Restaurant.com
reviews and complaints

Dear food enthusiasts, I feel compelled to share a cautionary tale about my experience with Restaurant.com. It pains me to say that my encounter with this establishment left much to be desired. I received a gift card from a reputable source, only to find myself entangled in a web of frustration and disappointment. The promised discounts and convenience turned out to be elusive mirages. The restaurants listed seemed outdated, with many no longer honoring the certificates. Attempts to reach customer service were met with silence or automated responses, adding insult to injury. It breaks my heart to witness such potential squandered by poor execution and lack of accountability. My advice to you all: tread carefully and consider alternatives before venturing into the realm of Restaurant.com. Your culinary adventures deserve better than what this establishment has to offer.

I have been using restaurant.com for over a year. I spend $2. To buy $25. Gift certificates to local restaurants. These certificates never expire! My husband and I go out to a nice dinner costing $50-75. And the $25. Is taken right off the top. Sometimes the certificates even include alcohol! Last night we had 'dinner' in a lounge during their happy hour. My husband had a large(!) shrimp cocktail, hot chicken wings and 3 Coronas. I had a huge plate of chicken quesadillas (w/ all the sides), a Corona and French silk pie for dessert! The bill?: $16.00 and that included tax and 15% tip. We left a $20. Bill and went out the door fat and happy!
We've probably gone to at least 7 or 8 different restaurants and eaten like this. Sometimes we have a couple entrees and dessert. Other times, when it is included in the certificate, we have wine or beer.
Restaurant.com is a 5 star deal/website.

I agree that calling them gift certificates is a little misleading - they are more like buying coupons. You can buy a $25 coupon (for $10) and it is good towards the purchase of $37.50 or more.

The site makes it very clear that there is a minimum purchase required, and they have for years.

I wouldn't give one of the coupons as a gift -- that's just tacky. For those of you who give it one star based on getting a certificate as a gift from someone -- maybe you should direct your anger towards them for being a cheapskate and giving you a coupon instead of a real gift certificate.

I have never paid full price for a certificate/coupon. They used to have promo codes for 50%-90% off all the time, but not so much anymore. Now I just buy codes from reputable sellers on ebay. I have gotten $100 worth of coupons for like $6 and 10 of the $100 codes for $35 or so. I used a $100 one at a bar the other day on $22 worth of food and about $190 worth of booze. Coupon cost me like $3.50 and saved me $100 -- I already got my money back from the $1000 worth of codes I bought!

I've been a customer of Restaurant.com for almost 20 years and have learned two things. It's terrible, but it's workable. The key is "Caveat Emptor" = "Buyer Beware". Here's how to make it work for you.

1. Go through their available list of restaurants
2. Sort your choices by size of $$ cost
3. If you have a credit of more than the largest $$ cost, go after the largest first
4. Read CAREFULLY the use limitation (Days, Hours, Max savings $$ on Min purchase $$)
5. Review the posted menu and prices
if 4 and 5 aren't available, pass by them
6. BEFORE you order a certificate
a. CALL the restaurant to verify their acceptance and terms
b. Buy the largest $$ cost certificate you want
7. Work you way down to a final $5 certificate cost and buy it last

If you're going to give someone else a gift voucher, ask the recipient what restaurant out of the available restaurants they like, then do the above and buy the specific restaurant certificate to give them the.pdf of it so they can use it directly.

Once you get down to $5 credit, that's all you can get. You can't (but they can) combine credits. I have 4 x $100 plus 1 x $50 plus 1 x $15 plus 5 x $5 credit. IF I CAN EVER GET SOMEONE ON THE PHONE (rare), they will combine all the the less than $100 credits into the largest amount possible for this process to start over again.

Here's the thing, the customers complaining about restaurants not taking the certificates, that's not restaurant.com's problem, that's the restaurants. They obviously signed up for the program, aren't following the guidlines, and did not read the contract. At my restaurant, I accept certificates, no problem and have happy customers and have seen a lot of business come through my door. Secondly, I'm sure I'll get a lot of *** for this but the bigger issue for a lot of other friends/owners in the area I know on this program who have no been as successful on this program as I have as been the customers. Read the guidlines. There is a minimum, spend the minimum and spend above the minimum. We aren't you're food slaves, we want you to have an enjoyable experience, yes, but spending $35.17 is crap.
The point is to eventually come back without the coupon. We don't want to just give away free food. We are running a buisness here. If there's certain days the certificate can't be used, don't come in on those days. If it states there's gratuity added, be ready to pay gratuity. The rules state one coupon per month at our restaurant so don't come every week. Bottom line, read the rules. The rules are stated before you buy our coupons.

