Today Tonight are doing a story on group buy complaints tonight, Wednesday 6 July.
Group Buy Story - Today Tonight
chloden on 06/07/2011 - 09:09
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Cool! What is your story?
hope u mention to buy from other site, dont want to scoopon just to get publicity even if it's just bad. ppl will still look them up.
i will be watching…hell break lose
i think it did at the Scoopon Head Office lol
The story is in regards to Mary's issue with Mosskito / Scoopon, as mentioned here, http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/45946
Got my Foxtel IQ ready!
Usually any group buying story n ACA/TT means a spike in traffic for Buyii. Time to get the servers ready.
Well interestingly enough, from the short promo I saw, it just showed Spreets a bunch of times. Spreets is owned by Yahoo!7. I wonder if the angle is going to be "Scoopon and the rest are crap, use a trusted site like Spreets".
"Scoopon and the rest are crap, use a trusted site like Spreets".
Considering Speets is ownded by 7 they probably will, but what's interesting if it were to turn out to be a ACA vs TT
Also they would most likely mention something about reading the Terms and Conditions
Just watched it. They must have said "Scoopon" about 50 times :-)
I wonder if TT would be doing this if it wasn't an Indian restaurant??
Mosskito isn't an Indian restaurant. http://www.mosskito.com.au/menu.html
I think those videos are put on Today Tonight's website right after it shows.
i am indian and dont think that why they did it.
Hopefully someone can youtube it or something. I am working during that time and really want to see the coverage of it =D
i dont know whats in it either, i know they visited the restaurant and the SCOOPON OFFICE
wasn't on tonight
Huh? I recorded it and I'm watching it now. Well, paused it to post this reply.
Was on @6.30pm today!!!
wow that's weird, Today Tonight right?
Mine was about
ADHD, Building of new pools, celebs giving public awareness of diseasesbut nothing about group buy deals
weird must be QLD
Maybe you came in too late, it was the first item on the show, followed by Hinch, then ADHD.
Or you get a different edition up there.
oh yeah
You're probably then!
Hey Everyone,
This is obviously a really disappointing outcome and Scoopon would never again work with any business that treats our members in this manner. Our members are incredibly important to us and we have stringent policies when selecting businesses, including third party vetting. Upon hearing about this appalling incident, we responded to the individuals within 8 hours and ensured they received a full refund. As stated, we would never again work with a business that treats our members in such a way.
We’re pleased to hear the individuals involved were happy with how we responded and have since used more Scoopon deals.
Kind Regards,
Team Scoopon"Our members are incredibly important to us and we have stringent policies when selecting businesses"
What a load of crap. Pull your head out of your arse and take a look at all the other complaints on sites such as OzBargain. If you were reputable you would fix all the problems your customers are having. I doubt you are going to get much sympathy here.
We’re pleased to hear the individuals involved were happy with how we responded and have since used more Scoopon deals.
REALLY????
Hey POWERevolution,
You can check out what the Scoopon Members have posted in the following thread -
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/45946
hunter9899; 03/06/2011 - 13:08
mary9899; 21/06/2011 - 15:32Kind Regards,
Team Scoopon.I bought around 4 different vouchers at the same time I bought the voucher for Mosskito, out of all the vouchers we bought I have been happy with the one so far, I still have a photobook voucher I havent used yet, we'll see how that goes!! After what happened with Mosskito I will never ever buy another voucher from anywhere again!!
no we havent bought any since
"Our members are incredibly important to us"
Then respond to their emails in a timely and efficient manner, not just after they are ignored by you and forced to vent on this site.
As for "stringent policies when selecting businesses"; how do you account for the many examples (on this site alone) where the businesses have treated your customers terribley just because they had one of your vouchers. NOt to mention the places that wont take bookings etc
Hi drpolphin,
Our members are our no. 1 priority.
If the business fails to meet the Terms and Conditions as outlined by Scoopon, we will refund your money. You get what you pay for or you get your money back.Any concerns can be sent to [email protected] where our Support Team will investigate further and get back to the Scoopon Member as soon as possible.
A lot of the posts seen on OzBargain are due to the emails that have been sent in reply to queries being blocked by email provider filters. Scoopon respond to 99% of all emails within 2 business days with a resolution.
