ottawa foodies

Is it just me that finds it suspect that the $55 coupon for Aubrey's has been extended not once but twice now?

When I originally visited the site on Thursday, the offer was set to expire at midnight. When I looked on Kahoot yesterday, the deal was still being offered and set to expire again at midnight. And now this morning, the deal is still there, and expires at midnight.

I bought a couple of coupons on Thursday but am now wondering if there is a catch after all, or if they are planning on closing down next week. If anyone goes in there and uses their coupon, I'd be interested in hearing about the experience.

Johanna there's some discussion in this thread:

Forum - Restaurant Coupons

apparently it applies to all meat in the store which almost sounds too good to be true...

if anyone has called them or stopped by to corroborate i would love to know.

I bought my Aubrey's coupon yesterday and went in this AM at 9.00. There was another person with one who arrived just before me. They were quite welcoming about it and there were NO restrictions. I bought 5 house made breakfast saussages, 300 grams of double smoked bacon, 1 pork tenderloin, one whole chicken and 1 lb fresh ground lamb. Came to $42.00. They took the e-coupon and attached a copy of the cash register receipt to it. I now have a store credit for $133. They did not give me any paperwork to prove the credit. I am going to trust them on this. They have the certificate behind the counter. I will however re-print a copy of the e-cert for myself and attach the cash register receipt to it.

The staff knew about the Kahout Promo, and there was a notice taped to the counter explaining their system to staff. That said, it was painfully slow in there.

Some may be nervous about this but I have dealt with Ryan at Kahout in the past and between Kahout and Aubreys I think this will be fine.

I am heading out to redeem my coupon in an hour or so and will report back...

Just ordered one up.

I will wait to they replentish their meats before going in. I think they may have a rush on. Kahoot has sold 2650 Aubrey's coupons as of this posting. I wonder just how much meat will be avaiable this weekend.

Just got back. It is totally legit. It applies to everything in store, including fresh eggs and milk. The store was very busy but the service was still amazing. They even cut me a 8 pounds piece of striploin on order...

I just bought 4 more coupons...

forgot to add, the owner told me that the coupon sales are capped at 3000. Better get your quickly

Thanks for the heads up on the cap! I just bought two. Amazing deal.

I had to go back and pick up another one - too good of a deal :-)

I don't eat tons of meat and wondering if I should get 2 more coupons....

But so far on all the deal websites,I have only had 1 coupon that was bad (organics delivered just went out of business :(

and 1 lousy experience (Piccolo Grande Mackay st).
I still like Piccolo Grande,just not that location.

For Aubrey's meats- did they have a lot of prepared foods like chicken pot pies and jams ect?
I'm guessing you can also get those items and the cheeses they sell?

Saw on their website that they sell local cheddar cheese?

picked up 3 hope it works out :)

Went back in today. Is anyone else driven slightly crazy by how slow they are in this store? They seem to be in complete disarray. They seem to continually have to go to the back for things, They take ages to wrap things. We went in today for the second time. Wonderful meat and poultry. But very frustrating - I would not mind things taking a long time - slow food? (lol), its the ineffeciency thats sad. I felt like leaping over the counter to get them organized or just pitch in!!!

I wonder how many will be regular customers when they have used up their coupons??

Butcher shops simply can be slow for walk ins, depending on your order. If you know what you want while still at home, calling ahead can help a lot.

Simple inefficiency can be a sign of inexperience. I know that improving efficiencies are something that get drilled into me by the butcher training me. Many things do seem simple to an outside observer, but are easy to overlook when you are trying to remember so many other things on your new job.

Which reminds me - I gotta go down there with one of my coupons! Mmmmmm, meat!

Good points. I love shopping at small food stores including butchers - I think this is, sadly, inexperience. Can't wait to get your take on it. I did place an order today fresh lamb comes in on Thursday!!!

The problem with inexperience at butcher shops is that it is generally really hard physical work that does not pay a lot, so it is difficult to keep people. Not just the butchers either - everyone from front-counter sales people to back-room meat packers have to do extremely heavy lifting all day long. I watch some of the front counter girls at work every day lift stuff that most of the men reading this probably could not lift - or at least would not want to work in a job where they had to lift it many times a day.

This is in fact one of the reasons why I became a butcher - to put my money where my mouth was and start working towards the solution instead of just complaining about the problem.

I'm hoping when I go in to get some meat on my coupon that I'll be able to harangle my way out back to watch the butchers cut it :-) We'll see ...

Hello everyone

Just an FYI - I received this today:

A message from Kahoot and Aubrey's to all that participated in our recent feature...

Due to the amazingly MASSIVE response to the recent deal with Aubrey's Meats and Kahoot.ca, we ask you to please do your part in redeeming your newly purchased vouchers.

Due to sheer volume, Aubrey's has asked that if/when possible to please pre-order any and all redemptions by phone for meats on Tuesday's. Any orders placed over the phone on Tuesday's will be available for pick-up Thursday's, Friday's and Saturday's.

Because of the size of the meat market, Aubrey's just simply cannot store enough meat to service thousands of walk-in customers. That being said, your business is very important to Aubrey's and they strive to do everything they possibly can to make the redemption process as easy as possible for all in involved.

We ask you again, to please help do your part to ensure the fast and efficient redemptions of your vouchers.

Thanks again for supporting local business here in our great city!

The Management at Kahoot & Aubrey's Meats

I said this elsewhere and I'll say it again:

"Aubrey's did limit the coupons to 3000 ... but that's alot of meat ... $525,000 at list price (3000X$175).

Say the average list price is $25/pound of meat ... that would be 21,000 pounds meat ! in the coupon deal.

I know everyone will not want all their meat at once ... thank goodness."

$25/lb. list price was very conservative, say it's more like $15/lb. ... that would make the coupon deal entail 35,000 pounds of meat !!

I did predict this situation earlier in this thread.

Now to order up some hanger steak !

i bought (3) coupons and stopped in tonight to redeem part of my first coupons - they were great to deal with and i spent around $50 with the balance back on my coupon to use next time. i discussed the kahoot deal and they were very supportive and stated that they really wanted to promote their butchery and bring in new customers....which i was. i bought some lamb chops, duck fat, and ribeyes.

Yes - Captain for the win!

I'm going to finish off my first coupon in the near future but then sit on my 2nd one for a few months at least to give them some breathing room.

I got the email about that too.

But can you just walk in and by a roasted chicken or a small amount of meat?
I don't plan on spending more than $30 at once I think.
also heard they sell jams and sauces?

Roasted chickens go very quickly, they are usually sold out by the early afternoon. They do have meat available, but try to go Wednesdays and Thursdays when they get their deliveries.

