Just before Christmas my husband forwarded an e-mail with some GrouponLondon deals to me. Basically, if you forward their offer to people and there are enough people interested in the same deal as you, then you all get the deal.
I booked an hour hot stone massage with DivineHolistic, supposed to be £22 instead of £65, what a bargain! First of all, when I called to book an appointment, it was almost impossible to get any Saturday or Sunday appointment before April....so I decided to book it for a Monday, 10th January. Unfortunately, I had to change it, and the first time, one of their stuff had no problem changing my date. I changed it to 22January. Last night my husband told me he couldn't look after Isabelle on that date as he had a very important work meeting. So I called and expected no problem with changing my booking.
I was very wrong! It took me more than half an hour to get through, it was engaged all the time. When they picked up, first I talked to someone and then she put me through to another person. When I explained I needed to change the date of my booking, she straight away said it wasn't possible, that it was their policy. I was a bit shocked as I didn't expect that answer at all. Then I told her, that it was a bit funny as I had already managed to change it before... She was a bit surprised and responded that it shouldn't have happened. Again, "unfortunately, we cannot do anything". I told her there was nothing like that mentioned on the website when I was paying for the GrouponLondon deal and that they should definitely have that in the terms there. She just said she would tell her boss to mention it there...but will that really happen? My husband was stunned and called them again, as he read the terms and conditions and it doesn't say anything about not being able to change the date of my booking. The manager just kept on repeating the same thing....
To be honest, the only thing I want now is to get my money back. Do you really think I would go and have a massage at a place like that? When you look at their website, you will see they are supposed to be closed on Mondays, but the only appointments I was given were on Mondays. Does this mean that they try to get many people through the GrouponLondon deals and then they "deal" with them on Mondays???
I would love to hear your feedback and I will definitely keep you up to date if there is any change in their response to my enquiry. What do you suggest doing? Have you got a similar experience?
Oh no, what awful service.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a new sales technique - get you as wound up and stressed as possible so you absolutely HAVE to have a massage?!
Hope they can resolve it for you and you get a refund x
I haven't every booked any spa treatments with anyone other than Malmaison. Not because I wouldn't go anywhere else, just because I was so impressed at the Birmingham one, I've always booked with them in the future.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't let anyone touch me in any way that can't even treat me properly over the phone.
And if they are meant to be shut on Mondays, well, it all sounds a bit dodgy and definitely like you're not their priority. Maybe they can't change your appointment because they're only doing Mondays and they're booked up now? And as a consequence they've suddenly changed their policy.
Make a stink and get a refund. Go somewhere else. Even if you have to pay more.
So sorry you're disappointed :(
Becca x
I must say I really would've lost it with them, bu I totally agree with you they keep their appointments to Monday! to cover those deals! Complain to Groupon!! Some companies should get some customer service training!! I wouldn't go there even if it was free after all that.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get your money back, I think you should speak to Groupon xx
I think it is extremely unprofessional to offer promotional deals without strings attached and then claim otherwise. A reputable company would be more interested in customer service than worrying about changing dates for a client. The very least they should do is return your money. How very disappointing
ReplyDeleteI hate when thing like this happen, but you have to fight otherwise they continue to do this. and you are right, dont even think of getting a massage there. See if you can talk with groupon.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're expecting too much, no, they sound like they need some serious lessons in customer service.
ReplyDeleteBut I learned something about Groupon the other day, having bought a voucher for a photo session in Cardiff. The companies who are offering the Groupon vouchers receive nothing, or nearly nothing from Groupon, no matter how many vouchers are sold. Groupon get that money. Basically they use it as a marketing tool to attract new business & get themselves known - so they should be offering you BETTER customer service, so you'll come back and spend money with them in the future.
Unfortunately, this means you're unlikely to get a refund from the spa, but I'd say it's worth you contacting Groupon & explaining the situation to them, and see if you can get a refund from them.
(And as you sound like you could do with the treat, there are still some cheap spa deals going on LastMinute, they emailed me the other day with info)
The Advertising Standards Authority have upheld two cases against Groupon in the last month or so, over 4 of their deals
ReplyDeletehttp://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2011/1/MyCityDeal-Ltd/TF_ADJ_49579.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications/2010/12/MyCityDeal-Ltd/TF_ADJ_49452.aspx
Thanks everyone for the comments, will let you know if the owner gets back to me, and hopefully will get a refund ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Mirka!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Hristina, I'm the editor for the Groupon City Blog (http://blog.groupon.co.uk/) and I'm also involved in social media in general.
I'm very sorry to hear about this, but thank you for sharing - I'll make sure our after-sales team gets this message too. We will issue you with a refund (please email me your details at blog [at] groupon [dot]co[dot]uk or find me on Twitter : @GrouponCityBlog) I don't know the details about this, we will have to call the manager of the venue, as well as the sales person who has signed the contract. We will get to the bottom of this. It does sound like a bad experience, and I completely understand where you're coming from.
And here are a couple of comments in response to a few replies:
@squeakymom: "The companies who are offering the Groupon vouchers receive nothing," :
this is simply not true. Our contracts with our partners are private, but I can assure you that business do get a percentage of the revenue as well as a high rate of new customers. Do leave your details if you'd like me to run you through how our business model works.
@Little Bead: I can't really confirm as of yet whether the business did have the right to not change the booking or not. Again, I'd need to double check the whole situation with customer service and the business owners.
I apologise on behalf of Groupon - we are in the process of improving our services, so please don't lose faith in us :) I will look into the whole issue personally. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions! best, Hristina, Groupon UK & IE
Hi Hristina, thank you for getting in touch with me and assuring me I would get a refund. I still haven't heard from the owner. Let's hope she will get back to me, and tells us what she thinks about the whole situation.
ReplyDeleteGroupon have gone up in my estimation!! Really good to know that they take care of their customers, thank you for your response to my post Hristina
ReplyDelete@Mirka: I just emailed you for your details, we will sort it out immediately. Apologies again! Lovely blog by the way:)
ReplyDelete@Little Bead: aww thank you! Have a great weekend, ladies!