Kind Regards,
Team Scoopon."Our members are our no. 1 priority.If the business fails to meet the Terms and Conditions as outlined by Scoopon, we will refund your money. You get what you pay for or you get your money back" "You get what you pay for or you get your money back"
Perhaps you would like to explain how this fits into arazad experience with The Wine Underground or GeriatricSod experience with Mamaca's Kitchen this www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39214 or this www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39919.
Hahah what a load of baloney! Are you saying that the majority of the people here don't know how to read their emails? I have sent numerous emails and check my junk mail on a daily basis and NEVER has there been an email from Scoopon in my junk mail. In fact, Scoopon is on my safe list and all the ridiculous "automated responses" go straight to my inbox. Do not insult us by assuming we do not know how to use technology! It is a piss poor excuse for your inability to provide an appropriate level of customer service! And I would say that all concerns ARE sent to the customer service email you have provided - as you can only contact you through your website, its not the emailer's repsonsibility to check where the email is going when only web based emails can be sent!!!
And the only response that you get in 2 days is the automated one! That is under no circumstances a "resolution".
Honestly!
Ill correct this before the restaurant issue, we had 4 sccopons, and we still have a photobook scoopon to use, we have not purchased any since this incident.
Also on in WA in 15mins hope this will shake them
up in the futureAnyone record it (and want to throw it up on YouTube)? Did they do a bust in the door with the restaurant and Scoopon?
IMHO, reading the transcript is just as good and faster. Unless you want to see what Mary and Hunter look like.
It was pretty boring actually, they did go to the restaurant but there was no real altercation. I guess it is always the same with TT and ACA, they make it look like a great story on the promo only to disappoint when you actually watch the show!
They've put the video up on their site,
http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/9795031/none/online…Very cheesy and light on facts as usual. It appears the moral of Today Tonight's story is not to buy vouchers from any company.
the police were in a cyberspace pickle.
Spotted the OzBargain tab at 1:36 on Mary's computer.
The other lady mentioned problems with Absynthe restaurant also discussed here.
The Scoopon rep, John gave a very corporate answer. Should have gone off of on Mosskito or at the very least flexed it's legal muscles.
I would imagine we'll be seeing a couple of restaurants & a beauty salon on the market fairly soon! Potential investors might wanna keep their eye out on OzB for discounted "Under New Management" signs too! :p
So much for the old adage "any publicity is good publicity"…you probably couldn't buy bad advertising like that! ;)
What a great story!
"According to Scoopon’s John Beros, out of the 2000 businesses there have been just over one per cent of cases where a refund has been issued for a supplier."
Personally I think that is because Scoopon weazels out of legitimate refunds.I used a 3 hour pamper pack Scoopon today. Walked out in 2 hours exactly. WTF! I had to book it 7 months in advance on a weekday and was told if I tried to change or cancel it, the voucher was void. They wouldn't take me in sooner. Then they screw me out of 33% of pamper time. The no changes was not listed on the scoopon website AND it does not apply to regular clients, so why does scoopon allow them to do it to scoopon clients when it is outside the T & Cs.
Also, the deal listed a $50 voucher. No restrictions were listed, just a $50 voucher on your next visit. When I get the voucher, all of a sudden it is only valid on certain items, not your "next visit" I am of a mind to put in a consumer protection complaint on this voucher business. If you use a $50 voucher as an incentive to sell and mention no restrictions anywhere on the deal, then there should be no restrictions placed on the voucher. It is fraud, in my opinion.I had some IPL done with scoopons the other day and was heartened to see that the woman had moved her new voucher business elsewhere. She'll pay less commission and sell fewer vouchers. She doesn't want to sell 2000 vouchers. She is happy with a few hundred. She can service those in her normal course of business and then do another deal when those dwindle down.
Another scoopon client told me they'd give me the same deal if I went direct. Why wouldn't I do that? Scoopon insults customers and does nothing to bring dodgy businesses into line. The NEVER EVER should have paid that MOSSKITO bill. OUTRAGEOUS. They are rewarding what appears to be a false police report.
"According to Scoopon’s John Beros, out of the 2000 businesses there have been just over one per cent of cases where a refund has been issued for a supplier."
