The Entertainer

[ayaa1977]

I wanna As you about the "The Entertainer" the book of discount coupons, what do you guys think of it? Is it worth a buy? 

[fizz]

I've seen the Entertainer book and its deals are usually very good - mostly 2 for one deals, ideal for a couple. The payback depends on how much you eat out. Even if its once a week, you will have recovered the cost of purchasing the book within the first month itself (provided you only go to restaurants that are featured in the book and nowhere else).

I've never personally bought the book or used it, but have been, for the past couple of years, been using the Gulf News Good Living discount vouchers, which are essentially the same thing but split into 4 books (food, relaxation, shopping etc). Also, not all the vouchers are 2 for 1, many (in fact most) offer a straight discount on purchase (anywhere between 10-20%), which in some cases is more preferred (family gatherings etc). The only downside to any of these vouchers is that sometimes the terms and conditions can be quite discouraging - like not being valid on the weekends etc.

As of late, I think more and more people have migrated to online discount coupons (Groupon, Cobone, Gonabit and many, many others), that offer only a single purchase commitment (no need to buy a book), but I think for the price of the book (about 300 or so I guess) they are a worthy investment. I think you can even go to the Entertainer website and see sample coupons before you make up your mind.

[ayaa1977]

Thank you Fizz for the feedback.  Last night I just did that and the array of selection is quite impressive and huge. That is a pro and a con in the same time, because personally I love trying new restaurants but in the same time I am loyal to my favorite. Having the book will force me not to go back to my favorite restaurant because I will be inclined to make use of the other vouchers. I don't know why is this a con but may be you get my point. I guess the book is good for someone like me who has no children, but for families if the don't buy more than one book, the saving each time is some how diluted. Anyway, I still am considering buying it, and the only reason I might not is because my upcoming visit/stopover in the UAE is only 5 days.