Sometimes, reading and writing about Groupon is a lot like living in that Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day.
Everyday brings very similar headlines and news stories that pretty much seem to have fill-in-the-blank phrases that are used like revolving doors for different information to say the same thing.
It's been a while since Groupon China has been in the headlines for it being in trouble -- well, okay, 10 days, but still -- so now it's Groupon UAE's turn.
The United Arab Emirates outpost for Groupon has been under heavy criticism for over the past five months according to emirates247.com, who is also reporting that Groupon has taken "key actions… to solve the issues that may have soured customer's [sic] experience," according to newly minted CEO Alexander Kappes.
The problem over in Groupon UAE, reportedly, are: "delayed deliveries and poor customer service, and media reported of an investigation led by free-hold community Tecom, which resulted in an announcement that Groupon had done nothing wrong. This, in turn, sparked more critique." Although, interestingly, Kappes is saying there was no investigation from Tecom, it's still doing what it can to right the ship's course.
Meanwhile, back across the pond on this side, Reuters, citing an internal Groupon email it obtained on Friday, that Faisal Masud, former head of global delivery experience at eBay, will help head Groupon Goods as of Monday. It's been a while since we've heard much buzz about Groupon Goods, but Reuters elaborates that it's "seen some initial success, although some analysts note that profit margins on the business may be thinner than on Groupon's main daily deal business."
Speaking of profits, Groupon's stock as of press time is at $11.53.
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a columnist for EGM. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
