there course and been redeemed. They both assured me that they could get the business up on their site and initiate sales of the vouchers when we were ready. Needless to say they started sales of the vouchers immediately, against our wishes and our prior agreement. Notifying the customer service department was met with much opposition as they replied that delayed sales of the vouchers did not exist, and that their sales team should never have eluded to that possibility. The cancellation process was then being initiated and would take 90 DAYS!!!!!!????!!!! In that time they would still continue to sell the vouchers??? Unbelievable!!! Advice to all restaurant owners, DO NOT EVER SIGN UP WITH restaurant.com. They are detrimental to the restaurant industry, care nothing about the restaurant owners (which is clear by no voucher sales monies going back to the business), and they make the patron provide revenue so that they do not have any out-of-pocket expenses themselves (parasites). Also keep in mind that unlike any other voucher sellers out there they have no limit to the sales of the vouchers and that their agreement is for 12 months, renewed every year automatically, and with a 90 day cancellation policy!!!???!!! Beware these guys are CANCER to the restaurant owner. If there are restaurants out there that are not redeeming their offers do not hold it against them as restaurant.com are literally the worst thing to ever parade around that they are here to help restaurants, as they are not, and are only out there for there own benefit and at the restaurant owners expense.
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April 4th, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Restaurant.com has been a pain from day one. They would not let me cancel and would not return my emails. They did not come back after 30 days to see how things were and have a sorry rep. They also threatend me with legal action as well stating that I had to give them 90 day notice and said it had to be in writing but then said I could email it. They also told me that the 18% gratuity and the terms of the customers use such as “dinner only” are only suggestins to the customers. They can not make them honor those suggestions. It plainly states the terms on the certificate. What a rip off for business owners who struggle already. Something should be done.
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April 20th, 2012 at 11:51 am
D Prather, Although I am not a business owner, I use RDC certificates all the time. You may want to start having your servers add the tip prior to giving the customer the check. I’ve been to several restaurants that have done this, which is fine with me, I usually tip 20%. The “dinner only” part is very simple, don’t honor the RDC certificate. It’s not the company’s fault that some people are ignorant. The last part about RDC not returning your emails or calls is also simple, send them a request to cancel your contract by certified mail, return receipt requested. I’m not an attorney, but I do believe that the ninety day notice would start on the day RDC signs for the letter. Just a few suggestions.
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April 20th, 2012 at 8:25 pm
We bought a restaurant and found out only after opening that the previous owners had signed up for Restaurant.com because the customers were bringing in the certificates. No one ever mentioned it to us while we were buying the restaurant. So I called restaurant.com to take our restaurant off their site and they refused. Saying their agreement transferred to us since its a free marketing service. They also directed me to the local sales associate who never called me back after I called multiple times. I had to call them back at the main office again because they never got back to me when they said they would. So 3 weeks later I finally talk to someone and asked them what it takes to get taken off the site? A 90 day process where I had to send them a notice saying I wanted out and that I would agree to accept the certificates during the 90 days. And then they would follow up with an exit review. I am not waiting for them to call me for and exit review. They probably won’t call at all. They say they need the 90 days to recoup their losses. What losses? You have a picture and info about a restaurant on your already established servers. It takes a few minutes to edit information. They’ve done it while I was on the phone with them. I would have had no problem with them if they would at least have given us a cut. So they happen to call back after receiving complaints saying they can give us half of what they sell. Why didn’t they do this before? but its another 6 month term. They didn’t disclose it but you probably still have give a 90 day notice. So another 9 months of having to deal with them. So they say I would get half of 10 dollars which doesn’t even begin to cover our costs. And what about when they have sales of $5 for $25 worth of food? So I would get $2.50? That’s asinine. Restaurant.com just makes us restaurant owners look bad to our customers while they rake in all the money. Then we have to deal with the customers who don’t read the fine print and give us a hard time when they don’t want to adhere to the terms.
Restaurant.com is a conducting fraudulent business practices. If anyone comes through your door from Restaurant.com, Kick them out!
I have filed complaints with the BBB, State Attorney General and FTC. There’s not much I can do. I don’t have money to hire an attorney. I just wish there was a class action lawsuit against them.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Here is how I see it.
I feel for any owner that got suckered into their scam. What I would do is send a certified letter to RDC asking for immediate removal.
Put a big sign on your front door explaining you no longer honor these certificates as of a certain date.
I am not sure how uploading your menu works for them, but if you have some control over it, upload your menu with we don’t honor these certificates We have asked to be removed super-imposed on it. Also include it on your website.
You may even want to include a webpage dedicated to explaining, in non-libel terms, why you no longer participate in their program and offer some level of compensation for their troubles. Remember, chances are you did sign up (apparently that doesn’t hold true for all) and it did get them to your door.
Get get onto a restaurant owners forum. Doing a quick Google search revealed many such forums.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 5:15 pm
We did that and they blocked us from accessing our menu and control panel. Then they sent an invoice for $1000 for breaching the “agreement”. Restaurant.com is a scam. Small business owners beware.
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May 12th, 2012 at 12:07 am
I’ve been using Restaurant.com for several years with NO problems. So I don’t know what people are whining about. Most of the complaints here seem to either be from restaurant owners (which I’m not; I’m a customer), or from people who didn’t bother to read their gift certificates before trying to use them (what days of the week they’re accepted, what it includes, minimum purchase amount, etc.). When you add in the frequent promo codes, you can get things like $50 GCs for a couple of bucks.
The ONLY problem I’ve ever had was getting a coupon to one particular restaurant, not using it until months later, and finding out then that they were no longer accepting the coupons. All I had to do was just redeem it for credit towards another coupon in the future. Again, this only happened to me once, and if you simply double-check with the restaurant beforehand, you can avoid it. “Rip-off”? Oh please.
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