Have you heard of this one? Read the pitch (Eat. Drink. Save Money.), and you’ll probably end up saying, “What’s not to like?” Apparently, that’s where lots of people have ended up. Customers have supposedly saved $75 million using their gift certificates. And yes, it’s been seen on all the biggies—NBC, Today, Fox, CBS and ABC. Using the service couldn’t be any easier. Just log onto Restaurant.com, and you’ll see what I mean.
It’s a three-step process that goes like this. Step one: Find a restaurant using their search engine. You can search by your local zip code, which I like the best. Or search by state or popular cities. The potential value of this service for travelers is enormous. A lot of us are plugged into discount deals and coupons in our local market. But getting the same advantage in a city where you’ve stopped for just a night? Now, that could be a big deal, right? Well, maybe. But let’s stick closer to home for starters. Step two of the process is to buy a gift certificate online once you’ve found a restaurant. Then you just take the certificate, enjoy your meal—and your savings. But hold on, partner. Let’s take a closer look.
I did a search for my zip code (49087) and found nine restaurants within 15 miles of home. Here they are: Bennucci’s Chicago Oven Grill (Kalamazoo), Comensoli’s Pasta Pasta (Kalamazoo), Goldie’s Diner (Three Rivers), Kevin’s Tavern on the River (Paw Paw), Mangia Mangia (Kalamazoo), Paisano’s Bar and Grill (Three Rivers), Saffron Indian Cuisine (Kalamazoo), The Sports Forum (Kalamazoo) and Webster’s Prime Steakhouse (Kalamazoo). Okay. That was easy enough.
We like Pasta Pasta so let’s take a look at what they offer. This is where you’ll discover a very nice feature of the site. Following the little description of the restaurant, there is a MENU button. Click it, and you’ll be able to cruise through the entire menu online.
The box to the right of the restaurant photo/description tells me I can buy a $10 gift certificate for $3. A $25 gift certificate will set me back $12.50. But wait—there’s more. Read the fine print. Select the $10 option, and this is exactly what it says: “Valid with a minimum purchase of $20. Lunch only. Not valid on Friday. 18% gratuity added to pre-discounted check. Present prior to ordering.”
Select the $25 gift certificate, and the fine print changes slightly: “Valid with a minimum purchase of $35. Dinner only. Not valid on Friday. 18% gratuity added to pre-discounted check. Present prior to ordering.” Okay, this is getting complicated, and I’m beginning to feel less elated about the whole thing. First off, the automatic addition of the gratuity is a personal pet peeve of mine. This alone is enough to turn me off permanently. But let’s look at the numbers. In order to use the certificate, I have to spend $35.00 minimum—more than we usually spend for dinner for two at this particular place. Then I have to add the 18% ($6.30). So now I have a total bill of $41.30. The $25 certificate cuts this down to $16.30, but I have to add the $12.50 the certificate cost me in the first place which jacks it back up to $28.80. Looking less like a deal all the time. Stay tuned.
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Article Comments
Arastoo says:
restaurant.com is a rip-off. I just purchased a $25 for lunch and after paying for the coupon, the certificate says “for dinner only.” This is something that should have been on the first page, not at the end when they collect the payment.
August 24th, 2011 at 12:53 pm ::
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