Sorry to hear about your experience, but to be fair, I have to admit that I personally had just one bad experience in about 25+ visits of restaurants in Germany and Austria due to Groupon and Daily Deals offers. That location turned out to be overcrowded and the staff rude.
The other visits were pleasant or at least we had no complaints afterwards. We DID go back to some of the restaurants (even without coupons) and recommended some to friends. Some others aren't really nearby, so we might not visit them again, but I'd recommend them as well.
However, I first google for reviews of the restaurants/companies before buying a deal. I'd not buy a deal for a restaurant with no or only mediocre reviews. And I present my coupon before ordering - that would have saved you from the bad experience with the first bottle of wine.
Of course, it greatly depends on the restaurant. If they don't plan the Groupon project, they may get overrun shortly after the deal. And the tip problem is already mentioned - so staff isn't always glad about "deals customers." I've even heard discussions with "deals customers" on a neighbor table that insisted of getting money back because their bill was lower than the deal.
Worst I experienced was not with a restaurant but a deal for a walking tour. The company was totally overbooked, promised to provide more dates for tours, but never delivered. Even 6 weeks after the deal, customer service turned out to be great and refunded the deal promptly.
A friend of mine bought a deal from a small photo studio (90% discount) - and yet (about 5 months after the deal) waits for a confirmation for an appointment: "We are fully booked until at least end of next month." Hopefully, the studio will be still in business at the time he gets an appointment (or he gets a full refund).
Its not Groupon or Daily Deal to blame for bad experience, but the business owner. But due to the growing popularity of the deals, places are more likely to get crowded after a deal. And because Groupon and co think that "the more, the better", they approach businesses as well that don't deliver great service all the time or are just unable to handle the amount of deals sold.
The other visits were pleasant or at least we had no complaints afterwards. We DID go back to some of the restaurants (even without coupons) and recommended some to friends. Some others aren't really nearby, so we might not visit them again, but I'd recommend them as well.
However, I first google for reviews of the restaurants/companies before buying a deal. I'd not buy a deal for a restaurant with no or only mediocre reviews. And I present my coupon before ordering - that would have saved you from the bad experience with the first bottle of wine.
Of course, it greatly depends on the restaurant. If they don't plan the Groupon project, they may get overrun shortly after the deal. And the tip problem is already mentioned - so staff isn't always glad about "deals customers." I've even heard discussions with "deals customers" on a neighbor table that insisted of getting money back because their bill was lower than the deal.
Worst I experienced was not with a restaurant but a deal for a walking tour. The company was totally overbooked, promised to provide more dates for tours, but never delivered. Even 6 weeks after the deal, customer service turned out to be great and refunded the deal promptly.
A friend of mine bought a deal from a small photo studio (90% discount) - and yet (about 5 months after the deal) waits for a confirmation for an appointment: "We are fully booked until at least end of next month." Hopefully, the studio will be still in business at the time he gets an appointment (or he gets a full refund).
Its not Groupon or Daily Deal to blame for bad experience, but the business owner. But due to the growing popularity of the deals, places are more likely to get crowded after a deal. And because Groupon and co think that "the more, the better", they approach businesses as well that don't deliver great service all the time or are just unable to handle the amount of deals sold.