I’ve done it a handfull of times, and every time I do it, I see a bunch of the same people and I NEVER see them if they don’t have a Groupon. They can’t make you pay for anything as long as it’s within the terms of the deal.Īlso, Groupon sucks (for the business) they claim it generates more business, it doesn’t.

However, since they have already been paid for the meal, they have no legal leg to stand on to refuse it. Technically the restaurant has already been paid for your visit, albeit only a fraction of what they would have gotten. So a 50% off Groupon actually costs the restaurant around 75%. Someone online buys it, Groupon sends the restaurant $10 and keeps $10. Let’s say they offer $40 worth of food for $20. The restaurant is also giving up more than the advertised discount AND has already been paid for your meal. It would not be considered theft of services because you are willing to pay, the restaurant is the one in breach of contract for denying the Groupon for no reason. However all you would have to do is show them the Groupon, and they would most likely defer it to small claims/arbitration. If they tried making you pay full price and you refused, they could call the police I suppose. If you choose not to honor the deal, with no prior notice, the business would just wind up with zero dollars. You enter an agreement with Groupon to honor the deal. I’ve done Groupon at my restaurant a number of times.

Groupon merchant center