And yes, they sell jams and sauces and honey, but they don't have a super large selection. The honey is Crerar's for anyone that cares :)

Cannot believe they are doing ANOTHER deal today. 55% off. I fear they will bankrupt themselves. But I got some beautiful lamb stewing meat yesterday!

I too bought the coupon and placed an order via e-mail yesterday for pick up next week (that gives them over a week to get order ready). Haven't heard anything from them so I'm wondering if they will call or e-mail to confirm that they are ordering for me. It looks like they have another coupon out today and I'm wondering how well they will be coping with orders. Anyone else have experience with e-mail/phone in ordering? Also, anyone know where they source their pork from? Is it also local?

WOW! Great deal for consumers, but I can't see how these deals will actually be good for their business. Assuming kahoot and koopon use the same business model as groupon, the merchant and the coupon retailer split the proceeds 50/50. They are actually selling their product for 16% and 22.5% of its value... This would have to generate a lot of new, repeat business to actually make them any money.

was at Murrey St. cafe for lunch so went to Aubrey's to check out the store.

Now that I think of it, I had shopped at the store before a long time ago when I used to go to the byward market more regularly..

I know Aubrey have requested to preorder but not sure of what they had and also freezer / fridge kind of full at the moment so went there to check out general butcher section and the speciality items.

Ended up picking up some mariposa smoked duck breast (frozen) and some spicy lamb marguez. I had some Spicy lamb marguez susages at a resturant / bar in glebe a while back and loved it but the server was not 100% sure where they came from, thought maybe the Glebe Meat market. They were similar to those I had when i was working in NZ..

was eyeing the foie gras also and the osso buco..... Also the game medallion but think they were mispriced since 34.xx for 100g.. I know I saw them at farmboy yesterday and they were not that expansive.. More likely 34.xx per lb.

Several people were using coupons and one said that she shopped there before but normally shop more often at the Glebe Meat Market.

Overall a pleasant experience and was told if you preorder and just go in to pick up, you can have 15 minute free parking in front of the store but the meter police are pretty quick around there and ticket is around $80..

Think I might go more in the am sometime since the garage near there does a $2 parking special.. I paid $6 for parking today for 2 hrs for lunch and shopping at aubrey.

Yesterday I picked up my order that I placed a week ago. It was a fairly large order and when I went to pay, since my total was over $200, I wanted to use my 2 coupons with the balance being carried over and they wouldn't let me therefore I could only use one coupon and had to pay the difference still leaving me with one coupon. They noted that the coupon could not be "combined with other offers" which in this case doesn't really make any sense since a second coupon does not provide for any additional discounts. I was sort of put on the spot but I could have left half my order behind and picked it up the next day using my second coupon...this makes no sense and I was a bit disappointed at this "catch".

That makes sense to me LuLux and is exactly how I understood the offer when reading the terms and conditions. And I don't think it is unfair.

Conditions as indicated on the coupons : "Cannot be combined with any other offers. Holds no cash value. May redeem one voucher per visit, in-store. Can carry over balance in store credit (No cash back). Taxes not included. Does not expire. Pre-Orders Strongly Recommended..."

It clearly shows that there is a limit of one coupon per visit, no reasons to feel cheated...

My bad...I didn't read the "redeem one per visit" part as she didn't point that out when I went to pay - she had pointed out the "combined offer" part which is what didn't make sense to me as I noted above. I was just caught by surprise and if she had pointed that other condition of one per visit out to me I would have realized my error and realized that I should have just ordered less. Next time I will order a lot less to ensure I don't go over my maximum for the coupon.

Has anyone been refused dairy products on this coupon?
I was refused to buy milk or cheese...and I was just buying 1 piece of cheese.
-didn't buy milk then,but will get the chocolate milk once I think (don't really drink much milk- maybe 1x every 2 months at most).

But it is kind of unfair that dairy is not included when the coupon and website say nothing??

I was going to pick up the same cheese somewhere else,so not a huge deal...but it is an annoyance.

Pretty: The coupon is for meats that is clearly stated on the coupon itself. They don't have to honour it for everything in the store. They used to have a sign saying that dairy was not part of the coupon, but I don't think they are allowing anything but meat now so the sign is gone. I bought a condiment with my meat on Saturday and had to pay seperately.
This is such a good deal, but if no one pays full price for anything, how will they make any money?

Pretty: I agree with KMD. Read the Deal Description again.
koopon.ca,-locally-grown-meats-from-aubrey-s-meats-in-the-byward-mar

"Get $109 of naturally raised, locally grown meats for just $49.95" it doesn't say worth of their products it says meat, then it goes on specify and says that "Aubrey's is proud to offer:
* All natural pasture raised beef;
* Nitrate free Bacon and Ham (Locally smoked with real hardwood maple);
* A clean and traditional butcher shop environment;
* Personal service from friendly passionate staff;
* Meat cut to your request (not pre-packaged);
* Chef on staff to coach you and guarantee your expectations;
* "Mariposa" Ducks and Geese along with a variety of game meats
* Air chilled, free-run, grain fed chicken
* Farm based game meat (elk, bison, wild boar, deer)
* All natural handmade sausages (no preservatives, additives, gluten or filler)
* Rotisserie chicken made daily"

There is nothing in there about jams, jellies, honey, sauces, eggs, milk, cheese etc. Give them a break. Its a great deal.

yeah i would expect the other stuff to be purchased from someone else and likely only have 20-30% profit margin..

for the meat, they likely be buying stuff in bulk or whole animal and butcher it themselves to different cuts so costs should be lower.

Ok, I understand everyone else's viewpoints too.
But the coupon does not have an actual exclusion section..which they maybe should have added,I think.

Still pleased with the deal though.

My only other issue is not with the actual deal,but that Aubrey's could not confirm what was being used instead of nitrates in their bacon.
They said they would get back to me....and still haven't.
I guess for bacon I will just stick for the mos tpart with the producer in Gatineau I was buying from.
-they have the ingredients on the package.

live4food, that coupon you have is different than the coupon i have. prettytasty - it clearly states "Naturally Raised Locally Grown Meats", that means nothing else in the store expect meat. i wouldn't go in thinking i could buy dairy or jams & jellies.

Here is my coupon from kahoot)

$55 for $175 Worth of Naturally Raised Locally Grown Meats from Aubrey's Meats in Ottawa (ByWard Market)

Cannot be combined with any other offers. Holds no cash value. May redeem one voucher per visit, in-store. Can carry over balance in store credit (No cash back). Taxes not included. Does not expire. Pre-Orders Strongly Recommended. You can buy up to 10 for yourself and unlimited as gifts. Orders can be made after March 11.

