Questions and Answers
Just wanted to make sure, we can buy 2 groupons and bring a friend right? (As opposed to the groupons which are 1 groupon/X people)
Good Morning Amanda!
You can definitely buy multiple Groupons! Each person needs their own, so you should purchase 2 Groupons for you and your friend.
Enjoy, and get your Groupon!
-Erica
Will I be able to use this groupon today? I called the Aquarium, but they didn’t know about the goupon or if I would be able to use it today.
Hi Shiva,
As with all Groupons, your credit card will be charged tonight and you’ll be able to use your Groupon beginning tomorrow. Don’t forget that this Groupon requires you to redeem it at AquariumoftheBay.org only!
Thanks, and get your Groupon!
-Erica
how am I going to redeem it at AquariumoftheBay.org? Do I buy admission tickets on the AquariumoftheBay website and when I check out, enter the promotion code so I don’ have to pay again?
Hi An,
That is correct!
Thanks for checking!
-Erica
Just want to be clear. From reading this thread sounds like Groupon will expire tonight 09/18/09 (Friday), however on the BUY NOW page, it says still has 2 days left. So Groupon should expire 09/20/09 Sun.
Which is the correct date?
Hi Christina,
Our weekend deals are a tad different. You’ll be able to purchase this Groupon anytime between now and Sunday at midnight. Any Groupons purchased today will be redeem-able tomorrow, and Groupons purchased tomorrow will be available Sunday, and Groupons purchased on Sunday will be available on Monday.l.
Hope that clears up some confusion!
-Erica
It says it’s no longer available on the green banner, but then it says there’s over 2 days left to buy. ???
Sorry Damian, we had a brief technical hiccup, but it’s all better now!
Enjoy, and get your Groupon!
-Erica
It says that you can’t use it for Sharktoberfest, film fest, and sleepover. Their website says that Sharktoberfest is Oct 1-31. Does that mean you can’t use it during the whole month of October?
Good Afternoon Joy!
Sharktober goes on all month of October, SharktoberFest, Film Fest, and the Sleeopover are other extra special events taking place that require separate tickets available only through the Aquarium’s website.
Enjoy, and get your Groupon!
-Erica
Hey Groupies!!
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up – we had a slight change of redemption plans that you should all know about! Instead of redeeming online, please just print out your Groupon and bring it to the box office to trade in for admission! These instructions will be on your Groupon tomorrow as well!
Enjoy!!!
-Erica
You say it’s all okay now and you can still buy it, but you can’t. Why do they say it’s available for two more days and then allow it to be cut off? Frustrating. Should we not trust the time limits Groupon gives?
Woah! I didn’t expect this to sell out. 550? Really??? Let me know if this one gets going again.
Wow, I already bought 2 and was just about to buy another 2, already sold out! SF needs the business, should have upped it to more.
What the heck? This deal was supposed to go on for 2 days and now I can’t buy any tix? That sucks….
Really bad business, makes Groupon look bad. If you’re going to set time limits, then stick to them, and do not allow businesses to have numbers limits. Do they need the business or not? If they can’t afford to do that many tix, then they should have set a shorter time limit, like 24 hours. But if they gamble on 2 or 3 days, they should be forced to honor it. Groupon should be better at guiding these decisions for businesses, and making them stick to the time limits they set. No excuses. Saw it at home, went to work where the credit card is, to buy it, not worried because of the stated “2 days and x hours” and couldn’t. Won’t trust Groupon’s word again. Maybe it’s time for a Groupon corporate discussion about policy, and public relations. Really bad, guys. Especially when you stated it was “just a glitch” which gave us false hope again. Still getting the kinks out?
@Kevin Berry, I disagree with your comment that this makes Groupon look bad. These businesses use Groupon to advertise their services, Groupon makes money, consumers get a good deal and the businesses participating hopefully get some good word of mouth and new clients. Setting a limit does two things, it coerces people into buying quickly (I’m a geek and get this little shopping rush also) and it limits any losses to the businesses. If the Aquarium sold more tix than they could handle then I bet you’d be complaining a lot harder then you are about not being able to buy any. Lastly, please don’t blame Groupon for you not knowing your credit card number (or being unwilling to just store the number here, I buy Groupons all the time at work without knowing my cc number, just log in and buy)and for you not understanding how and why Groupon works.
poppy, you didn’t read Kevin’s complaint carefully. He said clearly that if the aquarium can’t afford to sell that many tickets, they should have set a much shorter buying time, which would have been fine. The problem comes in when you tell people they have over two days to buy it, which most people will take at their word. That’s a gamble the aquarium takes, and they overshot it. Either Groupon should not set ANY time guidelines, and, as you suggest, it’s simply first come first served, OR they set time limits and stick to them. You can’t have it both ways, and not piss people off. I see others wrote in with the same complaint. And no, you’re wrong, if the aquarium had been honest and said: “First 550 tickets only,” I don’t think anyone would complain. All of the good results you cite would still happen if Groupon simply required them to post the number of deals they were willing to sell, rather than post a phony time limit. Wouldn’t that solve the problem, and be better for everyone, including Groupon? No one is saying they shouldn’t set limits; just state them honestly upfront. You think that would be a bad thing?
@Maureen… I agree with you 100%. I needed time to contact my family to find out how many tix to buy. Since there was no indication of a limitation on the number of available tix, I knew that I had the entire weekend to do this. A message indicating “limited to 550 tix” would have created a sense of urgency about the matter.
Thanks, it got even wierder! I got a message back 2 or 3 days later from Bailey, of Groupon, saying “as of now there are two tix left, go and get them!” (Huh?) Okay, somehow they became available again by magic, so I went online, only to see the familiar (“no longer available” and “SOLD OUT” signs, with no way to buy them, but the kicker is that the sign said they had just sold out THAT morning, 15 minutes before! (Even though it had been saying sold out for several days prior – I know, I tried to get them). How bizarre is that? I called and emailed to ask what happened, but no one got back to me.
Nice place. I took plenty of photos for my son.