Overall I like restaurant.com it has done great things for my restaurant over the past 8months. I guess it can go both ways. Anytime ive had an issue they have always been able to work with me. Good luck to all of you

I get restaurant.com coupons all the time. I love the site. Groupon does not even offer any discounts where I live but restaurant.com is everywhere. I use it also when I travel. There are a lot of great restaurant out there I never would have known about them if it was not for the web site. The secret to the site is to buy the restaurant.com gift card on ebay at a fraction of the cost and then use it on their web site to get the restaurant coupon. Also with Groupon you have to pay in advance but with restaurant.com there is no money up front and if I don't use the coupon or the very rare chance the restaurant don't take it yes this has happened twice to me then I just exchange it for another coupon for some place else. I have gotten so I only eat someplace if I can get half off. They now have an app for the phone and the tablet so you can just do it on the move now and don't have to print out the coupons.

I think the biggest problem people are having is they dont know how to use the web site. And maybe people are selling the gift card number more then once. I have started just getting a coupon for a resturant right after i enter in the gift card number for the whole amount of the gift card then later on i can trade the coupon in for the coupons i want that way no one can ever use your gift card because it will be used.

First thing you need to do is make a name and password for the site. So many questions when people have not even been on the site yet then you click on my account at the top. After that you should see redeem a code at the top. Click on that and enter in a code from the gift card. After that go to my account again and on the left side under my orders you will see gift cards. Click on that and your gift card will show up and then you can redeem it. Also you can view used gift card. Now after you click redeem you enter in a zip code for where you want to go. Then find the restaurant you want. I would call the restaurant before you purchase it to make sure they take it. Once an owner said no he didn't and his wife was standing next to him and said yes they do she had signed up for it but had not told him he then told her he had just turned away a costumer earlier in the day because he did not know.

Where are the negative stars? STAY AWAY FROM THIS SCAM!

This all started on Oct 1st 2014 when I moved to a new home 80 miles away from my old stomping grounds. At this point in time I logged into my restaurant.com account and attempted to exchange the certificates for restuarants in my old neighborhood with ones in the new area I am living in. After several failed attempts to exchange certificates following the procedures outlined on restuarant.com's help section I chalked it up to the website having a glitch. A week later I came back to try again, still no luck, two weeks later, three weeks later still no luck. So november rolls around I try a couple more times off and on and still nothing. So I utilize the help contact on the restaurant.com website, explain my situation in detail on 11.24.2014, hilghlighting the fact that I had followed the instructions on how to exchange a certificate multiple times and that it was not working. Shortly after I sent the help request I was sent a reply by somebody named Ashley Lanham, the reply was nothing but a carbon copy of the istructions posted on the website on how to exchange certificates. The very same instructions I had followed and had informed the company that I had followed them in an attempt to exchange. I responded to Ashley Lanham on 11.24.2014 explaining all this again and never received anything further. On 11.25.2014 I sent another email to restaurant.com stating everything that had already happened and that the exchange function was not working, I took the time to highlight the fact that I had already tried this multiple times and that it still was not working and even attatched the previous emails. They responded on 11.25.2014 with nothing other than the instructions posted on their site for exchanging certificates. So I logged onto the BBB and found their phone number and contacted them by phone on 11.25.2014 and spoke to a person who called himself Raul. I explained to Raul that I wanted a refund and I was tired of the games his company was playing, I informed him that I needed to speak to a supervisor. Raul told me that his supervisor was not in and that they had a no refund policy, but I should feel free to utilize the website to exchange the certificates. I then told Raul that I did not believe that a business would be in operation with no supervisor, and that I wanted to speak to a supervisor, the boss or the owner of the company as I was certain that he was not the end all be all of company decisions. I was placed on hold. Raul came back on and stated his boss was in a meeting, I then asked Raul why he had told me that there was no supervisor there and then immediately changed it to my boss is in a meeting. He responded with " you never asked for a supervisor, you just told me you wanted to talk to my boss or the owner." Good job Raul, you fail at customer serivce by the way. Raul also refused to provide me with a direct link to a supervisor, said he did not have a phone number, and there was no way for me to speak with them. Raul would also not provide a name of a supervisor. Put on hold again. Raul then informed me that he had talked to his boss and they were waiting to hear from me. I then asked him to transfer me, he said no and that I should email them at ***@resaurant.com. He said again they were waiting for me to contact them, I said ok transfer me then to their phone. At this point in time Raul was kind enough to transfer me to an extension with a pre recorded message stating that restaurant.com was closed and to call back during normal business hours. Strange since I called them during there normal business hours.