HFF: Actually I do not have the Kahoot coupon from this thread but I see your point. :) I too have the one from the other thread "54% off at Aubrey's meats in the Byward Market" from Koopon: Forum - 54% off at Aubrey's meats in the Byward Market

I think that one of the coupon sites when people were asking questions they had written that the coupon was good for anything in the store.

One thing though, I guess is you should never really beleive a coupon site entirely and prob better off calling the actual business if possible.

-but maybe I should have bought more than 2 of the certificates as they have no expiry....

After reading what PrettyTasty wrote, I remembered the comment on Kahoot (again, I didn not buy a coupon, just relaying the info). Here it is:

>>>

Cdmmanagement [Moderator] 3 weeks ago in reply to ChrisSkydiver

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your comment!

I am the Manager at Aubrey's. Have you ever been in our store?

With this coupon you can buy whatever is in the store, and it is indeed all natural, The product for this promotion is the same as we have been selling for the past 100 years.

<<<

Technically this was in response to a question by ChrisSkydiver asking about the percentage of products that the coupon applied to, and the manager's comment could be construed as "you can buy whatever MEAT is in the store ", but I can see the source of confusion.

Hopefully now this thread can die. :)

From what the manager wrote he might have wanted to add the word MEAT if he meant buy only meats?
Maybe I'm a bit picky with writing when it comes to meanings because I have to write so many detailed reports,lol.

But I actually came back to post here because Kahoot is now selling Aubrey's meat market gc wort $109 for $39!

Link to the other thread for the newest deal. Forum - Aubrey's meat market new coupon $39 for $109 of meat Kahoot!

latest on aubrey's - no idea which thread is the current one.... anyway, picked up 3 steaks, 3 lbs ground pork, 2 lbs ground beef, total $102 (i have the $55 for $175 coupon). anyway, in the store they now have signs for coupon holders...

for all coupon holders:

"starting monday may 23, all coupon holders must email their orders by wednesdays, they are to be picked up no later than friday. no walk-ins and no weekend pick-ups allowed."

I was there today and picked up some lamb and pork sususage, veal and elk burgers, a little lobe of foie gras, a bison medallion, some veal stock and some rendered duck fat and 2 nice beef tenderlions.

I saw the sign too and spoke to the older lady working the front and they said it was put in since they ran out of meat a few times.

She was unclear if you can still do walk ins for the frozen stuff but definitely not for the fresh meat.

-- Link to expired: $55 for $175 Worth of Naturally Raised Locally Grown Meats from Aubrey's Meats in Ottawa (ByWard Market) ottawa.kahoot.ca [3121 Sold]
"Cannot be combined with any other offers. Holds no cash value. May redeem one voucher per visit, in-store. Can carry over balance in store credit (No cash back). Taxes not included. Does not expire. Pre-Orders Strongly Recommended. You can buy up to 10 for yourself and unlimited as gifts. Orders can be made after March 11."

-- Link to expired: $39 for $109 Worth of Naturally Raised Locally Grown Meats from Aubrey's Meats in the ByWard Market: ottawa.kahoot.ca [2177 Sold]
"No cash value. Cannot be combined with any other offer. May redeem one voucher per visit, in-store. Can carry over balance in store credit (No cash back). Taxes not included. Does not expire. Pre-Orders Required. You can buy up to 10 for yourself and unlimited as gifts. Not valid for holidays. The voucher cannot be used until April 13, 2011."

-- Link to expired: $49 for $125 Worth of All Natural Beef, Ham, Sausages, Chicken and More from Aubrey's Meats www.dealfind.com [3,076 purchased]
"What You Should Know: No expiration date. Buy up to 10 vouchers for yourself and unlimited as gifts. Limit 10 vouchers for personal use. Pre-ordering is strongly recommended, please call 613.241.4093. Valid for all products in-store. If full voucher value is not used, remaining balance may be carried over. Voucher is not valid on: the 7 days (inclusive) leading up to Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and Easter. Not valid with other offers. No cash back or credit. Not valid for taxes. Cannot be redeemed before Monday, May 9, 2011."

In the terms and conditions aka. "the deal and fine print":
- Pre-orders: the $39 one said pre-orders are required. The $55 and the $49 one said that pre-orders were strongly recommended.
- Black out times: the $39 & $49 both specify the holiday black out period and the $49 one is more specific and defines what they mean by it. The $55 one does not show any holiday restrictions (even though they put up signs in the store after the fact).
- What it entails: the $49 one also differs from the other 2 by stating that it is "valid for all products in-store", where the previous ones were just for meat. Edit: the FAQ specifies "valid for all meat products in the store" but never goes on to amend/clarify the official terms.

Looks like they are learning and specifying things as they go but I don't think they can change the original terms ie. must "email their orders by Wednesdays, they are to be picked up no later than Friday. no walk-ins and no weekend pick-ups allowed." after the fact - or can they? It is also reasonable to assume that not everyone who shops there uses email. Yes it was purchased online but given as a gift non computer users could be redeeming too.

To me if they have what you want there then fine but if you want something specific you need to pre-order. After the first round of coupons, they knew that they were having trouble keeping up with demand. Yet they did it again with a second coupon deal so soon after the first and then going into their busy BBQ season, followed it up with a third coupon deal. If they entirely run out of stock then, with literally thousands [8374] of these coupons sold, (in my opinion) they need to start stocking more food! At this point it is not uncommon to go there and have very little fresh things to buy. They created the issue and have not adjusted their meat orders to keep up with the influx of higher volume of customers.

Even before the coupons, if I know in advance that I want to cook something specific I would normally place an order but for day to day regular stuff, I do not want to. I like shopping there in person, seeing what is there at the time, what looks good and get inspired as to what I want to cook. I live close and pick up small amounts at a time with zero intention of tossing things into the freezer. I'd rather shop more often and get fresh. I want them to honor the deal I bought.

Okay, they want us to email the order? I'm perfectly fine with that, but about 3 weeks ago, I sent an email to them and it bounced back. I do not have the email address that bounced so I can't check vs. their site, but hopefully it works :)

I emailed my order, but then ended up calling the store as I had a product question.
And they do not have all the items on the price list on their site.

No pot pies made in the summer apparently??
unless you want to order 10 of them I was told.

guess I'll make my own or buy at Saveurs des Monts chicken farm.

