Abused over Entertainment Book ticket at Cuckoo Habibi

that’s true, the guy probably deserved to be told to f- off, for suggesting that the advertisement was misleading… after all as they say “the owner is always right”

navarm said :

that is all nice and true… but what about the attitude and the rudeness? a simple “I’m so sorry, we had to cancel that because so and so” or “sorry, we made a mistake” would have worked, instead of telling somebody to f– off.

I dont know, i’ve never been in the situation where I’ve had a restaurant owner telling me to f-off! And I imagine that’s got more to do with me than anything else. I can imagine I wouldn’t take it too well if someone told me how to run my business.

DUB said :

Trololo,
All that crying.Why be so cheap?I will never buy that book.And if you can’t afford to eat somewhere-don’t.

Yeah, saving money is for suckers
When I go to a restaurant I pay double what they’re asking just to show I’m not a cheap tightwad.

Trololo,
All that crying.Why be so cheap?I will never buy that book.And if you can’t afford to eat somewhere-don’t.

Stevian said :

If restaurants don’t like, or have no intention of honoring, these vouchers, why do they sign up for them. Is it because their food and service is so bad that squeezing the maximum out of a single customer is worth the lack of return custom and negative word of mouth such actions generate?

Good question.

Frankly, I couldn’t care less if a business is losing money on each voucher that’s presented. If a business owner isn’t smart enough to estimate/calculate the risk of having a coupon in the book, then they probably aren’t fit to be running a business. If you commit to being in the book you need to commit to honouring the offer, simple as that.

Grrrr said :

I’m pretty sure the conditions are make clear to all parties. If the restaurant doesn’t like it, they shouldn’t agree to being in the book in the first place.

I pointed that out to him and the answer was ‘You don’t tell me how to run my business’.

If restaurants don’t like, or have no intention of honoring, these vouchers, why do they sign up for them. Is it because their food and service is so bad that squeezing the maximum out of a single customer is worth the lack of return custom and negative word of mouth such actions generate?

This is poor form on the restaurant’s part.

The Entertainment Book states that diners don’t need to tell the restaurant before paying – they simply present the voucher or card at the time. Offers are not restricted to certain days, etc. I suggest not asking about it beforehand, and simply presenting it when paying.

As I understand it, Entertainment Book isn’t a voucher that results in a cut for the book sellers. The cost of the book is effectively a donation to the charity that produces it, and the people in the book are promoting themselves and effectively giving to the charity.

I’m pretty sure the conditions are make clear to all parties. If the restaurant doesn’t like it, they shouldn’t agree to being in the book in the first place.

For the record, I’ve owned a couple and have saved more than the purchase price on the book easily. I have found some good new restaurants, and only had a issue once – which was with take-away from a place who wanted to argue over several dollars..

that is all nice and true… but what about the attitude and the rudeness? a simple “I’m so sorry, we had to cancel that because so and so” or “sorry, we made a mistake” would have worked, instead of telling somebody to f– off.

I’ve had quite pleasant experiences with Cuckoo Habibi when I lived down the road from them. It’s only a little family run business at the local shops. If the deal says main menu item, then it’s main menu item, simple as that.

Wily_Bear said :

It is hard to understand this attitude, as I assume nobody put a gun to the proprietors head to force them to participate in the promotion.

That’s true, but I think it is also true that many business owners don’t understand the risks. By the time they realize it was a mistake, it’s too late to back out and they’re stuck losing money.

Remember that it’s not just the 50% discount they have to swallow, they’re also paying a cut to LivingSocial/Entertainment Book/whatever. They’re very likely making a loss on every customer who comes in with a coupon.

Obviously the idea is that it’s a loss-leader, but supposedly it doesn’t work for a lot of businesses — the conversion rate from bargain hunter to regular customer can be incredibly low (especially for luxuries like very expensive meals), some merchants end up having to accept more discount customers than they budgeted for, etc.

Again, it’s entirely possible they have long-since decided that participating in the promotion was a money-losing mistake, but by then it’s too late to back out. It must be pretty hard to smile at coupon-bearing customers under those circumstances, and if there was any excuse to refuse them you’d be inclined to take it.

