My Dumbest Financial Decision…Lately
I’ve made plenty of dumb decisions in my life. But last week, I think I did the dumbest thing…ever. Ok, maybe not the dumbEST, but it was pretty high up there. Wanna know what I did? Good, ’cause I was gonna tell you anyway. But you can’t tell noooooo-body! I have a reputation to uphold, ya know. LOL See, what had happened was…the story is guaranteed to be good if it starts like that. LOL
I bought a dining coupon from restaurant.com last November and it was scheduled to expire this month. I bought it during one of those 90% off deals. You know the one when you get a $25 coupon for about $2? Yea, that one.
Man, those coupons are loaded with restrictions! Some are lunch only, dinner only, party of 2 or more, minimum order of $40, 18% gratuity before coupon applied, scratch your butt, rub your head, yada yada. I think I read one that said “must use on rainy day when sun sets at 5:32pm.” No, I’m just kidding! LOL But a ton of restrictions are written in the fine print!
So anyway, I had this coupon and I wanted to use it before it expired. I reviewed all of its restrictions – dinner only, party of 2 or more, minimum order of $35, 18% gratuity – cool. When BabyGirl came home, I drove clear across town, sat in 40 minutes of traffic, and suppressed my road rage with thoughts of mouth watering prime rib. After we were seated, a quick glance at the menu made me feel so smart for having a $25 off coupon.
Before placing my order, I showed the waiter my coupon to make sure they would accept it. “No problem” he assured me. I ordered the prime rib and BabyGirl ordered a burger or something simple. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into that red meat! And it was going to be practically FREE! Yea baby, bring it on!
But a few minutes later, a different gentleman came over to our table and burst my little bubble. He explained that I had to order TWO meals, valued at $35 EACH, in order to use my $25 off coupon. WTF!! He pointed to a line on the coupon that I had apparently misinterpreted. Then waited patiently for a response…
My mind raced. Do I leave or do I stay? I heard their prime rib was good here. You’re hungry. No, you’re starving. And you drove 40 minutes – IN TRAFFIC! But wait, who the heck wants to pay $70 for a meal with their kid? Even if it is $25 off! Had I known this, I would have come with a friend so we could split the meal 50/50. Do I leave or do I stay? Is that prime rib I smell over there? Aww shoot, I’m staying!
I kept my prime rib order and BabyGirl upgraded to a ribeye. I told her to get it medium well, but she insisted on well done. Fine. The waiter was attentive, the display and delivery of our food was entertaining, but the flavor was blah. With a dash of salt, my prime rib was somewhat edible. But BabyGirl said her steak was dry and tough. Not only were we disappointed with the meat, but we quickly realized that our $35+ “meals” didn’t come with any sides! WTF!
I ordered a side dish for us to share because I wanted a veggie. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I played it safe and ordered the broccoli. A $15 side of broccoli? Jesus wept. The presentation of the brocoli could have come out of a magazine. But upon closer inspection, it appeared to be the same raw bushel from the produce section in the grocery store! I didn’t even want to taste it. Just eww! BabyGirl played with it for a few minutes. I was highly disappointed. Little did I know, things were about to get worse.
*sigh*
Lawdhavemercygetjesusonthemainline! When the waiter brought me the final bill, I wanted to scream. It was $76.23! *blink blink blink blink*
I thought I was reading the number backwards. Eighty bucks for bland prime rib, rubber steak, raw vegetables, and water? Not to mention, $80 for an ordinary meal on an ordinary day…with my kid! Man, I was fit to be tied!
The lights were low, the piano was playing, and the atmosphere was soothing. Perfect…if I were on a date. As I looked around the room, I noticed all the other patrons appeared to be satisfied with their meals. Then I thought to myself “this is some bullshuckas!”
The waiter began to ask me what was wrong, if I wanted him to package my food to go, if I wanted to order something else, if I wanted to speak with the manager, if there was anything he could do to make me happy. As I said before, he was very attentive, the service was excellent, but the food was ter-ri-blah.
I was hawt and I just wanted to get out of there, so I quickly paid the bill. All the way home, I cursed myself for spending $80 at a restaurant just because I didn’t want to lose out on a $25 coupon that cost me $2. I’m a certified genius!
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I’ve SO been there, done that with these deals! So sorry that you had a bad experience. Live and learn I guess. Thanks for sharing with us.
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Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.
I hear you!!!!!! You try and save money, but you don’t read the fine print and you get to the store and cry after you pay more than what you expected to
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Micah & I ended up in something like that on our honeymoon. We were so tired from the wedding and traveling, etc, that we just gave up and went with it. But I cried a bit after because I was frustrated (and still tired). Our problem wasn’t checking ahead on whether our info was still up-to-date. The atmosphere was good, but the food was meh and over-priced since we weren’t getting the deal.
*shudder* Bad memory. :-/
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That’s pretty much the reason I stay away from all the restaurant.com gift certificates. There is only so many hoops you can jump through before you get tired and give in. Chalk it up to a learning experience, we’ve all been there. I had a similar experience recently maybe I’ll just have to write about it to. Thanks for the idea.
