Take the kayaking trip as an example: as blog readers will know, my husband & I have done a bit of kayaking in the past, including several trips recently during our time in Maine. We’re definitely not experts, but we’re to the point where we can stand around bored when they give a brief paddling lesson. The good news is that guided kayaking tours are usually small enough, with people who are in decent physical shape, that once we get on the water, it’s not too bad. But offer a coupon for half off a kayaking trip & it pulls in all sorts of people, overwhelming a small business that is ill-equipped to handle their new found fame. Don’t get me wrong, they tried the best they could with our group of over 20 people, the majority not dressed for the activity, complaining the whole way, & not in any shape to be paddling for two hours in humid weather. The owner admitted that they don’t normally go out with such a large group, which required three guides & was constantly spread out over an area so large, it was impossible for the guides to do anything but try & keep the herd together. They just simply couldn’t handle the demand that came from their TravelZoo deal. A win for the business? Sure. A win for the consumer? Maybe, maybe not – I don’t think they made anyone who hadn’t done it before a kayaker for life after the confusing, crowded experience.
The Sequoia sailing is another example: the boat is normally only accessible to the public if the entire thing is rented out, at a less than discounted price. I’m not really sure what made them open the boat up to a limited number of public sailings, but the quick dose of cash that comes with it certainly couldn’t have hurt the private organization that oversees it. After purchasing my Groupon, I was instructed to make reservations at least 72 hours in advance. I called the phone number provided numerous times & never got an answer. 24 hours before we were supposed to sail, we still had no reservations & the voice mailbox was full. Finally an email to the administrator of the ship was answered & our reservations were confirmed. While exploring the historic yacht, which hosted JFK’s last birthday party & was a favorite of President Nixon, was fun, especially for my history buff husband, was it worth the $99 a person they charged, especially considering our two hour sailing actually turned into an hour & 20 minutes? Probably not. A win for the company that manages the boat? Sure. A win for those of us sailing? Maybe, maybe not – I think most participants felt jipped by the whole experience (except my husband, who got to steer the actual boat).
The number of companies offering daily deals seem to be growing, well, by the day & I think this trend in business & marketing is here to stay. Whether it really is helpful to the business or the consumer, though, is still yet to be seen. After my experiences of last weekend, I’ll be hesitant to try it again.
Have you had a good or bad experience with a daily deal? Do you think the trend is here to stay?
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