I have the coupons that say valid for anything in store,but they still make up their own rules anyways.

because of that I will be buying my cheese somewhere else, but the same brand ;)

I'm trying to be understanding of Aubrey's situation but I find the latest round of stipulations go a little too far. I'm fine with the advance orders only system but why can't I pick up my order on Saturday? It's difficult for me to make it to the market during the week, and this certainly isn't inspiring the type of customer loyalty that I'd imagine is part of the business model for these coupons.

For anyone who has placed an e-mail order, did Aubrey's send you confirmation before you picked up?

@Prettytasty I would use the price list (aubreysmeats.ca) as a guide line but imagine that that it may not be current. Why do I say this? To me it looks like the website hasn't been updated in a long time as their about us area (aubreysmeats.ca/About_Us.html) still has "Kyle Churcher, Butcher/Chef" on there and he has been working at the Piggy Market for ages now. Also on the list is "Ryan Michalak" and he's been gone a while now too as is "Danielle Presentey".

Aubrey's seems to be following the model of "The Butchers" in Toronto. I wish I can find the article in which the owners were interviewed, because it gave their rationale for why they sponsored so many coupons (11,000 at time of the article). It was along the lines of: "if I sell 1000 coupons for $110 of retail product at cost, and each buyer spends $10 more dollars in my store, that is $10,000 dollars of revenue that I would not have normally received". It makes sense on the surface, except when you realize that it takes $120,000 (retail) of product to generate that additional $10,000. There are certainly service and cash-flow issues with that model. More so if you multiply the numbers by 10.

Now, google "Groupon Butchers Toronto" and you will land on many blogs/forums/articles discussing the dissatisfaction with this retailer. You will also see a somewhat comical progression of ever tightening restrictions on coupon redemption. The current state is reduced store hours with full time police presence to "limit verbal and physical abuse of the employees". It is eerily similar to the path Aubrey's is on.

As a far west-ender, I make it into the market twice a month on weekends and was a fairly loyal Aubrey's customer, partly due to selection, partly due to convenience (already in the area). Their "antics" over the past 4 months have definitely soured my view on their ability to serve the public. Personally, I am going to move my business elsewhere.

Full disclosure, I never purchased any Aubrey's coupons, as a regular customer, I felt like it was taking advantage of the purveyor's attempt to draw in new business. I wish I had now, because at least I would have benefited in some way from the program which has alienated me.

It would be interesting to see if their prices increased after they introduced these coupons. Just sayin'

I have been a long-time, customer, fan and promoter of Aubrey's but have to admit, of late its been difficult. I think the biggest problem they have had is that the owner Brian Kennelly has been quite ill for sometime. He originally was suffering from cancer (mouth cancer I think) and since late fall/christmas has been dealing with other issues (not sure what). I don't know him personally, but followed through the staff how he was doing.

When Brian was there, customer service and satisfaction was the prime motivator and the reason I kept going back. A common speech he would make to new customers is that he could not guarantee the highest quality for everything in the store as he dealt with too many suppliers... but that if a customer ever had an issue - they should tell him and he would make it right. Haven't heard that speech since he has been gone.

I have dealt with the person who is looking after the shop in his place and she has been good to me. I have seen her having to deal with customers trying to use 2 coupons at once (I believe they all said 1 per visit) and people who have really pushed the envelope. Having said that, there has been a significant change without Brian in my opinion. Personally, I think they should have done a one coupon offering and left it at that and continued to focus on the service one expects in a good butcher shop.

I am going to continue to shop at Aubrey's and give it some time. Hopefully they will return to the way they used to be - and more importantly, hopefully Brian's health will return.

They have been a great store. But, if after 6-12 months its more of the same, I think I am likely to use both Sasloves and the Glebe Meat Market to see which I like better.

Cheers

MedicineJar - thanks for the insight!

I am also very disappointed with the new round of conditions. I had really started taking a liking to Aubrey and their staff. Given that it is close to work, I would often walk over during my lunch and pick up something for supper. Now, it seems I will have to order an entire week of meat at the time, which is a huge turn off... I understand that it most have been frustrating to have people buy 175$ of meat at once, only to freeze it, but at the very lease they should continue to allow small walk in purchase... Unless that happens, I will simply use up my last 4 coupon and look for another butcher...

I think the owner is the one with more business sense and concept of customer service.

Getting into the coupons, they get a portion of the cash upfront so may seem attactive to the store initially but did not analyze to see if the coupons make them money or lose them money before doing another one.

If I had to guess the number of coupons sold is running them into cash flow issues. Some of the stuff they have to buy from vendors in order to have it in stock. The cash is paid out in installments I believe althought I don't know if that works with ones with no expiration dates.

Have been buying mostly frozen stuff since I don't make it to the market often but 2nd time bought a Mariposa duck breast and last time some some beef tenderlion steaks. Trying different things.

My favourite so far are the lamb marguez susage and the fatter lamb susages.. I slightly prefer the marguez but at twice the price of the regular lamb susage and a bit too dry when cooked, I probably would do the regular lamb susages in the future.

@FoodTravel "I slightly prefer the marguez"... "a bit too dry when cooked"
If you don't mind my asking, how did you cook them? The reason I ask is because I remember back when Kyle was there, they sometimes instructed people to poach certain kinds others were pan fry.

I did the marguez on the indoor clamshell grill. The regular lamb susage was poached and then grilled on the same indoor clamshell grill.

I still have a package of marguez and might try to do some couscous royale. Have not had it since the second last trip to France.

Hi Guys,

I bought a couple of $55 dollar coupons and $39 one's as well, and had only used a tiny bit one time a couple of months ago.

I don't have a problem with a lot of the conditions that have evolved as of late, as it's understandable, and regardless it remains a great deal. When i did go (I have been a customer for a couple of years, not extremely regularly though), I bought two veal chops and some short ribs.

I did see they were extremely busy, and compeltely understood the need the need to pre-order, and seeing as I was going to be fairly busy, I decided to give them a break and wait before ordering again.

Today I went into the store to look around and place and an order, and to my amazement I was informed that they don't offer Beef short ribs anymore?!?! This is ridicoulous.. I have bought short ribs from them from eyars, and now they tell me they don't offer it anymore from about a month ago. They are a butcher, they pride themselves on providing 'Any cut of Meat' ( Aubrey Website), and now they're telling me they can't prepare a couple of pounds of short ribs on a preorder. Instead they recommended the spare ribs, but i don't want spare ribs!!

To me this just seems that they realise that spare ribs require a bit more labor to prepare, but hey.. they are a butcher, if not them then who is going to do them. This has really made me frustrated, and I doubt they will retain any repeat business from me once my coupons expire, unless they come to their senses real quick.

I'm about to send an email complaining about this, and will report back.

