wakeflood
Tough call, Skeets. I tend to favor the restaurant’s policies cuz they’re usually running so close to break-even that I tend to give any place I want to see stay in business the benefit of the doubt.
But I do think Groupon should at least allow for the possibility that the participating restaurant might have something like you encountered going on – but then again, even something seemingly as innocuous as the standard “cannot be combined with any other discounts” verbiage can seem limiting to a perspective user. And getting butts in the seats is what it’s all about. (Remember those Dine Out coupon books? Those always had several disclaimers on the tickets – usually with some significant restrictions.)
I guess if forced to choose, I’d think that since the concept of “coupon” is in the name, I feel like I should assume that it functions more like that, than getting $30 of product for $15 straight up, which is more like winning a auction.