Your Desired Resolution:
In my eyes there is nothing this company can do to make this right other that refund me 100%. I have no desire to deal with this company any more as they possess absolutely no customer service skills at all. They blindly relpy to help emails obviously not reading anything their customers are writing. Their customer support phone line operators, in my first hand experience are nothing more than liars and game players. To me this business is now nothing more than a way to scam people out of their hard earned money. Right now my opinion is that they are thieves, and they have stolen from me as they took money for a service they are now not willing to honor.

I have bought three restaurant certificates. I never used them, and could not find them on my account. Today on 10/14/2023, I added the certificates to my account so that I can use them. After the certificates are added to my account, they soon are shown as used today. I sent two emails but got only the same pre-formatted replies that don't fix the problem. Here are the certificates in question:

Restaurant.com $25.00 Gift Card

Code #: [protected]

Date Purchased: 10/14/23

Used on 10/14/23 $25 Card

Restaurant.com $25.00 Gift Card

Code #: [protected]

Date Purchased: 10/14/23

Used on 10/14/23 $25 Card

Restaurant.com $25.00 Gift Card

Code #: [protected]

Date Purchased: 10/14/23

Used on 10/14/23 $25 Card

I have been trying to use $435 of credit for over 8 years with no success. Originally, when I purchased the credit I was able to frequent a favorite restaurant and use a high amount of the credit towards our Restaurant visits. All of a sudden, the Restaurant stopped participating with Restaurant.com and now I am stuck with $435 of remaining credit that can't be used, and they refuse to refund the money. I tried reaching out to them and they keep trying to suggest fast food which gives me $5-$10 discounts at those fast food restaurants. I never eat fast food because it is extremely unhealthy and am not interested. Not to mention I would need to go to these fast food places 45-90 times to use up my credit! I live in California, and what they are doing is illegal.

I bought a deal on July 7th, 2023. It is July 19th, 2023 and I never received anything. I emailed them for almost 2 weeks and only received automated responses telling me how ro use the desl i never recieved. I called customer service numerous time, but after being on hold for 20+ every time, I hung up.

Their customer service is horrible, and very hard to get an actual person to talk to

I've been using Restaurant.com for a decade now and I have to say, it's been a great experience overall. I've noticed that some people have given it low ratings, but I think that's because they don't understand what they're getting.

You see, Restaurant.com doesn't sell gift certificates. Instead, they offer coupons that give you a discount on your meal. Before you head out to the restaurant, you need to call ahead and make sure they're still accepting the coupons. I do this every time and about a quarter of the time, they're no longer accepting them. But that's not a problem because I just go back to the website and exchange the coupon for another restaurant or a credit to use later.

If you're expecting to get a gift certificate that's similar to cash, then I can understand why you'd be frustrated. But let's be real, you're paying $1-$5 for a $25 off coupon, depending on the coupon code you use. If you paid more than a few dollars, then you overpaid.

The reason some restaurants are leaving the program is that it's a great deal for the consumer, but not so much for the restaurant. They don't get any of the money you spent on the coupon. They participate in the program for advertising and to attract new customers. So, I always make sure to tip well to take care of the server.

The availability of restaurants can be limited depending on where you live. If you're in a competitive area, you can always find a few good restaurants that offer great bargains. The trick is to buy the coupons when they have good discounts with the coupon codes. Today, on Cyber Monday, they're offering a 90% discount, so a $25 coupon only costs $1. If I don't use it, I can always exchange it later.

