Restaurant.comReviews 866

This site is selling coupons to a local restaurant. I purchased on 2/29. On 3/2 I enter the restaurant, ask for my favorite table, the waiter leads me back, I lay the certificate on the table and am told by the server they are not honoring the certificates because Restaurant.com does not pay them for the certificates like they are supposed to and the little restaurant is not making money.

I love our little restaurant, I am not angry at them. So I called the other 2 little restaurants featured on restaurant.com for our area. Guess what? The same thing is happening to them, AND they have requested to be removed from the restaurant.com website and they will not take them off. I have suggested a class action suit and media attention.

My restaurant has been trying to end our 'contract' with Restaurant.com for 6 months. Initially it was only supposed to be a 6 month contract which would have ended in September... we have been fighting with them since November and now they are telling us that we have to do an 'exit interview' to end the contract. Although demeaning and embarrassing we complied only to find out that a week later we are STILL on the website, by which they have told us that it takes 5-10 business days to be removed. So we have been left with no further alternative than to post that we are NO LONGER ACCEPTING restaurant.com certificates. We are honoring the $5 people paid for the certificates, and just eating the cost ourselves because there is NO WAY restaurant.com is going to refund the poor customers. They have threatened legal action against us and have left us no other choice. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE WEBSITE!

I manage a business that signed up with Restaurant.com to help get NEW customers into the business. When we signed up, the representative told us that users could only purchase coupons once a month and that our subscription could be cancelled at any time.

After seven months, we noticed that the same customers were constantly using the coupons (definitely more than once a month), and it was drowning our sales tremendously. We did not have any new customers coming through the doors with these coupons and it was costing us a ton of money (since the business does not see any of the money that consumers pay to purchase these coupons), so we decided to cancel. I called customer service and was told that a supervisor would have to call me back to be able to cancel our subscription. After 4 days with no call back, I called again. And again, they told me that someone would have to call me back. After almost a month of this (I left my work number and my cell in case they called while I was not at work), I finally was able to speak to someone about cancelling our subscription. I was then informed that we were under a year contract and we not allowed to break it! I felt completely tricked since I asked the representative over and over again to make sure that I could cancel this at any time! I had been blatantly lied to. Apparently their policy is that you have to give mailed, written notice that you want to cancel your subscription, and it can only be cancelled 90 days from the date the letter is received! Even after I jumped though all of these hoops and mailed the letter, after 90 days, they were STILL selling coupons for my restaurant and it took ANOTHER 3 weeks for someone to of course, call me back. It wasn't until I called there threatening to sue because they were selling $100 for $4 after the 90 days was WELL up, they finally took our site down.

I have had numerous customers call here, asking if we accept restaurant.com certificates. We do only because we feel like it is not the customer's fault that restaurant.com is dishonest.

As a restaurant manager, I would definitely not recommend that any business sign up with this company. As a consumer, it is a great site to use as long as the restaurant still accepts the coupons. I would definitely call the business first, just to make sure, before purchasing.

Never had a problem personally. Some of the "restaurants" on there, though, are dive bars, sleazy night clubs and bowling alleys. Ugh. Couldn't pay me to eat there, probably safer not to. Not the web site's fault, I guess, as far as who wants to participate, BUT when you're browsing for a date night place or decent dinner you may mistakenly think that some of the places on here are appropriate for that when they aren't. I wouldn't set foot in some of these places for fear of my safety, let alone order food. Just know or research the place you're buying a certificate for before purchasing. Also, disappointingly a lot of the decent places don't accept promo codes (the ones where u get them for $2) so the deals they email you all the time, and I mean ALL THE TIME (annoyingly often), are basically unusable since the places I'd actually go don't accept them. You can still buy them discounted, but not 98% off or whatever the promo code discount is. This is the experience in my area, at least.

I found the restaurant we went to very resentful and unhappy when we produced the coupon. The Stockton Inn in Stockton NJ was supposed to be an awesome experience and the staff treated us like criminals when we produced a coupon to get a discount on dinner. After alerting the management they didn't do a blessed thing to try to make things right. It used to be a place we visited weekly and dropped $100 bucks on dinner and drinks on average. Never going back.

WOW! I am a 51 yr old fairly well educated Male who learned to read by the age of 6. I have run restaurants and was a corporate Chef for almost 20 years. That being said. I have used the certificates for over 7 years. I never have paid more than $2 or $3 for a certificate. I have found many wonderful restaurants using this method. I have always ordered big and had a bar bill equal to the food bill. (I like to drink). Generally we were a party of 2 who spent around $70 for an appetizer, 2 entrees, a couple of Irish coffees after dinner etc. I never once expected to get something for free. I did however expect to have the coupon honored because I KNEW THE TERMS before going for dinner! So we spent $70, therefore the tip is approx., $13.00. $70 minus $25 is $45 plus the tip of $13.00 = $58.00! All this for a few drinks, an appetizer or salad, an expensive (NOT chicken fingers) couple of entrees to sample the chefs wares, dessert and or an after dinner drink... Whats the problem people? Get real. I have NEVER had a certificate denied or refused, in 7 years. Sorry I don't get the problem.