I find the entertainment book is a PIA for everyone involved but am confused as to why this is.

I feel embarrassed when someone wants to use it – i know it saves money but i still feel embarrassed.

The staff never seem ecstatic to honour the vouchers (who knows why not, its not like the discount is coming out of their pocket).

The business owners have felt compelled to sign up to the be part of the EB so would expect that customers would want to use the vouchers. They sometimes appear to “go back” on their original agreements with EB, maybe because they were too generous in the beginning which makes for uncomfortable confrontations with voucher users.

It just causes stress for everybody. Im happy to pay full price if the food is worth it. And im happy to tip for great service aswell!

djk said :

dungfungus said :

Life is too short to stuff around with these worthless “ration coupons”

I don’t think worthless means what you think it does.

If they cause all the aggro and ill feeling that is reflected in the experiences of contributors to this blog the coupons are, indeed, worthless. It’s a no brainer.

I never bought an entertainment book.. but have had alot of good and bad experiences with livingsocial deals lately.

Some of the bad ones are..

I have 2 vouchers that I have purchased for businesses that never want to answer their phone to take bookings. Given one of the vouchers doesn’t expire until mid next year I’ll keep persisting before I take it up with livingsocial.

I have some expiring deals with a cafe in the city. Voucher clearly states only one voucher per table (which I didn’t read the first time i went and was refused to use my voucher), but if you don’t have a reservation and mention the voucher first they wont even let you sit down. (Even if the place is EMPTY)

I also bought a hairdresser coupon for a cut, colour & foils plus a treatment (supposed $250 value) it cost me an extra $80 at the time of the appointment… supposedly the colour wasn’t meant to be included.
I will also note that I was recommended to use this salon and a particular stylist, the livingsocial deal popped up and I thought it would be a cheaper way to try the salon. I made the appointment with said stylist and mentioned the deal at time of booking. When I arrived for my appointment, said stylist “didn’t do clients only coming in because of livingsocial” and I was given a different stylist.
When I enquired about making another appointment and the cost to get exactly what I had just gotten… Only $130 total… slightly less than my $60 deal (for $250 value) and extra $80 I was charged.
They will NOT be getting my repeat business.

I had a similar problem with CUCKOO HABIBI. You go there and it is closed half the time (luckily we live close by and just see if they’re open). When we finally found the place open, the attitude we got made us wonder what was wrong with the guy (maybe he just doesn’t care much for customers?). I commented to a friend that I didn’t understand how they kept in business, as they rarely open and then treat people poorly. I suppose all the catering they do for the embassies is enough to keep them afloat (they probably don’t use entertaining vouchers and probably get treated with some respect). After going there once, we decided it wasn’t worth the stress.

Back in the 80s, one of these kinds of things was doing the rounds, called The Presidential Card. You bought it, and could use it at participating restaurants and other service/entertainment providers. The usual deal was one main meal = one free main meal. Most of the restaurants it was for were upmarket ones. And yeah, you’d go to those places so you could use it.

I’ll never go in for one of these deals ever again, because of the reaction we got whenever we tried to use it. No one ever refused, but there’d be sighs, eye-rolling… just attitude, basically. No one ever welcomed it. You were made to feel like you were ripping them off.

So, never again.

A large group of us attended a Civic restaurant a couple of weeks ago for a friends birthday – bill came to about $400. When advised them before they tallied up the bill that we were going to use the entertainment card (which offered 25% off up to a certain value). They advised that we should’ve told them when we booked (which it didn’t state in the T&C) and very begrudgingly accepted one card when we were going to use two (the T&C allow this if you have over a certain amount of people).

Took the shine off an otherwise nice meal. Oh and the cakeage they charged ended up coming to the same amount as the entertainment book discount.

dungfungus said :

Life is too short to stuff around with these worthless “ration coupons”

I don’t think worthless means what you think it does.

