YouSwoop

YouSwoop was always my morning go-​to. What I liked most was the limited number of swoops sold — for lack of a better comparison, it lessened the whole Groupon Effect worry. Unfortunately, I’ve had problems redeeming two certificates, and YouSwoop wasn’t too hot in the help department. Yes, I’ve been spoiled by Groupon’s awesome customer service.
I bumped into my first issue when I bought fitness classes and the swoop said I had to redeem the certificate before the expiration date. The guy at the gym said no, all classes had to be used before the expiration date. Of course, for a fee they’d allow me to extend it, but I’m not paying out because someone decides they want to change the terms of the deal. Several emails to YouSwoop went ignored, and there went $ 24.
Another time, I bought a few youswoops for spray tans, and had one left when the place closed. Trying to get my money back was like pulling teeth. Did you know that if a place closes over 90 days from the date of purchase, they don’t have to give you your money back? Ya, I unfortunately learned the hard way. It took 10 emails back and forth (with a lot of !!!, emoticons, and omgs on their end) before I finally got YouSwoop credit. Unfortunately, YouSwoop credit comes in points, which can only be redeemed if you have enough to cover the cost of the entire swoop. So now I’m stuck trying to find something for $ 15 or less so I can actually use the points and get my money back. So ya, let me know if you see something you want on YouSwoop for $ 15. I’ll hook that shizz up.

YouSwoop goes to bat and knocks it out of the park.
I bought a wedding photo package from these guys and long story short we got our photos. Our package was for wedding pictures from InFocusStudios. Rachele is the photographer there and she completely left us high and dry. She told us about 101 lies before we threatened to go to the police. Then she stopped answering ALL calls, took down her website and disappeared. WE FREAKED OUT…
I called YouSwoop to complain and they were genuinely as concerned as we were. They tried several attempts to reach her only to have the same results. Out of nowhere, they found a way to get in touch with her sister in law, and husband through facebook. The end result was nothing short of phenomenal. YouSwoop demanded our pictures within 24 hours or else the lawyers would a field day with them. And guess what, Rachele (the one who disappeared) called in immediately and had yet another excuse as to what happened to her. All lies of course.
End result, I have the discs for my pictures. YouSwoop refunded me a portion of the money so I could get them printed and in an album. THEY ROCK over there. If there was a way to give more stars they would certainly get them from me. Can’t be any more satisfied…
Thanks for everything YouSwoop — And a special shout out to Dayna which really made things happen. Great customer support.

While visiting Chicago last 4^th of July, my boyfriend and I were approached by a You Swoop sales rep who gave us discounts in return to signing up our email addresses. Ever since then, we have both received 3x the amount of spam that we previously received in our inboxes. It’s pretty clear that this company sold our email addresses to spam marketing companies causing us to receive a surplus in unwanted email. I also am positive that You Swoop is at fault because I gave them a unique secondary email address (that forwards to my primary) instead of my primary email.
I wouldn’t advise anyone to sign up with this company as they are untrustworthy and clearly don’t value user privacy.