I know they don't offer the thin cut Asian kind but the regular stockier ones I know they did. I cooked a a "Short Rib Agrodolce" recipe from Cooking By Hand by Paul Bertolli at least twice this year and got my meat from them. The first being from January as party of a birthday party. Again later in January or early February. Do you know who you spoke to? Keep us posted about this please & thanks.

That's whats so frustrating, I know they've offered regular short ribs since I moved to Ottawa in 2005! I've gotten it from them at least a couple of times every year. Last I got it from them was March or somewhere around then.

When I walked in, I spoke to a lady, don't know her name, she's really nice, but when I asked when the order would be ready for pickup, she went to the back to ask the butcher there, and I think he informed her.

But will keep you updated, either when I get an email response, or when I go back up my order at the end of the week.

As an update/follow up to my May 25th post:

They are aware of their website being out of date as I emailed them regarding the "about us" being out of date still listing so many employees being gone AND questioned them about the price list posted being current. I got a response that addressed the issue of being out of date by thanking me and stating that the employees listing should be taken out all together. The response said nothing about the price list. Since then the site has been amended and the list is gone (aubreysmeats.ca/About_Us.html).

My suggestion is to go to aubreysmeats.ca for their price list print & bring it with you. It is from their website and it is their own posted information. Double check the pricing and if its not the same, call them on it.

I had the list saved from the 26th on my computer and did a comparison. Yes, it was updated. On quick glance, I see that the item codes are no longer there (not needed unless you're the one punching them in). Added information marked with "*" like: *Not a pre order item available while quantity last / *1 Week notice required for these items / *Not available with coupon etc. As far as prices go, I'd have to take a closer look.

A quick run down: In the beef section; Angus and Dry Aged are no longer there, the rest including pricing are all the same. Chicken section; what is still there is the same but there are things that are gone like; Seasond / Stuffed / Rolled - Tournedos (W/ Bf T'Loin) - Whole Bnlss - Organic Chicken(Sp ord. In the TURKEY - FOWL - GAME section it is the same thing, what is there is the same but there are things missing like; Duck Breast Smoked - EVERYTHING that was TURKEY. These sausages are gone: Duck - GTO pork - Aubrey DOG - Chorizo - Pepperette and Jerky. No pot pies (then again they may add them back in the fall with the weather change), Haggis.

I am not going to go on further but to summarize it looks like the pricing is the same but more some more labour intensive things are out and a few things that were specifically creations of 2 of the chef's.

@ aba_bab BTW, EVEN with the updates, I see that short ribs ARE there on the price list. They may not have had them at the time BUT according to their own website, they still carry them.

Looks like they're at it again; C$89 for C$200 Worth of Fresh Meat and Game
www.groupon.com

This time the terms and conditions seem to be well laid out. The shop has a decent system for the coupons worked out that is quite user friendly. They seem to have figured out the difference in order fluctuation (as there is meat in the cases, though I expect a bit of a hick-up for a few weeks after the latest promotion.) If you've been in the store recently you'll see that is obvious that they bought a brand new freezer.

And once again a new coupon today. $89 for $200. can buy up to 10 coupons, no expiry data, pre-order for orders over $50. available on YourCityDeals.

And another coupon today.

I just went down with one of my original Kahoot coupons and they had a sign up that said they are not accepting coupons from Oct 3rd through 10th. I told the guy (who I think is the new owner) that this is not in my terms and conditions and I was pretty sure he was not allowed to do that, but he brushed it off.

I am not impressed. I'm contacting Kahoot for a refund on my unused coupons.

To zymurgist - did you get a refund? That email someone posted above for the Kahoot coupon, I never got it even though I purchased the deal. I tried to get my money back because all these extra conditions is making it extremely difficult to redeem the last of my coupons. I asked for a refund, and they said no because they claim they sent an email that clarified the terms and I had the opportunity to get a refund at that time. I never got any such email, and if that email above is their clarification, it does not cover all the new terms. And it still doesn't say anything about their $50 walk-in limit. I am so fed up with both Kahoot and Aubrey's. Aubrey's said it is Kahoot's fault for not sending the proper terms and conditions. Kahoot says Aubrey's has to rectify the situation. I know I will never buy anything from Kahoot again since they do not stand behind their coupons!! They say on their voucher they stand by their coupons with their 100% satisfaction guarantee.. but if you don't use your coupons within 7 days, you are stuck!!

They never even replied to me

Kahoot's office is in Kanata. It used to be in the TCS building on Terry Fox, but that has since turned into Ericsson. I am sure they haven't moved far. Seems to me customer service that poor deserves a little face to face time.

If there are a lot of people stuck with bad kahoot coupons (which i'm assuming there are!) we should all go pay them a visit together!

guys...their prices are outrageous!!! even w/ the coupon the numbers don't work....i can't believe people pay those prices?!?!

WHOA i didn't know they weren't honouring coupons.. whats going on here guys. Mine are kahoot from March.. think I'm sunk too?

@New User 371. Prices make sense on the Prime rib steak, tbone. Which is all I buy from them. Chicken and other products are way overpriced.

Ravi, what is their price on Prime Rib and T-Bone? And where is it sourced?

EDIT; T-Bone is $26.99 per pound according to their online price list aubreysmeats.ca

At Mr Beef Store it is $10/lb if you buy 5 lbs, and that is absolutely local beef from surrounding communities. mrbeefstore.com/

Zym, Thanks for the link. Will keep for reference! It looks like a great place to source other meats and items.. Have you bought from them before.

With regards to Aubreys. My coupons are 70% off. So a 26.99/lb ends up costing me 8.10/lb. Which is some 20% cheaper than the MrBeef pricing.

Even at their current discounts at 60% you're at 10.80/lb and you get to pick the thickness of your cuts etc. I get larger steaks than the Ms. does.

So any idea if they're no longer honoring my March coupons from Kahoot?

Oh, you meant with the coupon - OK. I think they are still honouring those coupons - though I have not tried in some time

As far as I know, they're still honouring the first coupons. I still have some and I last used mine sometime in december with no problem. There's no expiration on them (IIRC) and while they've been imposing post-hoc restrictions, I've never had a problem picking up a steak or two with it. I'll see if that changes when I try again in the upcoming weeks.

I've not had a problem using the coupons. I emailed an order and could only get there Saturday, but it was no problem.
As far as the product being expensive, I don't find too much difference from other butchers.
I bought the coupon to use it for items that I couldn't readily get at the grocery store. veal bones, lamb shanks, brisket. I was going to get osso buco, but TnT had a good price on those a while ago and I stocked up.
My coupon was $39. for $109 bought in the spring.
I certainly feel that I got my money's worth.

