A recent article in MSN commented on Groupon offering more coupons for healthcare services and the possible downsides.

Just looking through my personal inbox I have received the following offers from LivingSocial and Groupon in the last month alone (and these are just a few):

• Eye exam and $200 worth of glasses- A $335 value for $99.
• Chiropractic Consult and Exam- A $70 value for $17
• 87% off spider vein and laser hair removal
• 56% off Botox
• 72% off acupuncture session

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too hasty to get an acupuncture session at 72% off. Why? Think about doing a job for minimum wage and then imagine ¾ of your pay is instantly gone, but you still have to do the same job…

And there are about 100 people waiting in line for your services which means you are booked back-to-back for the next few days and/or you have to cut a few corners to service them all. Do you really want that grumpy, overworked person poking you with needles?

I’m not saying you will receive shoddy service, but how would you feel if you were in that situation?

However, I do appreciate that consumers are able to get discounts from somewhere for certain things they need during these hard economic times like eye exams and dental care.

Regardless, I try to keep in mind a piece of advice my mother always told me: You get what you pay for.

Do you use deal-of-the-day sites like Groupon or Living Social? If you have, what has your experience been like? If not, then why not?

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