I have been talking/​emailing with YouSwoop since the beginning of January and I must say, I have never had a customer experience like this before. It’s retched. I was asked by Michelle @ YouSwoop, per the owner Alexander, to either update or remove my previous Unilocal review at the end of one of our first phone conversations. To me, I was totally caught off guard by this. Why would a company ask me to do such a thing BEFORE the problem was resolved? I told her I would definitely honor the request once this situation was handled appropriately. Well, this probably isn’t the review they were asking for.
I was told in an email:
«While the owner is interested in reopening, it remains unclear if this will happen. Given this, we’re moving forward with reimbursements for unused sessions and I will notify you once this has been completed. To ensure accuracy, it may take us one week to process and notify you of this reimbursement. We will keep you posted. If you haven’t already done so, please respond to this email with the number of sessions you had remaining (number of unredeemed sessions).
We appreciate your continued support and in an effort to meet and exceed your expectations with this matter, although our terms and conditions do not ordinarily provide for this reimbursement, we wanted to do this because we value your continued loyalty and patronage.»
To me, along with every dictionary out there, a reimbursement is a form of repayment. A repayment is money owed back to you. To sum up this review, when emailing back and forth for countless days, I was told I would be given a CREDIT not a REIMBURSEMENT to my YouSwoop account. When I emailed again letting them know I did not want a credit I was told:
«Our reimbursements come in the form of account credit, which is a term you agreed to when checking out on our website. «
The email did not say I would receive a reimbursement credit, it said a reimbursement. A credit is not a reimbursement. I did not purchase this Swoop with CREDITS, I purchased it with CASH. The email also says that although their terms and conditions do not ordinarily provide for this reimbursement, they wanted to do this because they value my continued loyalty and patronage.
How are they going out of their rules to give me a CREDIT? If they were going to do something out of the ordinary it would be to give me a REIMBURSEMENT.
I strongly believe the website was conveniently updated since I started communication with them. I you were to click the link for their FAQ, that’s where you are told that you will reimbursed with a credit on your account. If you click this link:
you will see this:
«What happens if a business I’ve bought a Swoop to closes?
Should a business close within 90 days of your purchase and you have not yet redeemed your Swoop, YouSwoop will issue you credit on your YouSwoop account for the same amount paid for the non-​redeemable Swoop. You’ll be able to use your credit towards any future purchases on YouSwoop. It’s as good as cash!»
Looks like they only edited their FAQ section and not their Policy section. Where does it say a reimbursement credit? It doesn’t. It says credit. Again a credit is different than a reimbursement. I’m sure someone will eventually correct this error to make sure other innocent customers like myself do not get their money back.
The last 2 emails I received asked me how they do not stand by their word or care about customer satisfaction, etc and asked me to please clarify my accusation. Well, I shouldn’t have to make it any more clear. I am obviously not satisfied, and they obviously don’t care. I don’t want a $ 300 credit. I want my $ 300 reimbursement. I emailed the owner last Friday, it is now Wednesday, and I have not heard back. That’s not customer satisfaction. To ignore me. Especially since I took time out of my day to email him back. I even mentioned how much I appreciated that he took the time to step into this situation and that I know time is money, and money is time. So, by no response back it just shows me that this company believes their time, and money, is more valuable than mine, especially since they have wasted my time and won’t give me my money back.
Use Groupon. They have the best customer service and satisfaction. You don’t need to waste your time arguing on the phone with someone who cuts you off and interrupts you while your talking.

I can echo the review given by Elizabeth O. below, and I am betting that many other YouSwoop /​Spa La La customers are in the same sinking boat.
While I greatly appreciate that the customer service department at YouSwoop has actually returned my emails, it is obvious that their representatives are coached to deflect resolution at all costs. I have requested to continue my communication with a manager, and yet I keep receiving blanket-​statement responses from the same representative who has not identified herself as a manager… just that she has spoken with her managers.
I am sick to my stomach over how much money I paid for services that YouSwoop will not back from their sponsored business. YouSwoop continues to finger-​point and claim that they aren’t responsible beyond a certain date. I realize that some businesses like Spa La La are bad eggs. I have just never had a deal provider be so unhelpful toward their customers.
[subtract one customer]
Stand behind your sponsored businesses, or I will no longer stand behind you.
Avoid purchasing with YouSwoop unless you see in writing that your purchase value is 100% reimbursable.

From the minute I called in, to the minute my issue was resolved, YouSwoop customer service was fantastic.
A few months ago I bought a swoop to a restaurant that recently went out of business. I thought I had lost my money for sure but YouSwoop customer service saved my day. I spoke with a Dayna who went above and beyond to fix my issue and accommodate me. She was extremely friendly and credited my account within minutes of me calling in.
I have always been indifferent between deal a day websites, but YouSwoop was so enjoyable to work with, reliable, and accommodating, that I will try and purchase all of my deals though them from now on.

