Don’t waste your time and money
There are very few restaurants, and they have such specifics for use it all basically goes to waste.
They have also changed the rules multiple times just since I downloaded the app three months ago. They change how credits work, when they can use, roll overs, extensions, etcetera.
Their customer service is TRASH. They don’t read any emails or messages but just use pre defined content and hot keys and auto responses.
I have literally asked them to read my emails and stop using the same pre defined content, to which they replied with the SAME pre defined content, except for they changed the timeframe of credits because in the week I had been trying to get help, they changed the rules again.
They refuse to escalate any issues and ignore any and all requests for management or anything.
Save your money. Don’t use this.
Response from developer
Hey Cate. As said in the customer support chat again and again, we read everything, responded to you, and did everything you said we didn't do in this message. Our support team escalated it to me, and I explained everything and cancelled your account and refunded you. We changed how things work right at the beginning of your membership, which I get is annoying but we ultimately think it's a better experience for the other thousands of members that have stayed with us through the transition.
Disappointment
Response from developer
You get 2 credits each month for your membership fee, not 1. If you had only one, that was an issue with our credit transition and you should write into support and we will 100% fix this. We'd love for you to update your review once you get this fixed.
So worth it
The fine print
So: don’t tell them OFFLINE sent you until the very end. And then don’t be surprised when your bill goes up by 20%. In fact they will not mention it, and still hope to get an additional tip…”sign here and fill in the tip”…look close!
Overall the restaurants have been good food, but you will probably leave with a bad taste in your mouth…OFFLINE is a middle man…one more person trying to take some of their profit. The restaurants are already struggling for business, or they wouldn’t need OFFLINE. Now all these low margin customers come and make them get busy, requiring more staff and hours, but not more profitable. The concept was a great idea on the surface…but in practice, you find out you are just accelerating the demise of a struggling restaurant…like the days we all used to use Groupon…only with trendy hipster vibes.
In conclusion, use the app to see who is struggling…go visit them if you want to…but don’t use the coupon and tip what the service and food deserves. It will not fix a struggling business by introducing a middle man to feast on their narrow profit margins.
Response from developer
Hi there. Any restaurant that adds auto-gratuity to your bill is identified in the restaurant's Offer page. You can scroll through the Offer notes and will see a line about this. I appreciate your attempt at understanding our business model with the restaurants, but it's simply wrong. We've worked very hard at making sure restaurants don't pay Offline anything to acquire new fans of their spot. ~Taylor: VP Product & Engineering
Funny with the Money
I emailed customer support about this and they were rude, crass, and unhelpful. I would not trust this company with your financial information, as they have clearly exploited their access to my information - I would hate to see what they have done with other customers sensitive information.
Response from developer
Thanks for writing. We don't control the time that the hold is released but most of the time we see it released within a few days. We also will release the hold at the request of the user if they write in. We also do not store on our servers or ever see your card information as we are fully PCI compliant via our payment processor.
Deceptive
Response from developer
Thx for writing in. Sorry you misunderstood the pricing on the webpage. Before you sign up, all of the numbers are very clearly laid out based on the plan you select and you can choose exactly the plan that makes the most sense for you.
Love!
Easy way to use my Offline Subscription
Worth being a member
The app itself has worked fine for me and when I have issues, I get a quick response from the team.
I also truly appreciate how Offline supports local restaurants and other local concepts with the business. Best of all, what makes this membership great is it pays for itself!
