This online coupon deal has caused chaos

I haven't gotten around to using my $100 online coupon, giving me the right to buy $400 worth of meat at The Butchers in Toronto. To tell the truth, I'm nervous about going into the store.

As I said in a previous column, the owner (Marlon Pather) sold so many coupons he can't keep up with the demand . He keeps changing the rules for redeeming them.

Customers are fuming. I'll let a few of them tell their stories.

Marian: No coming in on the weekend, but try to get them to deliver because you can't make it to their store between the hours of 10 and 6 on weekdays. I waited over seven weeks for a delivery that never came. Try picking up and you're told, "Sorry, no order, we ran out." Voucher buyers. are resented, turned away, made to feel like second class citizens. Not sure I signed on for attitude when I purchased their offer.

Jeff: Things keep getting worse and worse at the store. Starting June 2, they will honour vouchers only from 6.30 to 9.30 pm., Tuesday to Saturday, and they'll have police protection for staff. "Due to the overwhelming success of our vouchers, we have encountered numerous issues in our store with the behaviour of voucher customers," the website says. "Please note if abuse on our staff continues, we will not honour vouchers."

Stephanie: The Butchers will arbitrarily cancel redemption of all vouchers should they continue to experience abuse (as they define it) at the hands of the customers they solicited. No reasonable person would have agreed to the purchase had they known it to be contingent on the behaviour of people wholly unrelated to them.

Christine: Had the original voucher stated, "limited hours, limited stock," I'm sure most of us would never have bought in the first place. I was a regular shopper before buying a voucher, since I live in the area. Buyer beware. I've learned my lesson and they have lost a once loyal customer. I wouldn't be surprised to see an "under new management" sign there in a few months.

Jules: It's a shame that Webpiggy and Dealfind haven't spoken up about The Butchers. Do the coupon sites have a responsibility to do something when this happens?

I believe coupon sites have a responsibility to act when dealing with an irresponsible retailer. It was abusive for The Butchers to allow arbitrary rule changes, leading buyers to take out their frustration on staff.

When a small store with big ambitions creates a public relations snafu, the deal-a-day websites have to get in front of the issue. Show concern. Make a public statement. Offer refunds to everyone who asks.

Otherwise, the group buying momentum could sputter and stall forever.

 Also read:
Be wary of Internet coupons