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Nearly all restaurant food is like that for me. I always think I could have made a far better meal at home, with quality organic ingredients to boot. Once in a while I just want someone else to make me dinner but it’s almost never worth it. . unless I go to a very fine restaurant which is impossible with a toddler.
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I have a few that I need to use and I agree they have so many restrictions. Its like you have to read, then re-read, just as not to miss anything. Anywhoo! Thanks for sharing and please keep posting :o).
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The main mistake was ordering steak cooked any more than medium-rare! No wonder it tasted awful!
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LOL, I’ve done that before. Not to the tune of $80 but it still stings.
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I loved the story Fab. I laughed my … off. Life is a beautiful thing isn’t it? What doesn’t kill is supposed to make you strong. Man you can bet that I am here still hooting. LOL. I am sure you are going to laugh at this experience when you are able to.
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I sympathize. I actually made a similarly costly mistake. I thought I was being smart by buying two deeply discounted one way tickets on two different airlines – one out of town, one coming back in. Everything worked great, except that I managed to fly myself out of one airport and back into the other airport in town (Houston has two large airports). I actually ended up spending more money than I saved purchasing the two tickets because I had to take a taxi approximately 40 miles across town (which of course cost more because they were red eye flights, and taxis go up when the sun goes down) to pick up my car from the car lot. Oh, I was crying – I was so tired, and so frustrated!
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Like FB says, Been there, done that, have the t-shirt! My story involved Sears, a Land’s End $25 off coupon, and my total going from $86 and needing to add an item to reach $100 and save due to the $25 off coupon. . . to spending $137 and not being able to use the coupon at all! Yep, I felt real smart that day. At least I am happy with my purchases.
I think my (imagined) pain would have manageable if the food was good. [-SM]
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Hi.lar.i.ous!!!! though u probably don’t feel this way today!!! lol!!! I’ve been there though and am now disciplined enough not to buy or use a coupon for a “deal” I wouldn’t have otherwise used/bought anyway!!!
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Wow that is truly a terrible experience but so cleverly written that I just had to laugh. I have never been able to find a coupon for a restaurant that I like or one that is available where I live. Then I read the print about the minimum purchases and the insane gratuity they take out and thought it was not worth it.
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Anyone wants restaurant.com coupons? :-D
I have few – will sell for a $1 :-D
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I brought a few of the coupons with the intentions of USING them. One of them expired, another coupon the restaurant went under, and the third still has the confirmation number and details sitting in my inbox since last February! *sigh*
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Guess I’ve been lucky, I’ve used two so far, no problems. I didn’t think the restrictions were so bad. We just handed the certificate over when the bill arrived and they took off the amount.
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I have used Restaurant.com a few times myself. Just like everyone says, make sure you understand all the restrictions before you buy it, they tend to be very specific about the kinds of meals and time of day, and also you usually have to order in. But in no way does the website hide this information from you before you buy, it’s all there on the page. Call the restaurant first if you’re not sure of something.
Think about what the restaurants are getting out of this deal: maybe more traffic at down times, pushing certain menu items, etc. I serously doubt the website is paying them anything for this service, and may even by charging them too. It’s reasonable for a restaurant to want you to pay a minimum of some amount so they aren’t just handing out free food.
One of the restaurants I routinely visited using these certificates was happy to waive the requirement to dine in, or they might let you use it at a different time if you explain that you have small child and you need to eat early.
I have also had a bad experience with a restaurant with a bad menu and ambience, but that’s the risk of trying new things, I can’t really blame the certificate for it.
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Sorry that you had such a bad experience. I use restaurant.com all the time for a restaurant close to my home, and it does work out to be a great deal for us. That restaurant does not have a lot of restrictions on the coupon, and includes alcohol, so it works for us.
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Wow! That was a hilarious re-telling of your horror. I’m so sorry you had such a bad experience. I’ve thought about using Restaurant.com but decided against it because of the many restrictions. They make it sound sooooo wonderful but you end up with a Gotcha!
Thanks for reaffirming my decision NOT to buy coupons from them. I stick with the tried and true from the local paper or the ones I get in my mailbox. Sometimes you just have better luck going to the restaurant’s website.
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I had good luck using them in Las Vegas recently. There for a business trip, I picked up a couple ahead of time. Same $2 sale for the $25 ones. Using them was no problem at all, and our food was great at one place and eh at another, but we’d planned on eating at those spots anyway.
They do have all the restrictions shown online and you can view them BEFORE you purchase. And, only buy them at the 80 or 90% off sales and don’t be afraid to walk away.
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****A $15 side of broccoli? Jesus wept. ****
funny!!!! :)
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oh this story was sooo funny!! sorry for your loss but thank you for the laugh!
I love this site!
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I cried at this one – it was truly funny. I do have some of those certificates. Although, I only have to buy $35 total. I was with my 4 year old – in a Sushi restaurant no less (like she was really eating any of it). They didn’t say anything about my “party of 2″ including a 4 year old, but I was hungry and already set my mind of eating there (it had been months). I got away with a $23 bill – wahoo!
Geez! I have THREE more to the same place (can you say sale?). I will have to go with a friend when I can split the bill. If I didn’t have the certificate, I wouldn’t be setting foot in the joint because it is pricy for my single ma budget
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