Solstice, yes you're at 65% off. So if its something you normally purchase for those prices then its a great deal. Stuff that doesn't make sense and I don't buy there is the pork and chicken. I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts at farm boy for 2.99/lb or 3.99/lb and stock up at sale time

you're right about that Ravi. Just a note, I have been buying bone in chicken breasts that come on sale quite frequently. They probably work out to the same price as boneless, but the bone in chicken is certainly more moist and has better flavour just imo. The cooking is the same just a little longer.

I did not realize there was issues w the Aubreys coupons?
I still have 3 coupons from them.

I usually buy chicken there and some of the roasted chicken.
The roasted chickens are huge and good, but kind of pricey at $20+ for one bird.''

maybe I better redeem my coupons soon.

Site now says no more coupons will be accepted until may 1st. Now if you read the whole story, you'll see they've been running a ponzi scheme to survive.. So unless there's some sort of miracle. We're never going to be able to cash them in.

I don't think anyone is surprised.

Here is the link to the letter aubreysmeats.ca/About_Us.html

OK, this is where I tell some stories about their meat ... been biting my tongue for quite some time

To the best of my knowledge all of their pork comes from my former employer. The pork which they do get from there is not bad pork by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not what they are billing it to be. A very good friend of mine bought one of the original coupons and went in there to buy stuff shortly thereafter, and asked them about the pork. The person working there swore up and down that it was Organic. My friend drilled me on this and I guess it may be the case that they have 2 suppliers for their pork, but I do know that my former employer supplied a great deal of it so I have a hard time imagining that. The pork they get from my former employer is not organic and not even close.

My friend went back a few weeks later after talking with me, and he decided to drill them again on it. At that time he was told that it was not organic but was given some other story. I believe it was either from him or from someone else on this site where I heard someone say they were told by an employee that it was "from local farmers, which is better". Well, technically it is relatively local - I think it is down in Chesterville where the pork auctions are held, and it is primarily farmers from a 200km or so radius who auction their pork there. It is standard "factory schlock" as I call it. Raised in huge pork barns. Treated really terribly as is the pork you buy at supermarkets. No different at all. The injuries that are incurred by those animals by nature of the way they are raised is truly incredible. I saw it every day on the block. Again, speaking only of the pork they obtain from my former employer.

The "famous bacon" sold at Aubrey's is from my former employer. You can buy it at 1/3 the price there. There was an article about Aubrey's in one of the local papers about 18 or 24 months ago or so ago where they talked about "our famous bacon" without saying who actually made it. Let's just say that raised a few eyebrows at my former employer's.

I have every reason to believe that not all the meat there is what they claim it to be. Some of it surely may be. But nowhere near all of it.

For the record, I still buy supermarket pork, and definitely buy it from my former employer because the prices are so good and the people there really know what they are doing. But I don't have any grand illusions about it. I know what I am buying and I'm good with that.

p.s. I have 2 original coupons and it looks like I'll be losing my money. I bought them before I started working at my former employer's. I would not have bought them knowing the above.

I had narrowed my Aubrey's purchases to only the bacon. What would you recommend?.

Pug... Buy it from his former employer :)

I think I have 3-4 coupons. ugh.

I should have eaten like a king over the last year.

Veal, lamb.. damnit.

I recommend you accept your loss on the coupons (as I have) and find another butcher. Let them die with dignity. There is certainly no dignity remaining based on the level of detail in the information that hipfunkyfun posted above. That writing only underscores to me just how messy this situation is. Wow.

In my not so humble opinion their prices are extremely inflated based solely on their location.

As for my loss on the coupons - I'm honestly not the least bit bitter about it. Piss in a bucket really. What I don't like is seeing people being misled and it has been so painful over this last year biting my tongue on this. Now that they are defacto out of business I don't see a point in biting my tongue any further.

I lost nothing but I still don't have any bacon. ;-)

I don't want to mention my former employer's name simply because I don't want them to be dragged into the Aubrey's mess and be implicated somehow in it all.

I'll send you a PM with their name. Get your bacon there.

Most regular users here probably already know who that is.

Only $4.73 left on my original $55 coupon.

Oh well ... the duck breasts were good.

I still have 50$ on my card and one 200$ groupon left. I've just emailed groupon, Ill report back if they accept to refund me...

It's unclear to me from the letter whether they are refusing to honor any coupons or just limiting them to $50 day on preorder. Guess we will soon find out. I think it's probably a wash for us, as we have used most of our original coupons. And reading that letter up on the website makes me feel like I know WAY too much about only one side of the Aubrey's situation.

Suffice it to say, this butcher has gone to crap since the Aubrey family left the business.

I'm really surprised at the letter, I wouldn't think it would be their best interest legally to post something like that.

Okay, I'll throw in my two cents (not a Kahoot coupon).

When I saw the second coupon notification here I figured something was up. Nobody can afford to do this again and again and again. I didn't put much thought into it beyond that, but I knew it couldn't possibly work out. It just didn't make any sense. The store had been there for many years and had a fairly decent reputation, so they couldn't be doing it for advertising new business. I knew that something was going on and I wanted no part of it. Now, I only go into the Market area about twice a year, so it wasn't something I'd be interested in anyway, but there you go.

Maybe I got overcharged at two cents.

CBC News is interested in doing a story on the perils of coupons, both for retailers and customers.

We would like to speak to anyone who has had experiences of any kind with Aubrey's discount coupons.

If you fit the bill, please drop me an email at evan.dyer@cbc.ca or a call at 613-795-5452 (cell) or 613-288-6476 (office).

Thanks

Evan, It would appear Kahoot is now telling people that they will not do anything to help resolve this issue. You may wish to get their statement, and ask how they sold over 200k in one deal alone and are abandoning their clients. Consider that they made over 100k profit on that first sale, they had many other sales as did other coupon sites. They generally take 50% of the sale value.

I'm sure many people will not be buying from Kahoot again. I recently bought a coupon from another site Teambuy, the company providing the service went under. Teambuy provided a refund immediately.

Given the likely legal issues with the kiting,ponzi scheme that Aubreys was running. Kahoot's knowledge of these issues may make them liable.

Surprised? Not entirely. Frustrated? Yes.

I bought two of the very first Kahoot deal ($55 for $175). After they kept releasing new deals, I knew something was up. Their letter hit some nails on the head -- there were stock problems, new conditions introduced onto coupons which had none (whoever's fault that was is irrelevant). Service was not what I had expected it to be either as I once asked to buy chuck and have it freshly ground and was told that they had minced beef... this was not what I had hoped for from a butcher shop.