The deals have been getting slimmer lately. It used to be that you only needed to spend $35 for a $25 discount or $75 for a $50 discount. Now, the best deal is spending $50 for a $25 discount. But it's still a great deal and makes it possible to dine out on a budget. If you're a road warrior on a limited corporate per-diem, you can eat well and stay within your budget.

In conclusion, Restaurant.com is a great program for the consumer as long as you check with the restaurant first and only buy coupons when they have good discounts with the coupon codes. Never pay more than $4 for a $25 off coupon, and when they have deals like today, $1 for a $25 coupon, you should stock up for the year.

If you're looking for a deal on dining out, you might have come across Restaurant.com. As a restaurant owner, let me tell you how it works. Customers can buy a $25 coupon for only $2, which they can use at my restaurant. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well, not for me. When the customer comes in and spends $35, they get $25 off their bill, which means they only pay $10. This might be good for the customer, but it's terrible for me. I won't make any profit from this customer, and they're unlikely to come back unless they have another coupon.

Dealing with Restaurant.com customers can be a daily routine for me, and it's not always easy. Some customers want to use their coupon with other specials, like half-off bottles of wine or a $30 three-course menu. Others get upset when they can't use two coupons at the same table. And then there's the service charge, which is a gratuity added to the bill because customers who buy a $2 coupon for $25 are unlikely to tip on the full amount.

Most Restaurant.com customers spend only the minimum amount of $35, which means I'm not making any profit from them. And some customers try to use more than one coupon per visit, which is not allowed. They also don't care about other full-paying customers, like when they show up on a busy Friday or Saturday night without a reservation and get upset when they have to wait for a table.

As a restaurant owner, I have the right to refuse Restaurant.com coupons, and I advise other owners to do the same. Simply tell them you want out of their program, and post a sign on your door and website that explains you don't accept Restaurant.com coupons. You might upset some customers, but those are not the customers you want in your restaurant anyway. Restaurant.com even admits that 9 out of 10 customers won't be back unless they have a coupon, so it's not worth it to cater to them.

To consumers, I would say that there's nothing wrong with being thrifty, but there is something wrong with being cheap. If you can't afford to eat out without a coupon, then maybe it's better to stay at home or go to a chain restaurant like Applebee's. Don't expect independent restaurants to give you a discount just because you have a coupon. We're trying to make a living, and we can't do that if we're giving away our food for free.

I recently rediscovered restaurant.com after receiving an email informing me that some of the restaurants I had previously purchased gift certificates for were no longer participating in the program. I had bought a dozen certificates back in 2009 during a promotion where $2 would get you a $25 restaurant gift certificate. I had forgotten about them until the reminder email from restaurant.com. Thankfully, I was able to exchange them for certificates at participating restaurants without any issues.

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews about restaurant.com, but after reading them, I realized that most of the complaints were due to people not reading the terms and conditions. It's important to do your research and read the fine print before making a purchase. I made sure to call each restaurant I planned on using the certificates at to confirm their participation in the program. Out of the five restaurants, one had recently canceled their account with restaurant.com, another was only honoring certificates until the end of the year, and the remaining three were still participating. It only took a minute to confirm with each restaurant, and I was able to exchange the gift certificates online without any issues.

The minimum purchase amount is clearly stated on the gift certificate, and other terms and conditions, such as not being able to combine the certificate with other promotions and not being valid for taxes and tips, are also printed on the certificate. It's important to read everything before making a purchase. I even had a restaurant remind me of the minimum purchase amount when I called to confirm, despite it being clearly printed on the certificate.

Some people complain that the gift certificates are not enough to cover the cost of a high-end, pricey meal. However, it's important to remember that these are discount certificates. They are meant to provide a discount on your meal, not cover the entire cost. It's important to be a smart consumer and do your research before making a purchase.

Overall, I had a positive experience with restaurant.com. As long as you read the terms and conditions and confirm with the restaurant before using the certificate, you should have no issues. Don't let negative reviews scare you away from a good deal. Just be a smart consumer and do your research.

I was so stoked when I found out about Restaurant.com! They offer gift certificates for restaurants at a fraction of the price. I mean, who doesn't love a good deal, am I right? I decided to give it a try and bought $50 worth of certificates for only $20. That's a steal! I went on their website to check out the restaurants available in my area and was pleasantly surprised by the selection. I found a few that caught my eye and decided to give them a try.