Could be possible.
because (i know i have said this before) you mainly notice/read about the bad experiences with group buy deals rarely about the good experiencesHa, this is all trickery. ?% of people want a refund, but as we know Scoopon pretty much refuse to give refunds. So then they give a refund or two and then say only 1% require a refund. What about all the others that they refused. What is the percentage of dissatisfied customer, not the number of refunds Scoopon have reluctantly issued?
exactly…..
Did you let Scoopon know about the experience with the pamper pack? I had a really bad experience (also under time) recently and was promised a refund by Scoopon just a couple of days after contacting them.
It wasn't a truly horrible experience like yours just not what they said they'd deliver. I have bad mouthed this day spa with all of the mums at the private school where my daughter goes. These women get massages, ipl, etc etc, all the time, but without vouchrs. None of them will be going there. I tell them about the good ones like Bayview Spa and Looks Devine. Two fabulous places where I have sent people both forthemselves and their gift needs. A lot of these dads just want to buy the mums off, keeping them from complaining about long hours etc. I tell them what to buy.
I tell them definitely not to buy No 4 Claremont or Skn Estetica of Claremont. There are others I could warn them of but they are not in out "cachement area". I usually just say, don;t buy from those two.
Fair enough. Word of mouth can do alot of damage! (I have in the past put reviews of bad businesses on WOMOW)
Hi me, take a look at Spreets FB page. I think the King Edward salon has closed.
Thanks for the info! I couldn't see anything there and it asks for a login to continue (I refuse to use facebook). I have contacted Spreets and asked for more info and a refund if they have closed. Their number is disconnected…
Let me know how you go. To be honest I think if they are closed you should be glad to get your money back, as I don't think you would have been happy with your hair anyway.
I agree with you on the pamper packages. Last week I had a 2 1/2 hour package which lasted 1hr 50 mins. Ever had a full body massage in 35 mins?
wASNT AS MUCH AS THOUGHT THEY WOULD SHOW AT THE RESTAURANT, the 2 guys on the floor they showed wasnt the guys we dealt with but there are 2 owners of the restaurant. they didnt want to make scoopon look bad after all they did step in quickly and fix it up becasue it got messier. Which i was happy with, BUT it shouldnt have happened, But it happens all the time and people reluctantly pay in the end to not cause a scene.
ha d awork colleague wo saw it and said he also went to Mosskito and the guy was being a prick about it, he reluctantly took the voucher complaining they were overwhelemed with too many scoopon customers and then changed their rules, they started limiting the aount of vouchers per day although they did not notify any customers or scoopon on this change.I bought around 4 different vouchers at the same time I bought the voucher for Mosskito, out of all the vouchers we bought I have been happy with the one so far, I still have a photobook voucher I havent used yet, we'll see how that goes!! After what happened with Mosskito I will never ever buy another voucher from anywhere again!!
Scoopon stepped in and settled everything so quickly which I am gratefull for, but I still dont understand why they had to pay the bill?I have not purchased any vouchers since the scoopon ordeals I have had also. It was by chance the tv was on channel 7 when this report came on and my mother mentioned she heard them say Scoopon. She was suprised I assumed it would be the resturant story and she was disgusted as I am sure many others were.
So Scoopon, are you saying this is all the fault of the businesses rather than your selling techniques? If so surely you would want to protect your business and fight for your customers against misleading terms and conditions. Failure to do so would show that you support this practice and only care about the extra $ it makes you by tricking the consumer.
Hi kwidjibo,
Scoopon does not support any business that does the wrong thing by our Members.
If a business fails to meet the Scoopon standards of service, we will never work with them again. Once we become aware of any issues that our Scoopon Members are experiencing our Support Team will follow up any complaints as quickly as possible and bring about a suitable resolution.
Scoopon would never 'trick' our Members. Our Members mean everything to us, and protecting our Members is our no. 1 priority.
If any Scoopon Member has any concerns regarding their experience while using a Scoopon, can contact us via [email protected]
Our Support Team will work as quickly as possible to solve any problems you may be having.Kind Regards,
Team Scoopon.'Our Members mean everything to us, and protecting our Members is our no. 1 priority.'
Then why are there so many complaints in this forum for Scoopon and nowhere near as many for the other group buy providers?
Do you feel that 'subject to availability' is clear enough for customers to understand that the business will restrict the use of vouchers to their choosing? ie Subject to Availability for a restaurant does not refer to the restaurant being available but instead it means that the restaurant can choose whether or not to accept a voucher for use on a particular evening??