That being said, the coupon limitations never really affected me and the product shortages could happen to anyone. However, I now have $132 in product left and I will potentially be moving out of the city come summer and I can't redeem the coupon? I've put up with all the other inconveniences because Aubrey's did in fact become the place to get cheap meat. Nothing else about it set it apart in any positive way so I long ago concluded that had this been an advertising strategy, it would be unsuccessful in my eyes and I would not return after using the coupon. As a single-eater household, $350 of meat is a lot and I bought so much only because there was no expiry date. But if neither Aubrey's or Kahoot are going to offer any sort of recompense then I think the former has done more to hurt themselves with these deals than anything else. The road to hell is paved with... something something.

Oh and the bacon from my former employer is definitely NOT nitrate free

Article from yesterday on CBC.ca

www.cbc.ca

I just checked out the CBC article and apparently the sign indicates that they're not accepting gift cards either. Now -- the questionable legality of the groupon thing aside -- isn't this just blatantly illegal? I think they ended up giving some people gift cards with the voucher amounts on them, but what about people who purchased gift cards qua gift cards? (If anyone did such a thing?).

The more I think about it, the more ridiculous the whole thing is. Whichever of the coupon sites is the first to step up and make a gesture of customer service would certainly make them a preferred site in my books. I don't know that they should be responsible for a full refund but a partial refund or even a site credit could go a long way in a case like this as a sign of good faith by at least one of the parties. Sadly, I know that it won't be Kahoot so I'm out of luck.

I second the comment about not accepting giftcards. Pretty sure there's provincial legislation covering those and that they're pretty much like cash.

For those of you who won't get a refund from Kahoot or others, maybe try your credit card provider? If enough people make claims that way, maybe Kahoot will wisen up.

Another option is complaining to the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services.

In so many ways, this is a sad story. Passion and respect have to be combined with solid business sense. Aubrey's basically refinanced the business using Kahoot's coupons. This has the effect of creating a very high interest loan to finance old debt. These coupons are only useful in a very controlled fashion with a business plan to manage the revenue hit to account for the marketing expense. Unfortunately, these discounters are marketing themselves to small businesses whose desperate owners jump at a short-term infusion of cash without counting the cost of the lost revenue despite increased expenses.

It was recommended to other business owners on another forum I read to use these coupons as the last round of financing before you go out of business. It is one of the few ways that this makes these coupons useful for food-related businesses.

Groupon has refunded me without any problem...

That CBC article is pretty sad..
"We've done well, the meat is great," said Lussier. "But it's still disappointing, I have four kids. I'll go to Wal-Mart to get some meat I guess."

WTF? Buying meat at walmart?

Note that the key line in the letter has been changed:

"While we still intend to honor every single coupon sold, me must limit these purchases, regardless of a pre-order, to $50 a day."

(From: "All coupons/gift cards are suspended until May 1st.
While we still intend to honor every single coupon sold, me must limit these purchases, regardless of a pre-order, to $50 a day.")

I am guessing that they figured out they couldn't legally refuse gift cards.

Now if only they would also edit out all the uncomfortable, too-personal details in the rest of the letter..

www.aubreysmeats.ca

For you geeks :-)

user@ubuntu-desktop:~/aubreys$ diff aubreys1.txt aubreys2.txt
23d22
< All coupons/gift cards are suspended until May 1st.
39d37
<

Frankly I find Aubrey's practices highly suspect. They have been issuing coupons repeatedly for many months. If it was costing them money then why didn't they stop? If they knew that they wouldn't be able to honour them then why didn't they set a far lower limit on the number of coupons being offered? I hate to say it, but this smells like outright fraud!

I am left holding $200 in gift cards and coupons that they have decided not to honour until May. As someone else put it, either Aubrey can refund my money or the coupon company should, but it is wrong that hardworking honest people should be left holding the bag for unscrupulous business practices.

ECK

As per Yan's message above, Groupon sent this straightforward and hassle-free response to our request for a refund:

Hi - ,

Sorry for the trouble. I just issued you a full refund and removed this Groupon from your account. Please allow up to 10 business days for this to be reflected on your statement.

Regards,

John S
Groupon Customer Support

I'm glad people have been successful with Groupon. As noted above, here's the actual text which I received from Kahoot:

"Yes we have been made aware of these unfortunate circumstances regarding Aubrey's. Unfortunately we are unable to refund vouchers outside of 7 days after purchase (see ottawa.kahoot.ca/return-policy). If interested in a refund, we suggest going directly to Aubrey's as they are now liable for their commitment to honor all vouchers sold.

From what we are told they are experiencing some problems and have decided to put off accepting the vouchers, even though contractually bound to accept them. This being said, they are still accepting the vouchers after May 1st, and the convenient thing is they never expire!

We are doing our very best to have them comply, but unfortunately situations like these are a little outside of our control, but as stated on our site, we will do everything in our power to have our merchants co-operate!

We thank you for your patience and understanding through this"

About what I expected. Don't buy from Kahoot; they won't stand behind their partners or products.

Dealfind just refunded my Aubrey's voucher.

People, we have the power! The internet and indeed Ottawa Foodies are key tools for getting the word out - both good and bad.

I too have coupons from Kahoot, which refuses to refund even though they took my money. On the other hand, Groupon was quick to respond they would refund.

Seems to me that it shouldn't take much to petition/protest/shame Kahoot into doing thw right thing. After all we live in the Twitter, Facebook, blog era of instant communications!

ECK

i already tweeted "Dear @kahootcanada, you suck - " and a link to the CBC article where all the other ones are refunding but not kahoot

I sent kahoot a message too, asking them whether the rumors that, unlike Groupon, they were indeed refusing to refund. Haven't heard back yet.

FWIW, Kahoot refunded me the coupons back in June and it was hassle free.

Check out article in today's Metro newspaper
www.metronews.ca
Kahoot comes across like they really will try but I like nmost of you very much doubt it
I too received the standard reply

"Yes we have been made aware of these unfortunate circumstances regarding Aubrey's. Unfortunately we are unable to refund vouchers outside of 7 days after purchase
"
I agree with ECK above
Don't forget to post a comment after reading the articleand any everywhere else.

Kahoot gave me the same response. Won't buy from Kahoot any more.

Speaking of "Aubrey's famous bacon".

they refused the ingredient list to me, telling me in a very badly spelled email that they would let me know the ingredients and did not have that handy??

I can not eat meats w phosphates or nitrites and buy bacon that does not have that.