Now, let me tell you about my experience using the certificates. I'm a solo diner, so I bought five $10 certificates. But here's the catch: there's a minimum purchase of $20 for each $10 certificate. No biggie, I thought. I can still get a good deal. I carefully ordered a steak and enchilada lunch for $14, an iced tea for $2, and picked out a dessert to order later to get my total over $20. The food was tasty, and I enjoyed my meal, including the dessert. But when the bill came, it was $20.90 for the food, plus $1.89 for tax, and an automatic gratuity of $3.76. Then they took off the $10 certificate, and my total came to $16.55. Not bad, right?

But here's the thing: I still had to pay $4 to Restaurant.com for the privilege of using the certificate. And there are so many other coupons and deals out there that don't require you to pay anything upfront. Plus, you have to register for the website (hello, spam!), select the restaurant ahead of time, and read all the restrictions. It's a lot of work for a discount.

If I use all five of my certificates and do the math, I'll end up spending $132.75 on food. But when you subtract the $20 I paid for the certificates and the $4 fee for each one, I'll only save $30 total. That's a 23% savings at best, and it's a lot of work to get there. I'd rather just go to any restaurant I want, order whatever I want, and pay for it without any restrictions.

Oh, and one more thing: they add an 18% gratuity on the full amount before the certificate is applied. So keep that in mind when you're calculating your savings.

Overall, I don't think Restaurant.com is worth the hassle. The only winner here is Restaurant.com themselves.

RESTAURANT.COM is a rip off! I got an invitation via LifeMart, which my company provides as a team member service, to purchase discounted certificates at Restaurant.com last month. I decided to try it out, assuming that because my company sent it, it would be legitimate. I spent over an hour finally identifying 4 restaurants which suited my tastes. Part of the criteria, since I am single and dine alone, was that the minimum purchase had to be reasonable for 1 person. I selected 4 resturants with minum purchase requirements of $22.50 or less. (There were others I would have enjoyed, but the minum purchase was over $30 and there was no way I could eat that much food.) I had at that point done my homework and understood the rules. Shouldn't I have been able to assume the restaurants they sold certificates for were still in business? I guess not. Did they suggest that I check that salient fact? No, they did not.

Well, the first restaurant I attempted to visit was out of business. I called Restaurant.com. They tried to get me to simply exchange the certificate. I explained that I was not interested in any other restaurants, and that I believed that since they sold me a certificate for a business that had closed, they should refund my money. They agreed and refunded the cost of that certificate to me.

Just over a week later, I took a long drive across town and attempted to visit a second restaurant for which I had a certificate. That restaurant also had gone out of business. Being pretty frustrated, I called Restaurant.com about it.

They of course indicated that this rarely happens, but the terms and conditions state that they will do exchanges, but no refunds. I indicated that this is not the first, but the 2nd of 4 certificates they offered for purchase where the restaurant was no longer in business. They refused to make a refund. I called back and got another agent, who also refused to issue a refund. My arguements that I wasn't interested in an exchange went unheeded this time.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a ripp off from an unscrupulous company. What you see is not what you get. I suspect they have no process for removing restaurants from their site, and you have a probability of purchasing certificates that can't be redeemed. Before you buy, check to see if the restaurant you are interested in is actually still in business, and check to see if they will accept the certificate. You will otherwise be left holding the bag. This is only a good deal if you are very flexible, and open to significant trial and error. What an awful experience. How does something like this rarely happen, yet happen to me twice within the space of weeks? If it looks to good to be true, it is. Save your money. Have a good stressless full price meal rather than paying for one you won't get.

I decided to trade in some of my credit card points for restaurant.com "money." I now have $1000 worth of restaurant gift certificates waiting for me to redeem them, all sitting in my restaurant.com account.

Let's start with the "good" (to be fair): I "bought" and used 2 certificates. I got "deals" on those certificates (I paid $5 for $10 gift certificates). I used them and used them, and everything was great. Also, if a participating restaurant goes out of business or stops participating, you can convert unused certificates to another restaurant (IF there is any other restaurant where you'd consider eating - remember some areas have very limited participating restaurants).

