We respect our fearless leaders at Groupon. But even though we know they’re better than us at kickball and bench presses, they are not protected from the occasional office prank. Joe Harrow, Head of Customer Service, became a recent victim of the ol’ “Ping Pong Table in a Small Room” gag.
Here is the reaction shot with about four confused double-takes:
Groupon culture will now be captured on one of the oldest forms of technology: The Cam
The Lunch Cam made its first appearance last Friday. Decked out in green curtains, the Lunch Cam captured the gritty, real-life drama of Groupon employees’ habitual grazing hour. Riveting highlights included spilled soup, homemade autumn leaf pasta mixed with a spicy arrabiata sauce, scallops, calamari, and shrimp, and a suspenseful two minutes with a double-nuked bag of microwave popcorn.
Thanks for tuning in, viewers. Let us know what else you’d like to see!
Our customer service department rallied for Halloween. With their forces combined and creativity heightened, each team helped design and decorate these gourd-eous squashes. Which one is your favorite?
When a Groupon employee uses a Groupon to propose to another Groupon employee, not only do the eyes involuntarily cross at the concept, but the heart swells from happiness.
Self-proclaimed “huge nerds”, Tabitha (Customer Service) and Zach (Editorial), purchased the Wizard World Groupon the second it went on the site. There was no need to roll a perception check, they knew it was the right thing to do.
With the video help of another Customer Service representative and friend, Haily, they were able to capture the adorable proposal at the Chicago Comic Convention with a perfect celebrity cameo at the end. Tabitha told us:
It’s hard to hear, but it starts “Tabitha I love you so much,” and ends with “Will you marry me?” I can’t remember the middle part, because I was feeling too many feelings.
Congratulations, Tabitha and Zach!
Though Groupon culture is best witnessed in person, wearing goggles to shield your eyes from sparks, we’ve asked a few of our eclectic, hard working employees to answer a few questions about what makes them tick.
Name: Kelly T.
Dept./Position: Editorial – Reviews Writer
What have you learned since working here? I’ve learned that the best motivation is happiness. I work hard because it makes me happy to make my team, coworkers and Groupon users happy.
Which zoo animal are you least similar to? Seal - Swimming and clapping are not my forte.
What’s been a memorable experience so far with this company? On orientation day, I sat in a room with a ton of people from different backgrounds, eating bagels, laughing and learning. I knew then I was a part of something good.
What’s your smallest regret? Cutting my own bangs. I continue to do it.
Groupon’s Customer Support department has been known to march to the beat of a different drummer.
Keeping with this spirit, everyday four ladies and one lad get together to watch the fourth hour of the Today Show with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford.
They call it “A Soda with Kathy Lee and Hoda.”
Sarah, one of the five, explains how it got started. “Last month I found this clip from the show where Kathie Lee and Hoda drink wine and bike during this Aspen Wine Festival, and I thought, ‘This is so funny and so much fun,’ so I passed it around to a few co workers that I thought would like it…and they did! From there we started watching the streaming episodes at our desk during lunch. Then we were like, ‘What are we doing? Let’s watch it together!’”
And that’s what they do. Everyday at lunch they find a conference room, grab a soda, and watch most of the show (streamed online) during their lunch break.
Wes, the only male in the group, sums it up. “Well, it’s a lot of fun. The two of them are fun, easy, and self-deprecating at times. I only wish we were splitting a bottle of white wine instead of sodas, but oh well.”
The group vows to keep watching the show at lunch and they are also planning a “margarita night” sometime soon.
Thanks to Eric in Customer Service for writing about our new favorite lunch time pastime.
Popular to contrary belief, facts are not just something you make up. As a Factchecker at Groupon and proud owner of a fine-toothed comb, Kieran tells us how many details he pays attention to on a daily basis:
On the not-so-top floor of the not-quite-tallest building downtown, a group of bright, young, mostly-bespectacled individuals sit clamoring over their keyboards, picking up phones, hanging up phones, lifting their distressed hands to their foreheads, and clicking away as fast as their little fingers can into the far reaches of the worldwide web (aka information superhighway).
They’re checking facts. They’re Factcheckers. And lucky for you, I, Kieran Michael Kredell, happen to be a Factchecker, myself.
Kieran - Factchecker and Bicycle Enthusiast
As Factcheckers at Groupon, our job is to ensure that (1) everything written and published about our merchants and about our deals is accurate, (2) there are no hidden expenses that would distort the stated value of any deal, (3) there are no super-secret caveats to a deal that would restrict people from actually buying it, (4) this is the best possible deal and that there are no competing discounts available anywhere that would devalue it. Then with smaller teams of us dedicated to the company’s newer project launches (the Getaway and Home & Garden channels, for example), this task list reaches into the double digits. Or triple. Probably quadruple. read more »
Though Groupon culture is best witnessed in person, preferably via moving walkway or tramcar, we’ve asked a few of our eclectic, hard working employees to answer a few questions about what makes them tick.
Name: Lindsay Verstegen
Position: HR/Recruiter
Other Talents: I have a theatre company that I helped found over 4 years ago: The Plagiarists. I write and act for the company (and also take production photos here and there).
I finished performances of a semi-opera which ran over at The Building Stage. The Building Stage, for the record, is my favorite “storefront space” in Chicago. There was singing. There was dancing. It was really special.
I also take photos! www.lindzsays.com
What’s a typical day like for you?
I come in around 8ish and check e-mail and voicemail and open up my notebook. Despite working for a dotcom, I cannot separate from paper. (note: My high school’s mascot was the “Papermaker” so maybe it’s a hometown pride thing, subconsciously.) I have a to-do list that I craft the night before and see if there is anything that can be done right away. I go through days with an assortment of interviews, phone screens and general resume lookovers. I also try to find time to go on a walk–I think walking is important.
Which movie villain could you beat in a fight?
Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street. I would kill him with kindness.
Every now and then the sweet sound of a saw emanates from across the office signaling the start of the night shift at Groupon.
Shaun works in our editorial department and elaborates on the mobile tendencies of a Groupon employee.
I’ve been with Groupon a little longer than a year and I have moved workspaces six times. This is a significant increase over past occupations I have had where I’ve moved workspaces a total of zero times. Then again no company I have ever worked for has been as successful as quickly as Groupon.
Starting off at the company in fall 2009, I shared a space with another company on the seventh floor of a building. Yes, Groupon was small enough to be sharing space with another company. Though technically, we were occupying the space because we’d grown too big for the eighth floor. We didn’t even have our own coffee machine. It was not unlike working in a Charles Dickens novel, except without the harsh living conditions, poor food, and lack of electricity.
&
&
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | ||||