Probably the same thing that everyone else is saying, stay away from this site! I don't how many of my friends and family members got scammed by these hooligans (yes hooligans). Might as well tell us we're getting scammed! Half the coupons I bought are either not used, restaurants don't accept it, or they're out of business.
My recommendation: just go to sites or coupons that offer it for free. No more of this paying for coupon stuff! Or at least call the establishment before you buy it. Seriously...

Here's the thing, the customers complaining about restaurants not taking the certificates, that's not restaurant.com's problem, that's the restaurants. They obviously signed up for the program, aren't following the guidlines, and did not read the contract. At my restaurant, I accept certificates, no problem and have happy customers and have seen a lot of business come through my door. Secondly, I'm sure I'll get a lot of **** for this but the bigger issue for a lot of other friends/owners in the area I know on this program who have no been as successful on this program as I have as been the customers. Read the guidlines. There is a minimum, spend the minimum and spend above the minimum. We aren't you're food slaves, we want you to have an enjoyable experience, yes, but spending $35.17 is crap.
The point is to eventually come back without the coupon. We don't want to just give away free food. We are running a buisness here. If there's certain days the certificate can't be used, don't come in on those days. If it states there's gratuity added, be ready to pay gratuity. The rules state one coupon per month at our restaurant so don't come every week. Bottom line, read the rules. The rules are stated before you buy our coupons.

Overall I like restaurant.com it has done great things for my restaurant over the past 8months. I guess it can go both ways. Anytime ive had an issue they have always been able to work with me. Good luck to all of you

I also had a very negative experience with Restaurant.com. I tried to use the gift certificate that I purchased and the restaurant said they would not honor it. The only reason I went there was because of the gift certificate. In any case, I called restaurant.com for a refund and they said they can only give credit towards another certificate. I checked their site and couldn't find a replacement. I told them it was not my fault that you have a restaurant on their site where they will not honor the certificate. They should take these restaurants off immediately. Yet instead, they further damage the reputation of the restaurant by continuing to sell certificates (so they can attract more buyers) for restaurants that no longer want to be on their site and make buyers more frustrated that they are stuck paying full price at a restaurant they may or may not have originally chosen to eat at. Also buyers get mad at the restaurant and post really bad reviews which conitinues to damage their reputation.

Anyways, I found a website that is up and coming where you can download a really good coupon for free. There is selection in the Los Angeles area but it seems like they are adding more everyday. www.stretche.com I want this website to continue growing as it seems like they are providing a really good service.

I've used the website several times and had very good experiences in buying from the site. It is easy to navigate and use once the account is established. One slight peave I do have with the site is that it's hard to find restaurants outside major cities. This may be because they do not market enough to establishments in smaller cities and towns. I do only try to buy from the site when the deals are 70-80 % off. Like others have said, they do this regularly and I receive emails notifying me when the "window" is to purchase the coupons at 80% off.

The restaurant offered often do lack a little bit in service (we have had to wait up to 30 minutes for them to process the bill sometimes and take the discount off), but this isn't the fault of the restaurant.com website. It probably explains in good part why the participating eateries are contracting with them. And that really is the key to the negative things I've seen written here about the website. As many others have said: KNOW THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT THAT THE RESTAURANT HAS ESTABLISHED FOR USING THE DISCOUNT COUPON. If you want an 80% discount, doesn't it make sense you have to follow the rules for the place offering the great deal? They are the one's offering to give up the dinero here. Most of the terms have to do with coming in earlier and/or on days that their business is really slow. Please don't assume you can go in on a Friday or Saturday evening... their busiest times. Another big complaint from not understanding the terms is that you have to spend a minimum amount usually at least $35. Bucks to utilize the coupon. Some restaurants will honor the required 15-25% tips into the amount so you won't have to buy extra items to get to an amount like 35.00, others will not. I always call ahead and clarify this with a restaurant that we haven't been to before.

Bottom line for my family has been, we try a lot of new restaurants this way and except for the poorer service and longer wait times for the restaurant to process the discount coupon we feel like we get a lot of value for the dollars spent.

You really have to be careful with this site, I do use them but this isn't a charity they have to make money somehow as do the restaurants. I am in NC and there are hundreds of places to choose from, I prefer to use them at places I've eaten before or a smaller place I'd like to try.
There is a great restaurant that I pass every day never used them before I found them on restaurant.com, they don't do the coupons anymore but I had no problem using mine, even though they were a year old.

Just be sure to read all the small print, the rules differ for each deal, many for example are only to be used for dinner when prices are higher, or you have to spend more than you usually would before you can use it, and 90% of restaurants expect you tip on the pre discounted rate even when they charge an 18% gratuity because you're using a coupon(not much of a deal there).
Regardless of the rules there are great deals to be found just sign up for email and you will get coupon codes to make it easier to find one.