This girl likes a deal and YouSwoop provides.
In comparison to Groupon, YouSwoop seems to provide a greater variety of coupons. You can get deals all over the city for spas, gyms, restaurants, tours, and almost everything you can imagine.
I just bought a YouSwoop for a flotation tank session at Space Time Tanks, which is something that I’ve always wanted to try and can’t pass it up for $ 25.
Thanks YouSwoop for providing an affordable way to try new things in Chicago.

I am glad I accidentally stumbled across Youswoop, it is now a site I check every morning as part of my routine. I can attest that the customer service as Yourswoop is 100% customer focused!

Once upon a time, I wanted to buy Cubs rooftop tickets. After looking at countless rooftops at less than stellar pricing options for a… let’s just say mediocre… team, I ran in to a rockin’ deal on YouSwoop. Completely giddy and thrilled, I called all my friends to get the date set and quickly went to my computer to «swoop» up the deal (nailed the joke). Seconds later, when I received my confirmation email, I realized that I was not the most thorough person in the universe and bought tickets for the wrong day. This being around 10 pm and most businesses being closed, I quickly emailed YouSwoop to explain my predicament… MINUTES later the whole situation was resolved by their customer service rep. Couldn’t be happier with them.

I have used YouSwoop and feel that their customer service is outstanding. I had an issue with a purchase and it was dealt with promptly and extremely professionally.

In the world of deal a day Swoop has stepped up their game. It started out mostly spas and yoga boutiques but lately had some good restaurants. I hope it doesnt get too popular as the deals have the possibility of selling out. There not as popular as Groupon yet, but has the potential and is better than others. I have had no problems and neither should you.

I swoop.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I love a good deal and I’m willing to try almost any site, at least once, if the right deal comes around.
I’ve been really happy with my YouSwoop experience so far. It reminds me a lot of Groupon for the following reasons:
–You can manage your Swoops, marking them as used, printing them for later, etc. Some of the inferior sites require don’t allow for this so you have to hang on to e-​mails and PDF’s for future use.
–Good local deals
–Rewards. Similar to Groupon’s new G’s program, YS has a rewards program, they may have actually been first to market with it and I like it a bit better.
–Side deals, sometimes they’re more appealing than the main deal
–Nice, robust, user-​friendly website. One of the other sites I also use is Two Buck Duck; I find it super annoying that it looks like a 5-​year old designed it (no offense 5-​year olds) and none of my information is stored on the site.
Things I like better than Groupon:
*Knowing how many certificates are left on a deal
*Getting the opportunity to win the deal of the day for free
I’d give YS 5-​stars, but I haven’t had the fortune (or maybe misfortune) of needing their customer service just yet. YS has treated me right, hopefully do the same for you.

LOVE that they have a «Winner of The Day» but…
I’m still going to be giving them a middle rating for right now since I have only purchased the coupons and have not used them yet.
I have purchased 2 Swoops recently and received the confirmation email with my certificate the next day. Their deals are awesome… most below a 50% discount and they have a nice variety of coupons.
What’s nice is that if you miss the swoop for the day, it’s usually available the next day as well… Groupon doesn’t offer that! Also, many coupons are good for a year and there is no limit to how many you can buy!
Unfortunatley, I have heard some sketchy things about their ‘fine print’. I will be calling ahead on my 2 coupons and making sure I am getting what I signed up for!
Overall I really like You Swoop! Groupon is ok and so is Pricebunch :)

