Up until 18 months ago, I really wasn’t one for visiting the spa or indeed the beauty salon, just because it seem so expensive for an hours massage or a short treatment, but since I have tried some really blissful treatments, I am converted.
Offer sites like Groupon, KGB Deals and Wahanda (there are plenty more out there) offer some brilliant discounts on beauty treatments for people who would otherwise find it too expensive.
There a lot of teeth whitening, laser hair removal, cellulite treatments, massages, facials, haircuts…there’s an endless list. I have tried many (I didn’t realise how many until I searched the blog for some past experiences!).
Some treatments I’ve had have been great (like my hair cut via Wahanda). Some how been quite scary (like this massage via Living Social). Some treatments are just kinda lame.
So am asking – are you treating me differently coz I haz a voucher?
It’s become clear to me that some of the businesses over commit themselves leading to customer frustration (or perhaps it is their own fault if they don’t tell the site they’re working with to set a limit to the deal).Quite often I have found it hard to get through to the salons to book (like with this joint) and even when you do, they don’t have any suitable appointments…
But wait! That example you had there was a deal for just £2!
Yes you’re right. £2 is insanely cheap for a treatment but then…don’t offer a treatment for £2. That’s just a bit silly unless you have some super resources to fulfil all the vouchers you’ve sold.
Then when it comes to the treatments themselves, I’ve had more bad than good.
My last voucher two treatments, a facial at Erno Laszlo in Covent Garden and Destination Skin in Manchester, if I am honest, just consisted of a face wash and a mask (which I can easily do at home).
There was the absolute minimal massage and also some hard selling in the form of products and also add on treatments (in the case of Destination Skin).
Were the treatments ok? Yes I would say they were ok and the ladies who did my facials were lovely, but never in a million years would they be worth the ‘full price’ they proclaim the treatment to be.
So perhaps the issue is not with sites like Groupon and Wahanda (it’s not like they can control how a salon delivers a service) but the businesses that hold the offers.
There’s no doubt that for a business working with these sites brings in money and lots of new customers but on the downside is the loss of quality control.
Of the handful that I’ve tried who have made an effort, I will return. The ones who turned up late, pushed me through the treatment as quickly as possibly whilst trying to get me to buy more things…don’t think I’ll be back.
Will I keep buying discounted beauty offers? Sure – for me it’s worth the risk to find somewhere potentially brilliant and I can just put it down as beauty blogging research!
What are your experiences, positive or negative with buying beauty treatments or offers from discount sites?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The boss of Group On was on Watchdog last week as so many people had complained they had bought the vouchers and were then told there were no spaces left. I’m all for it though, I love a bit of pampering.
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brilliant article. discounted deals seem like a russian roulette really. I live in a small town where the deals are not availalble, unless travelling 1 hour minimum to get to them. But if i were, your article would definitely invite me to be cautious
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Interesting topic of discussion
I do think that these beauty discounts are worth it in one respect, in that it gives you a chance to try treatments that you may not have otherwise gone for, and also you learn about lots of different treatments that you might never of heard of before! HOWEVER, it really does depend on the service you receive. I’ve so far only tried out 2, a haircut and a deep ultrasonic facial, and both have been surprisingly good, better than expected. I’ve still got 2 more vouchers to use, another haircut (at the hairdressers reviewed by you already!) and a facial (which didn’t sound great in your review 
). Also I’ve heard of ppl having problems getting booked in to use their vouchers, so the companies/discount sites really do need to sort it out and make sure they can live up to the demand!
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I’ve been tempted to buy some of the Groupon offers for stuff like laser hair removal, but the prices have been so cheap that it made me suspicious. If I wasn’t trying to watch my spending so much, I would have bought a few different offers already – esp. the Botox ones, but again it makes me nervous when a place is “too” cheap. I wonder if you can get your money back if the place doesn’t get you an appointment, or if you have a major problem?
The only Groupon I’ve bought was for a pole dancing studio, and the class I went to was over-packed, so it was kind of annoying, but at least it was cheap!
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