cityspree bought by restaurant.com

[sergino]

from an email i just received
Dear Sergio,

I am pleased to inform you of an exciting recent development
here at Cityspree.com.

Last week Restaurant.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]) purchased all
of the online assets of Cityspree.com. We believe that this
acquisition will be advantageous for both of our companies,
the merchants participating in the Cityspree program and
most of all, YOU, the consumer who has been enjoying great
deals to merchants all over the country participating in
the Cityspree program.

Now, in addition to all of the great discounts you have had
access to these past years through Cityspree.com, you will
have access to thousands of more Restaurant offerings
through the Restaurant.com program. Restaurant.com is
working diligently to integrate the content of both
platforms and will be contacting you shortly to share with
you all of the great new developments. If for any reason
you do not wish to be contacted by Restaurant.com please
let us know by replying to this message.

On behalf of the entire team here at Cityspree, I want to
thank you for your patronage and hope you have enjoyed the
content and discounts we have offered you so far. The new
Restaurant.com integration promises to bring you thousands
of new savings opportunities and more options than ever
before! I am confident you will be very pleased with
what's to come....


Sincerely Yours,


Anne Stanton
CEO / Founder
Cityspree.com

[Marina]

hope they will still issue refunds for cityspree certs not accepted.

[stking]

Me too Marina. I just found out yesterday a restaurant I was going to use one for (bought in July) are not accepting anymore. I called before I went. They said "We don't know what happened with that company. We think they went out of business. We aren't accepting the gift certificates anymore!" I told them I bought it months ago but that didn't seem to matter! I tried to call Cityspree's 800 number but just got a fast busy signal.

[apeller]

stking,
Which restaurant are you talking about? I live in Orange County too, so we probably bought some of the same ones.

[Marina]

That makes me the angriest! We bought the certificates when the restaurants WERE accepting them!
-------------------------------
If you don't mind me venting, I have a little story--

I live in CA and I bought a cert for a place in MI. I was flying home to MI for a birthday and wanted to take my family out to eat!

When I tried to pay with cityspree, a hostile assistant manager said we were ripping off the restaurant by using those! She said she would call the cops if we left the certificates as payment!!

She said that they had posted a sign on their door for months saying "not accepting cityspree.' AS IF I SAW THOSE SIGNS IN CALIFORNIA!

Obviously, this totally ruined my night out, taking my parents and grandparents out to eat!

[apeller]

What a horrible and humiliating experience you had Marina! I think that several people have have similar experiences at some of the restaurants, and even though I do blame Cityspree, I also think that the restaurants are showing lousy consideration to their customers.

I have had several rejected and have returned quite a few back to Cityspree. I still have quite a few left and hope they will be accepted.

But while we are all (righfully so) bashing the places that won't honor them, there are many who still will. I always call before I go to any of the reataurants and try to use a certificate. A couple of great places that have taken them as of just the last couple of weeks are Left at Albecurque (however you spell it)in Orange and Irvine and El Torito Grill (in Torrance). I have to admit that they show a lot of class and respect for their customers because they accept them without a word. One manager asked me after accepting the certificate if Cityspree was even still in business.

Those are the kind of places I go back to even without gift certificates.

[cata5]

Apeller, I totally agree with you! I know some merchants are angry, but taking it out on a customer is really bad business. It's not like there are unlimited numbers of gc out there for their establishment. They should just take them and be glad they have drawn some new customers. All but one restaurant I have bought gc for are new to me. I never would have tried them without the gc from Cityspree. That is the whole purpose of this site from the merchant's perspective....isn't it?

[PrncsNYC]

You know what? I have used every gc I've tried (I have a lot left) bc I just don't take no for an answer. Everyone who has tried to give me any crap eventually, acquiesced. I'm sure I'll get someone who will say they're going to call the cops...I am ready to tell them "go ahead and we'll see who they will side with. I'm honestly trying to use a gc I bought in good faith. I already paid for this." Trust me people. My bf has a law backround...he knows we are in the right.

PrncsNYC

[cata5]

Update:

Restaurant.com would like to take a moment to say hello and
follow up on a recent correspondence you may have received
from Cityspree.

As you may be aware, Restaurant.com is in the process of
acquiring the online assets of Cityspree.com. In our view,
the MOST IMPORTANT of these assets is YOU, the savvy
consumer who understands the value of a great deal!
Restaurant.com is already working to merge the inventory of
both platforms as swiftly as possible. We look forward to
offering you the most comprehensive online dining program
on the Web.

Subject to final approval, this transaction shall close in
the coming weeks. Shortly thereafter, we will be in close
contact to update you and answer any questions you may have.
Most importantly, we are excited about welcoming you into
the Restaurant.com community -the Internet's premier dining
destination offering phenomenal dining discounts.



Sincerely Yours,

Restaurant.com Management

[stking]

Originally posted by apeller
stking,
Which restaurant are you talking about? I live in Orange County too, so we probably bought some of the same ones.

The one I called was Joey's Italian Kitchen in Orange. I only paid $2.50 for it but that's not the point! I was looking forward to a nice dinner out with my family and went and got Burger King instead! LOL!

The other one I still have is Hotel Huntington Beach. I called them the other day but no one was in in the Sales Dept. at the time so I'm not sure if they are still accepting them or not. At the time I bought it, they were accepting them again after not accepting them for a while.

[apeller]

Originally posted by stking


The one I called was Joey's Italian Kitchen in Orange.
The other one I still have is Hotel Huntington Beach. .

I have a certificate for those places too!!! I have been to Joey's 2 or 3 times using the certificates and they were always quite nice about taking them. The certificates were almost enough to feed my family of 3 with salads and dessert. What a bummer!

I also bought one for the Hotel Huntington Beach after they started accepting them again. I thought it would be fun to use on a Friday or Saturday night. We live really close so it would be a nice getaway.

Stking, Could you please let me know if you ever get any info about whether or not they are accepting them? Thanks.

[Marina]

Totally agree with you Apeller!
PrncsNYC, how did you do it?!

[PrncsNYC]

Marina,

I just don't ask permission to use the cert's. I go and I get whatever the cert is for and then I pay with it. I got a hard time at one rest. in Los ANgeles, (can't remember which one..it was like a Fridays) and the waitress gave me grief...said there was a sign in the window blah blah blah... I said "there is no sign in the window. I already paid my price for the gc. I want to speak to a manager. The manager came over and I told him that it was unacceptable for them not to accept the cert. bc I didn't do anything wrong, Cityspree did. He said no prob.

Just stick up for yourself!

[Marina]

Thanks PrncsNYC Sometimes I give in b/c I feel bad for the place because it is often a small neighborhood place getting screwed over by Cityspree. I'll try your approach.