Have bought even more Youswoops since I wrote the review, and besides having had NO problems with businesses honoring them, all the services have been excellent and exactly what was stated on the coupon itself. I even goofed up and bought one for my girlfriend as a gift, but put my own name on it – technically not allowed – but the business had no problem with it.
I do find it pretty hilarious that most of the negative comments I’ve read from others are basically related to their own failure to read the actual coupon, then trying to blame the company. BUT… all I can say is that my experience so far has been superlative.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Groupon is WAY better.
I’ve had too many «fine print» problems with YouSwoop. There are always these exceptions that are stupid and they don’t seem to have as good of a relationship with the businesses that they are actually working with in Chicago.
For example, I once bought a catering YouSwoop and NO WHERE in the fine print did it say anything about the minimum amt. of people it could cater to. Then I call the place and they have a minimum. Thankfully, the YouSwoop people refunded me.
And just now, I bought a salon YouSwoop for a facial + 50% of another service. I was like sweet! Great Deal! Then I call the salon and find out that apparently, I only glanced over the YouSwoop. You can’t use it on massages. Booooooooo.
With Groupon, there’s very rarely any fine print and restrictions.

You know when you have that younger sibling that you can push around because they are smaller then you, but in the back of your head you know eventually they will get bigger and be able to push back. YouSwoop is the like that little brother to Groupon and they are starting to push back. What does this mean to you… massive savings on amazing Chicago activities, restaurants, and shops! How does it work? It’s pretty much like Groupon but you get to say «you swooped» in for the deal (Ha! I crack myself up)!
What I like about YouSwoop is that they are Chicago based and have a lot of respect for their customers. Check out this article on how the CEO of YouSwoop handled a lawsuit.
What your head Groupon they are coming for you! Check them out!

Groupon, you have some competition. YouSwoop has a similar, awesome concept — buy a voucher for 40−60% off of the value of food, drink, goods or services at premier restaurants, boutiques, salons, etc. There are a few differences — YouSwoop goes by #of vouchers vs. Groupon goes by timed deals (one day, 2-​day, and weekend deals).
I’ve only bought a couple of YouSwoops so far, but am already impressed. I love that YouSwoop will repost a popular deal (maybe at a slight higher price point) to give a second chance to those who mulled the deal over too long and missed out on the deal. Have also been pleased at the number of side deals that YouSwoop has — at least one every day and as many as two side deals extended over weekends.

Epic change here. Upon seeing my review, the founder of YouSwoop found me in their database and got into contact with me and cleared a few things up. He let me know that their system didn’t have any record of my email, so that can be chalked up to the evils of the internet. They’d also had some limited trouble with certain phone services. So them not getting in contact with me was simply that they hadn’t known I needed someone to contact me.
A couple of other issues came from my bank (namely, they hadn’t updated my information, resulting in my being denied while still getting charged) and those have been cleared up.
Mr. Lurie was kind enough to offer me a free Swoop on their next massage deal and discounts for my friends, but unfortunately, the next deal was at a health and wellness center that I had no interest in visiting (suffice to say we take different approaches to health and wellness and while I hold their beliefs as valid, they don’t correspond to my own). Then, today, Mr. Lurie wrote me to inform me that he’d gotten me the original deal for free, which I highly appreciate and which did a lot to persuade me of their customer service level. I mean, it wasn’t someone random in customer service, it was the founder helping to work out my problem personally.
Now that the problems on both ends seem to have been worked out, I look forward to using the service in the future and I’m extremely excited about my 90 minute hot stone massage coming up next week!

I was so happy when I discovered youswoop last week! yet another daily deal to check each morning. This one has a nice points rewards system that you can cash in at anytime towards the purchase of that day’s swoop. I think you get 1 point for each dollar spent and then to redeem you get 1 dollar for every 40 points. If you’re a person who loves to save money like I do and lives and breathes by the groupons, youswoops, two buck ducks, etc like I do, you’ll love this1

Groupon’s got competition!!! YouSwoop is similar to groupon except that you dont need a set group number in order to get the deal. The deal is already listed on YouSwoop. There is a set number of deals, and if you want in on it, you have to act quickly. Its all about first come first serve on this deal.
YouSwoop is ONLY for Chicago. They offer the same business/​restaurant/​etc deals as groupon. I got an email about it today and booked todays deal of a spa package treatment of a facial, massage, and manicure for $ 40 (a $ 155 value). Thanks YouSwoop!