Now for the "bad": In all my recent experiences, Restaurant.com advertises all these great deals and prices, but it is false advertising. They use the old "bait and switch." When I log into my account and get the list of participating restaurants for my geographical location, the site advertises that I can get gift certificates for some of the restaurant at 1/2 price. Bear in mind that I am logged into my account when I get these half-off deals, so it is clearly intended to be applicable for me. However, when I go to check out, the prices aren't half-off as noted, they go back to full price when I get to my cart! I've tried it several times, and I have screen shots showing the difference in prices between those advertised and the price I get at checkout.

And the "worst of the worst": I sent a message to customer service about this problem (attaching the screen shots), and I got an automated email saying I should expect a response within 48 hours. I didn't get a response after 60 hours, so I sent another email. Obviously, I wanted to resolve this while the sale is still on. I got NOTHING back -- they NEVER responded. I can assure you that once I redeem all $1000 of my worthless credits, I will NEVER use this site again.

I rate them as a 1-star because to me, customer service is KEY. Businesses have issues arise, and people make mistakes. All I ask is that there be a procedure to address the problem. Restaurant.com FAILS MISERABLY at their customer service. Like I said, I've used restaurant.com without problems in the past so I know it works (sometimes), BUT I will not do business with a company whose customer service department refuses to even RESPOND to a customer concern. Even though a company may offer great deals when the process works, that means nothing if you can't get help on that one occasions where the company fails! I'd rather pay extra to another business with excellent customer service - at least I know the company is honest, and I know --for sure-- that I'm getting what I pay for. The poor customer service and the false advertising at restaurant.com make clear to me that this company is a 1 out of 5 stars.

So, let me tell you about my experience with Restaurant.com. First off, I want to share some tips that I've learned along the way. Number one, make sure you're signed up for their emails. Yes, they may be a bit spammy, but they often include codes for 70% to 80% off your purchase. And if you're not on the list, you may need to buy a coupon to get added. Number two, try accessing Restaurant.com through Mr. Rebates. This can give you an additional 30% off, but be aware that the refund process can take some time. Number three, always call the restaurant to confirm that they still honor the coupons. And if you're returning to a restaurant, call again just to be sure. And finally, read the fine print carefully and check the terms and conditions for any restrictions.

Now, if you do happen to end up with coupons for a restaurant that's closed or no longer honoring the coupons, don't worry. Just call Restaurant.com and ask for a credit. They'll email you a link that makes it easy to redeem the credit for a new restaurant. I've done this myself and it was a painless process. And if you're like me and have accumulated a bunch of unusable coupons, it's easy to reset the system and start fresh.

Overall, my wife and I have had a good experience using the coupons at restaurants that still honor them. However, we have encountered some issues with restaurants that have stopped participating without notice. Some have been honorable and offered to honor coupons dated prior to a certain date, while others have simply refused to accept them. In those cases, we've simply left and gone to another restaurant. We still have plenty of options within a 15-mile radius, and we've even gone back to some restaurants that have stopped participating, depending on how they handled opting out.

One thing to note is that Restaurant.com may continue to list restaurants that have stopped participating for months after the fact. This can be frustrating for both customers and restaurant staff, who may have wanted out of the system for months. But overall, we've found that Restaurant.com can be a great way to save money on dining out, as long as you follow the tips and read the fine print carefully.

I've been using Restaurant.com for a couple of years now and I gotta say, it's not what it seems. I've gotten $300 worth of "gift cards" from attending different events, but when I tried to use them, I found out they don't work like regular gift cards. I talked to customer service and they confirmed it.

With regular gift cards, like for Lowe's or Target or Chili's, you can use them for the value on the card without having to pay extra. And if you don't use the full amount, you still have the balance left on the card. But with Restaurant.com, you can only use the card on their website and you have to choose from a few different amounts, like $10 or $25. So if you have a $50 card and you want to use $45 of it, you're out of luck because they don't have a $5 option.

And even when you do use the certificates, you have to spend a lot of money to get the discount. Like, I went to a pizza place and I could only use the certificate if I spent at least $30. That's not a gift card, that's a discount!

