I have done Groupon , not like the other posters , imagined what it is like , and 2 weeks ago KGB deals .
There are a few tings that I recommend to make it profitable .
negotiate your % of the deal ,they will move on the 55%, a lot .
It is only worth it if you are not busy at all doing anything else.
I excluded stairs ,and charge £2 a step , most people had stairs cleaned too.
Get organized with cards , ask for referrals give 3 or 4 cards on each job , tell them their friends can have the same deal -direct.
While the offer was running I had over 50 calls with people asking this or that question , I booked most in for the full amount, my deal was 3 carpets up to 36m2 for £34 , so when I booked on the phone I got the full £34 , plus 26 for the stairs which in most cases meant cleaning , a through lounge, hall and stairs for £60 , with no ad costs , and I insisted all furniture was moved.
I sold 98 deals via Groupon and 77 actually booked , each deal paid me £21.38 before I actually did the work ( always get the voucher code when they book, and redeem via web site) I found people more willing to be flexible on time when they had got it so cheap. so I cleaned the vast majority without much travel costs.
The people who redeemed were largely in the nicer end of town , only 2 or 3 roughneck people/houses, which really surprised me. About 10 were really nice properties , which amazed me. Several customers knew each other , " O you are going to my friends house next week , ill tell her you did a good job " I have always found these mini fan clubs to be the best loyal customers long term .
When I explained to people that it was a genuine offer , and it was to provide a sample , and build a database they almost always said it was great , because they did not like to book any old cleaner for a high price who may be rubbish.
Each job took about an hour , as furniture was not present ( obvioosly there were one or 2 cheeky ones) never di a job take more than 90 minutes . I cleaned them all to the same standard as normal priced customers too, no scrimping or cutting corners.
I am still getting referrals from groupon customers , and one or 2 repeats on different items.
My recommendation ,,,,, if you are quiet , sat about , go for it I made a profit , paid my mortgage for a few months did not set the world on fire . If busy steer clear.
