“I never knew that Groupon kept 50% of the voucher, so just by taking a stroll around a supermarket and looking at the cost of food, it stands to reason that no restaraunt is ever going to break even after all the other overheads have been taken into account.
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Was talking to another discount voucher site recently, who specialise in Restaurant and Attraction Promotions, and they take 100% of the voucher! The argument is, the money goes towards newspaper and other advertising mediums (which is why we were talking).
The restaurant that puts up the voucher receives nothing, but then tries to recoup by either upselling the customer while they are there, or in the hope that they enjoy themselves and return as paying guests.
The upshot is a nice full restaurant, downside is its a loss leader in the hope of repeat custom.
Seems a dangerous and alien strategy to me, but there seem to be plenty of restaurants that see this an acceptable form of marketing, especially in this current climate.
<deja vous post> just realized I said that earlier!