I was impressed with a Living Social deal that offered a voucher for $50 of dry cleaning for $19. When I went along with what I guessed might be $50 worth of dry cleaning (based on the prices at my usual dry cleaner), only a third of it fitted within First Choice’s $50 worth!

This, of course was not worth complaining about; for my $19 I got the same job I normally pay $21 for. Still, for the effort First Choice made to get my business, all they succeeded in doing was demonstrating that they’re more than twice the price of my usual dry cleaner!

I have an almost identical Living Social story about a butcher…

ImagineThat said :

Although it is obvious that the OP has not met the criteria for ‘the offer’, wouldn’t the venue actually be better off if the EB voucher holder doesn’t purchase a ‘main meal’ as per the deal?

That’s the absurdity of the situation. I accepted I couldn’t use the voucher for what I wanted. But I tried to explain to him that the condition on the voucher was to select a main menu item not an item over $20. He could have just said ‘I’ll have to talk to them about that’ or something. Instead he chose to start an argument about the whole thing. It was unnecessary and extremely rude.

I worked for a franchise several years ago that accepted EB vouchers (buy one get one free). It was never a problem and for some repeat customers we’d even honour the voucher and let them keep it to use at another location. Giving away a single meal on a voucher is worth it in the long run to gain a repeat customer. Businesses always last longer with repeat customers, even if you make a small loss on them up-front.

My EB voucher for Cuckoo Habibi says: “one complimentary main menu item when another main menu item of equal or greater value is purchased”

The fahita might appear in several of its menus, but I found it in the takeaway menu for $7.50 (medium) and $9.50 (large).

So unless one of the other adults (or one of the kids) ordered something from the main menu, you were probably always pushing your luck.

ImagineThat said :

This is the first year in ages we haven’t had an Entertainment Book (only because this year we have an ACTEWAGL Privileges Card instead). The EB was a great way to choose a dinner venue. Typically when we found somewhere nice they got our repeat business and we also talked it up to friends who asked our advice on somewhere nice to go for dinner.

Although it is obvious that the OP has not met the criteria for ‘the offer’, wouldn’t the venue actually be better off if the EB voucher holder doesn’t purchase a ‘main meal’ as per the deal? You only get one voucher for each venue and if you use it to purchase a $10 item and get a $10 similar item for free, this is less outlay for them than if you purchase a $20 item and get a $20 similar item for free. The venue still gets the chance to dazzle you with their food, ambience and customer service. Sometimes people get so caught up in ‘the rules’ they can’t see the wood for the trees.

I use “cash” vouchers (several $50 notes). Never have any problems, no splitting hairs or calling a solicitor for an opinion. I used to go out with friends who were fanatical about rewards points, and these Mickey Mouse vouchers. It gave me indigestion so now I give them (the friends) a miss and enjoy a hassle free meal and pay accordingly with cash.
Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch and one should ask for no concessions and expect no concessions. Life is too short to stuff around with these worthless “ration coupons”

Sorry, comments are TL:DR.

I’ve experienced 3 or 4 of these restaurant voucher/card schemes (scams) in the past. Every one has resulted in unpleasantness between the restauranteur and myself (A similar thing is happening with the many “social deals” websites proliferating right now).

Usually both parties are the victims of the stuff-ups of the voucher people. However it sounds like his people skills were somewhat lacking (sarcastic understatement).

My advice to restaurants and diners is have nothing to do with these voucher mobs. If the foods worth going there for anyway, don’t bother with the voucher. If it’s too expensive without the voucher, go somewhere else anyway.

2c paid.

This is the first year in ages we haven’t had an Entertainment Book (only because this year we have an ACTEWAGL Privileges Card instead). The EB was a great way to choose a dinner venue. Typically when we found somewhere nice they got our repeat business and we also talked it up to friends who asked our advice on somewhere nice to go for dinner.