I rarely say this but: don't even bother.

It *sounds* like a great deal. Spend $25 & get $50 in gift certificates at a ton of great restaurants. That's what I thought too. We're all watching our pennies these days but we still want to enjoy our lives, right?

My goal was to have a wonderful dinner with my fella & celebrate our 2 year anniversary in style. I went to the site, read the terms & conditions for the restaurant we wanted to dine at carefully & purchased 4 gift certificates.

What they don't tell you is that you can only use ONE gift certificate for $25 for your party at a time, only ONCE PER MONTH per restaurant. (Even if you sit at separate tables & use separate checks!) This is not made clear to you until AFTER you've already made your purchase & printed out your gift certificates.

So how far do you think $25 goes at a fine dining establishment? Especially when you are REQUIRED to purchase at least 2 entrees & 18% gratuity is automatically added before you get the check.

There I was stuck with 4 gift certificates for the same place, in a town we don't live in, that would take 4 months to use. I immediately tried to contact customer service to see if something could be done, but of course they close on weekends. That left me & my sweetie to come up with another place to eat on what was left of our budget.

As if that weren't enough, when I called during the week I was put on hold for 20 minutes plus waiting to talk to anyone real about it. With a busy work schedule & home life it took me 4 tries to get through. The final time I gritted my teeth & waited on hold for nearly 30 minutes.

In short: DEEPLY UNIMPRESSED. Save your money, go to Groupon or Travelzoo or even Yelp, who often has deals for your favorite places.

I want to file a lawsuit against this company, but I need some help from anyone who had bad experiences dealing with this scamfully company. Either you are a customer who purchased the coupon or a restaurant owner who has disputes with thier program, pleas mail *******@hotmail.com. And if you go to restaurants that no longer accept the coupon but the restaurant.com still sell their coupon please let the owner know about my message and have him or her email me as well, because chances are the owner are taken advantage of and don't have a way to fight back, maybe because it's just a small restaurant and can't pay for a lawyer, or the owner is not educated about legal actions or maybe he/she just scared the restaurant.com because they're a national company. If you did tell the owner, guess what?, you just help a lot of people that miserable from dealing with this company and god will bless you!

If I have enough people with evidences, I'll find a good lawyer to file a class lawsuit against them, have the issue televised and hopefully we can stop this madness.

The reason I do this? I hate greedy people that become big and try to take advantage from small guys(girls) who has no way to fight back. If I ever get the money from winning this, if big enough I'll found a foundation to help people who get taken advantage, if it small I'll donate to a foundation that help people. I promiss! Help me clean up this dirt, please.

Disclosure: I'm a victim of this company, filed a complaint through BBB but I think we should do more than that, restaurant.com won't stop just we do complaints, they need to have a lesson bigtime!

Its true that this site has a BUNCH of terms and conditions to their restaurant coupons, however I've had more good experiences than bad with this site.

I usually wait for the $2,80% promo codes and buy coupons ONLY if they are $3 or $2 bucks.

I've gotten the chance to try exotic restaurants that I would have never tried and the prices turn out to be reasonable. Of course, you are not going to be able to just buy a coupon and go eat for free.

However I've had really good experiences such as me and 3 other friends came to a breakfast joint, we had 3 huge entrees, a few extra sides and 2 desserts for around $16 total. With tip it was 20-$25, but it was honestly like $40 worth of food,

Furthermore I love that the coupons never expire!

I have been using Restaurant.com coupons for years. After reading a number of the reviews, most the the complainers must be illiterate. Come on folks, like any other coupon, you must read the terms. And if you did run into a restaurant that would not honor your coupon, I guess you should have showed the coupon before you ordered. I have found that some restaurants exceed the value of the coupon by including drinks and not adding the 18 percent tip.

I have only had one coupon that didn't work and Restaurant.com warned me in advance and offer to replace that coupon. So if you get taken advantage of by some crappy greasy spoon, don't go back, tell all your friends and post a review on YELP.com. You will feel much better and it only cost you $2 or $3. It will cost them a bundle in lost customers. Is it really fair to blame Restaurant.com?

I have been using restaurant.com for over a year. I spend $2. To buy $25. Gift certificates to local restaurants. These certificates never expire! My husband and I go out to a nice dinner costing $50-75. And the $25. Is taken right off the top. Sometimes the certificates even include alcohol! Last night we had 'dinner' in a lounge during their happy hour. My husband had a large(!) shrimp cocktail, hot chicken wings and 3 Coronas. I had a huge plate of chicken quesadillas (w/ all the sides), a Corona and French silk pie for dessert! The bill?: $16.00 and that included tax and 15% tip. We left a $20. Bill and went out the door fat and happy!
We've probably gone to at least 7 or 8 different restaurants and eaten like this. Sometimes we have a couple entrees and dessert. Other times, when it is included in the certificate, we have wine or beer.
Restaurant.com is a 5 star deal/website.