Groupon horror bakery must make 102,000 cupcakes

Can't they set a cap on those things? I know when A LASIK place here had a group on, they set a certain number they could sell...

Can't they set a cap on those things? I know when A LASIK place here had a group on, they set a certain number they could sell...

Yes, they absolutely can set a limit. I feel bad for the business, but unfortunately they failed to do their homework ( there are bunches of articles on effective/ineffective use of Groupons). Like any marketing strategy, you have to think thru the potential costs vs. results.
Deb

This is not so much Groupon's fault as the business owner's fault for not doing her homework, as Deb said. If she only makes 100 a month, she needed to figure out how much she could handle if everyone was to redeem their Groupon tomorrow (because you never know).

This is not so much Groupon's fault as the business owner's fault for not doing her homework, as Deb said. If she only makes 100 a month, she needed to figure out how much she could handle if everyone was to redeem their Groupon tomorrow (because you never know).

I know of local businesses who have effectively reduced these risks by 1) requiring reservations, 2) restricting usage to certain slow days, 3) requiring 48 hour notice for orders. There are lots of ways to make this meet your business- specific strategy.
Deb

This is not so much Groupon's fault as the business owner's fault for not doing her homework, as Deb said. If she only makes 100 a month, she needed to figure out how much she could handle if everyone was to redeem their Groupon tomorrow (because you never know).

I know of local businesses who have effectively reduced these risks by 1) requiring reservations, 2) restricting usage to certain slow days, 3) requiring 48 hour notice for orders. There are lots of ways to make this meet your business- specific strategy.
Deb

That's what we did at the Pig, but you still have to deal with a lot of:
-inconsistencies between the coupon itself and other forms of redemption ie- the iphone/blackberry apps that don't list the limitations of the coupon
-people angry that there are limits at all
-procrastinators who wait until the last day to use it and didn't check your hours of operation and are suddenly incensed that you're closed on Monday, even though they've had 6 months to use the coupon.

The Android app lists the restrictions and the fine print specific to that Groupon...it's on the screen before the one with the barcode. Just FYI....they may be saying it's not there but it is...just back up one screen and it will be there.

All the info is there on the Iphone app too under Fine Print and sometimes in another section listed as Rules. I've had to read it to many places that should know what they are offering.

While most of the fault lies with the bakery owner, you have to admit that the salesperson for Groupon really screwed her up on this one. They do get a commission from the sales so seeing 8000 coupons must have been nice to their paycheck, but a decent salesperson wouldn't try to sale someone a Ferrari when they can only afford a Fiesta just to line their own pockets.

Ironically, today's Louisville Groupon is for Gigi's Cupcakes for a similiar deal ( half off) with a 3 day deal. No requirements on pre-ordering or dates for redemption; I sincerely hope they set a limit on quantity as a safety measure.

Deb

Newsflash: Some business owners are not very smart, do not do due diligence, and make poor decisions.

I have no sympathy for the "horror bakery."

I've known about this one for a bit, but didn't post because I figured some of the other forumites might have seen the article. Seems to me she got hoodwinked. It's never just black and white cupcakes is it?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall ... e-groupon/

It read as if the cupcake lady did set a limit of 1000 redemptions and Groupon shafted her.

The more interesting thing to me was the writers analysis of the groupon business model. Time will tell whether or not it is correct.