Although it is obvious that the OP has not met the criteria for ‘the offer’, wouldn’t the venue actually be better off if the EB voucher holder doesn’t purchase a ‘main meal’ as per the deal? You only get one voucher for each venue and if you use it to purchase a $10 item and get a $10 similar item for free, this is less outlay for them than if you purchase a $20 item and get a $20 similar item for free. The venue still gets the chance to dazzle you with their food, ambience and customer service. Sometimes people get so caught up in ‘the rules’ they can’t see the wood for the trees.

Golden-Alpine said :

We did use our voucher at a place we regular and I did actually feel bad using it as the food was great and so was the service. We will reward them however with return business and a shout out here to the Italian Kitchen in Kaleen.

Lunched there on Saturday. Been there four times now, two with voucher two without. Any place that makes a good impression food/service wise, return business is a given.

Sounds like an unfortunate situation. We’ve never had a problem but we use it to “trade up” with a better bottle of wine or similar up grade.
We also use it to try new places coupled with reading reviews etc.

Out of interest, anyone else got any negative experiences with it? I’ve had a few eye rolls and one rude “thought so” when presenting the card, but never had a refusal (I wasn’t able to use in Sunday night or perhaps it was a public holiday in 360 restaurant in Sydney Tower, but I checked this in advance and ate there anyway, it was good).

I always feel a bit dodgy using the EB, but I figure the place may not have got my business had I not got it there, and I usually tip (the EB itself is kind of a reverse-tip). I still haven’t figured out how to tell them I’m going to be using it before they calculate the bill so that they don’t need to recalculate it. I think if it says main menu item, then you shouldn’t expect to get a free side or entree. Of course, the guy was rude but I don’t see how you can report him to EB for not honouring the deal as what you wanted wasn’t quite what was printed.

Complimentary and complementary mean entirely different things.

One is a thrown-in freebie, the other means “the outstanding or missing part of”.
Is the coupon really only offering you the rest of your meal?

My wife and I went out for dinner to a Civic based restaurant for our anniversay and used our Entertainment Book voucher. We overheard a comment between staff “plenty of entertainment vouchers tonight”. It may have been more of a comment than a whinge, either way those comments should our of ear shot. At the end of the day the only reason we went there was because of the voucher. I have recommend this place to my sister who is planning on taking our mum there soon.

This is pretty much how we are now trying new places, so at the end of the day it is a chance for these places to get new clients and they should recognise that.

We did use our voucher at a place we regular and I did actually feel bad using it as the food was great and so was the service. We will reward them however with return business and a shout out here to the Italian Kitchen in Kaleen.

eh_steve said :

“one complementary main menu item when another complementary main menu item is purchased” Sooo, you get two free items? Or it’s an unresolvable loop, as you can’t really purchase a complimentary item, so you can’t be given a complimentary item anyway!

Thanks for pointing that out. Obviously the second ‘complementary’ is wrong. It actually is “‘one complementary main menu item when another main menu item is purchased”.

It is hard to understand this attitude, as I assume nobody put a gun to the proprietors head to force them to participate in the promotion.

I’m not surprised however, as I ate there once. Ok food, but the attitude that came with it gave me indigestion.

We had a similar problem at Saffron restaurant in Manuka several years ago, when they refused to accept our Entertainmant Book ticket (it was a public holiday, but not one of the exemptions listed in the book) – and they also got extremely unpleasant.

I rang the Entertainment Book people the following day who confirmed that Saffron should have honoured the ticket, but said that there was nothing that they could do to compel them to do so. It left a very bad taste, so I’ve never purchased an Entertainment book again, and would also never go near Saffron again.

maniac said :

Wow, never heard of that place, but after what you wrote, I will never go there. I will be passing the name of this place around to warn others.

Before you go around telling people to avoid a place, remember that there are always two sides to a story.

I don’t understand why some shops take the aggressive approach on these type of things. It’s happened to me before too. When will they learn that good customer service makes things better for them as well?

“one complementary main menu item when another complementary main menu item is purchased” Sooo, you get two free items? Or it’s an unresolvable loop, as you can’t really purchase a complimentary item, so you can’t be given a complimentary item anyway!

Wow, never heard of that place, but after what you wrote, I will never go there. I will be passing the name of this place around to warn others.