I feel that falling back on generic 'subject to availability' without clarifying that this could mean anything that the business chooses is seen as misleading/tricking the customer.
Unfortunately when I raised this with Scoopon I was quoted "Ts & Cs" rather than "work as quickly as possible to solve any problems you may be having". Where is my protection Scoopon??
Exactly, that why when you look at this and laugh at it, this opens up a big arguement, its not clear or precise in what this means and leaves business open to abusing this, which can cause big problems like it has for many people and if you took this court what would the judge say??
They should have to state exactly how many scoopons they are going to allow per day and this should be auditable. I suggest scoopon invest in an online booking system. This would show how many scoopons were allowed and how many are still available. Some of these businesses are so bloody dodgy that you would do something to provide transparency.
I bought a scoopon only to find out it was only valid with one therapist and that therapist only worked two days a week. Why hide that from the consumer when they are considering making a purchase, unless you just want more sales.
Hi everyone,
The terms and conditions on the deal page are all the restrictions that have been listed by the Deal Provider to Scoopon. We make clear that any Deal Provider offering a deal on www.scoopon.com.au must adhere with the terms and conditions as advised on the deal page.
If a Scoopon Members has been told that extra conditions have been added on to the deal, we kindly ask that you contact [email protected] so that our team can follow up your concerns as quickly as possible.
Subject to availability means that if a restaurant, in this example, has been fully booked out and cannot accept any more bookings at all - you may not be able to gain a reservation on your most desired date. This term does not mean that the Deal Provider can pick and choose if a Scoopon Member will be allowed to reserve an available table. If availability exists, this must be offered to a Scoopon holder.
Scoopon expects that our Members will be treated exactly the same way as a member of the general public.Kind Regards,
Team Scoopon.ScoopOn,
Thankyou to the online representative who has taken the time to understand what my concern was and recognise that as customers we do not expect to be treated like fools with this misleading behaviour coming from the deal provider.
I have now been contacted by Scoopon, and although it has taken some time, have a fair resolution to this complaint.
Whilst I will be very careful with any decisions made in purchasing particular deals in future I am confident that although not the most efficient, the ScoopOn complaint process can work.
Good clarification on what Subject to Availability means - ie a business can't limit the number of tables/slots it gives to scoopon customers, if they have space they have to honor the scoopon.
Scoopon,
So if bought a voucher vaild for only 3 months and i call one months before expiry and is told by the restaurant that they are completely booked out up till the expiry date.Does that mean I've loss my money, it's just bad luck I didn't call and book 3 months in advance???
Did this happen or hypothetical?
If this is the case, then why must scoopon holders tell they are scoopon holders when attempting to make a booking?
I suppose we should be able to make a booking and then clarify afterward the time is set that we will be using a scoopon.
Please explain why we need to identify our voucher holder status if they are not permitted to discriminate based on voucher status.
Although my experince at The View in Fremantle was nice. They admitted to only taking x amount of scoopons per day and the Resturant was not full when we were there. As for customers, I had to jump through hoops to get my refund, even when a business had closed down PRIOR to the offer on Scoopon.
I do like the suggestion someone else made about a booking service and knowing the limitations of the allowance of bookings. In many cases the sales are higher than the business can or will take. Then customers have to deal with the (bullcrap) customer service that is scoopon.
I wouldn't mind available times to book in on certain dates when you purchase. Businesses could login and allocate times and numbers of voucher they can take. This would work for other businesses, not just resturants. It would be a means also for Scoopon or whoever to monitor redemptions and customer and business communication. Businesses would also be able to email if a free spot becomes available. If business overflow occurs then a refund can be issued easier. Also reviews could happen.
Alas though I don't think Scoopon wish for their customers to get refunds or see this information. They'd be quite happy for people to forget about their coupons and not redeem them. We can't expect all the businesses to be great and uphold their agreement however we expect a level of respect when treated by Scoopon. At the end of the day it seems they would rather get people to buy the vouchers and if there's a problem too bad. With all the options of groupbuy sites, it is really worth not gaining regular customer buying.
Scoopon Rep, Giving a generic line about how much you value customers. Actions speak louder than words. Many people have not re-purchased scoopons, Not due to the businesses but moreso your "Customer service"
Sorry for the long post OzBargainers.
Yes it will be on tonight, my story will be in it.