First Date Couponing

A recent survey by consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com looked into the etiquette of using a 2-4-1 restaurant voucher on a first date. The survey asked the 7,550 participants (correct at time of going writing) to state their age, gender and whether a man using a coupon to pay for a first date is acceptable behaviour.

The results

The majority of people who participated in the survey said that it was acceptable to use a voucher as the man in the fictional situation was still paying for the meal, regardless of the fact that he was using a voucher. However, age and gender did play a part in how people reacted to the case study.

Amongst the people who disclosed their age and gender, it was women aged over of 65 who were the most likely to think that it was a sign of ‘being tight’ to use a voucher on a first date. On the other hand, men aged 65 or over were most likely to think that it showed financial responsibility to use a voucher on a first date.

How to find vouchers

It should come as no surprise that Money Saving Expert is a great place to find restaurant vouchers for chain restaurants such as Pizza Express and Bella Italia.

Supermarket rewards cards, such as Tesco Clubcard, or Nectar can be used to get restaurant vouchers and experience vouchers that you could use on your first date.

If you would like to go to get a discount in your local independent restaurant, you can sometimes sign up to a newsletter to receive offers, or follow their Facebook page to learn about discounts, or gain loyalty rewards.

How to subtly use vouchers in a restaurant

If you don’t want to be seen using a voucher on your first date, you can approach the waiter, or waitress in advance of your meal to show them your voucher code and to ask them to deduct it from your bill. Alternatively, when the bill comes, you can go up to pay it at the till rather than handing over a voucher in front of your date at the table.