Restaurant.com is lying when they call these things gift cards. It's right there on the back of the card in big letters, but they're still doing it. And they let other companies give them out too, so those companies are lying too without even knowing it.

If someone tries to give me one of these cards again, I'm gonna tell them what's up. And I might even talk to a lawyer about it. If Restaurant.com just called them something else, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

So be careful if you're thinking about using Restaurant.com. It's not what it seems.

I'm really surprised by all the negative reviews I've seen here about Restaurant.com. I've been using it for years and have never had a problem. However, I always make sure to read the requirements of the restaurant before purchasing a certificate. Some restaurants used to require a minimum amount to be spent for each certificate, usually twice as much as the certificate was worth. For example, a $50 certificate needed to be used on a $100 minimum bill. But some restaurants would only require two entrees. Some would exclude alcohol, while others wouldn't. Some would exclude holidays and certain days of the week.

It's important to read the rules of the particular restaurant before purchasing a certificate. They are all clearly stated BEFORE you purchase. Recently, they've changed the requirements, and it seems they only have a minimum requirement, which is not always double the coupon amount. Sometimes it's only 1.5%, which is an even better deal now. As another reviewer said, I rarely pay the listed prices. I usually use a code to get 60-90% off the price or buy them off eBay or other reputable sites.

As for some restaurants not accepting the certificates anymore, it's important to call the restaurant before going to make sure they still accept them and that it won't be a problem. If the restaurant doesn't accept the coupon anymore, Restaurant.com makes it super easy to exchange the coupon. Just go to your account, find the certificate, and click exchange to the far right of the certificate name. Follow the instructions and pick another restaurant at that time or later.

These certificates are great when on vacation too. I always check when I go to Florida. There are a lot of great places that participate where we go. If you aren't willing to put in the little bit of time it takes to ensure your coupons will be accepted, just don't use them. But don't criticize the site because you don't understand how it works. They are right up front with all the rules; you just need to read them.

As for customer service, my first experience with them was a week ago, and they were courteous and friendly. My account was fixed within the hour as they said. The problem was caused by me forgetting my password and never changing the email address from one I no longer had access to. I also had them combine two accounts, and it was all done with no problems.

I give them AAA!

***UPDATED***
I just wrote a review, and after reading many more of these horribly negative reviews, I came to the conclusion that a huge majority of them are FAKE. They have been purposely written to trash Restaurant.com. I have been using it for YEARS, since 2008, and in that time, I have only had one restaurant no longer accept the coupon. I usually use my certificates right away because I know many restaurants only stay in the program for a month or two. So if you hold them for months or years, you don't have a big chance of having them accepted. CALL first for any of them. That's all it takes.

Not one place has EVER said they never participated and it's a scam! NOT ONE IN 6 YEARS! So all these people claiming it's a scam and all their certificates are being refused... impossible. I not only use them in my state of Pennsylvania but also in Florida and the states between here and there. If they were recently purchased, they're never refused. For the one "gentleman" claiming he purchased $4,000 of coupons! Really? Geez. Liar Liar.

I really hope people read the positive reviews and realize all you need to do is read the extremely clear conditions of the coupon you are purchasing. It's not a surprise, and you don't find out as you're printing them. It's all up front... JUST READ. If you still feel that paying about $4 to save at least $25 and possibly $50 off your bill, then don't buy it. By the way, if you purchase them from other sites, you can get them even cheaper. It's a great deal! Don't believe these fake reviews!

This is a review about Restaurant.com, and let me tell you, it's not a good one. I had a terrible experience with this company and I want to warn others to stay away from this scam. It all started back in 2014 when I moved to a new area and tried to exchange my restaurant certificates for ones in my new neighborhood. I followed the instructions on the website, but it didn't work. I tried again and again, but still no luck. I contacted their customer support and received a reply from someone named Ashley Lanham, but it was just a copy of the instructions I had already followed. I explained my situation again, but never received a response. I even contacted them by phone and spoke to someone named Raul, but he was no help at all. He refused to provide me with a direct link to a supervisor and even lied to me about their availability.

I am extremely disappointed with the lack of customer service from this company. They don't seem to care about their customers at all. I believe they are just trying to scam people out of their money. I have no desire to deal with them anymore and I am requesting a full refund. I would not recommend this company to anyone.