I usually get bacon from Bank st sausage, or from the food co-op where there is the ingredients listed on the packages. or Natural Food pantry has some "smoked pork something" from the US that is very similar to bacon if you cook it long enough.

Will Kahoot at least give a credit?

I know a few weeks ago I did get a credit for a deal I could not use.
hoping they at least do that.

What Aubrey's has done by selling these coupons and then refusing to honour them is just plain fraud. They knew or ought to have known that selling over $500,000.00 worth of meat coupons at a discount when they couldn't even pay the bills for the product they sold at the regular price was going to end up as a disaster. They took peoples hard earned money from these offerings with the sole intent of paying down debt knowing, or should reasonably have known, that they would never be able to supply the product. Instead of doing the ethical thing and closing the doors of their failed business they continued to finance the money losing venture with more offerings of discount coupons to unsuspecting customers in an ongoing ponzi scheme. Shame on you Aubrey's, you are nothing but con artists. They say the coupons will be honoured in May but they will most likely go bankrupt or reopen with a new owner before then-either way the customers will be left with worthless coupons they bought with trust from these scammers. Anyone stuck with these ponzi scheme coupons should file a report with the Ottawa police fraud division as I have.

I wonder if I could go to Aubrey's and try redeeming part of my voucher for some jams and sauces?
I wouldn't mind $50 worth of jams and sauces as I use a lot and usually give them to family as gifts (they have everything else and just like unique sauces and dips).

If I have time this week I will at least call and see what they have to say.
Not very hopefull,but still.
And would they actually refuse $25 of meats to one person??

"Anyone stuck with these ponzi scheme coupons should file a report with the Ottawa police fraud division as I have."

I think this is being a little over-dramatic. What do you think that filing a report with the police will do other than waste a bunch of police time? If Aubrey's had the money to give back to you they wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

The best thing people can do is to continue to give them their patronage in the hope that they can get back on their feet and get into a position to be able to honour the outstanding commitments. A witch hunt against them, regardless of the rights or wrongs of how the whole situation has come about, only stands to make it less likely that anyone sees anything out of it at the other end.

What happened to supporting the local butcher? Aubrey's meat was at least local. I called a few other butcher around the area and no their food wasn't local, beef from alberta, and they admitted they their product has antibiotics.

I like the quality from Aubrey's, when Idon't have access to farmers markets in the winter.

primalfoodgod: you can get beef from O'Brien in winter in a few butcheries and this other guy does deliveries: www.totallynaturalbeef.ca/

Mr.beef also delivers or you can pick it up there in Pakenham

Fitzroy Beef Farmers also drop off in Ottawa

PrimalFoodie Girl - how can you trust anything Aubrey's tells you about their meat? I have already citied several cases where they seem to be clearly lying about it.

Ask them whether their bacon has nitrates. And then ask where it comes from.

If supporting the local butcher is the goal, I'd put my vote in for Brian's Butchery as well. Great people. They make me want to eat more meat so that I can give them more money.

I really like the last paragraph at the bottom of the O'Brien web page that says that they love and respect their farming neighbours and they should be supported, too. That's totally classy.

You can order beef and chicken and bison and other meats from Marche Outaouais MRSO- it is the Quebec food co-op.

you pick up your weekly orders on Thurs or Fri.
prices and info is online or I can post when I am free.

That's odd Momomoto - when I asked Brian's they said their beef comes from Alberta. Except for the dry-aged stuff that is from O'Briens - but that is the minority of what they sell.

That was admittedly some time ago - 2 years maybe?

Anything changed since then?

Does anyone happen to know where La Maison Bisson in Gatineau source their beef?

They've changed the letter again -- again, with TMI, in my opinion: www.aubreysmeats.ca

ISN’T THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH A WONDERFUL THING!

First let us thank you for your support and truly apologize for all the ill feeling this has created.

We understand the frustration; it was not the intention of any one at Aubrey’s, pass or present to have this happen, to all our clients old and new we are doing everything we can to make sure you do not lose money.

The interview with the TV stations did not say what we had wanted then to, this is apparent by the amount comments that are all over the web. However, some good came of it, clients that have been loyal to the store forever returned because they knew there would be product and no one insulting/threating the staff and the good service would be there. Thank you for that.

The original KAHOOT coupon was the root of this problem. We did not have the time to figure out how we would manage it before it was up and live. We had requested it to be posted after March break 2011. We were assured by the sales rep from Kahoot not to worry they would support us if we ran into a cash flow problem, and we all know how that went. We basically put Kahoot on the map. The second one we did with Kahoot, we were told it was for charity, (sens foundation) we have requested a statement of that transaction, and however, we are still waiting.

The funds from the original deal (KAHOOT) were indeed used to pay the city, (bad call maybe so) if we did not, the store would have been closed. Mr. Kennelly did not want that to happen, out of love and respect for him we struggled to keep his passion alive. Now we pay the price. All other coupons were used for the daily supplies required to maintain the inventory to meet your demand. Kahoot did not put any limitations on their coupon.

After the rent was paid up to date the store was going to be sold to Catherine, at which time a lease would have been obtained, and proper financing would have been put into place. (NOT COUPONS) banks need some guarantee as we all know. This started in May, Brian passed away the store has no lease, no ownership, now we need time to get everything in order. We love the store and want to be there for years to come.

With positive support we will make that happen, we have investors waiting to invest.

At the end of the day coupons are not the way to go in this industry. However, we have met some wonderful people that we would not have otherwise. Thank you. No matter how hard we tried we always came up short. We were assured by the Coupon companies that if we put a limit on how much you could redeem on a daily basis each client would spend an extra $10-$20 this would give us the required cash flow for the next order. That was not always the case; we have had to take two chicken wings out of a bag to make the total under $50.00. For those of you that did help us with that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

At this time all coupons/gift cards are suspended until May 1st 2012.

The store is not going to go bankrupt. If we are not given a lease by the City of Ottawa that will be the only way it will close. We have too much of our own hard earned dollars invested.

It is our intention to make sure you do not lose any money. With that being said, if you don’t want to wait until May, most of the Companies are issuing refunds. We have records of all transactions; the company will be confirming the balance lift on your coupon/gift card with us.

See you in May

Catherine

They need someone to handle their PR. Clearly they've never learned the "don't JADE (justify, argue, defend, explain)" rule in apologizing.

As I posted elsewhere today, this is what their original letter SHOULD have said (or something similar, in any case):

"We're sorry.

We participated in group buying schemes without fully understanding the impact it would have on our business and our loyal customers. We are restructuring our finances and ownership to serve you better and ask for your patience while we determine how to move forward.

We will be unable to accept any coupons until May 1st. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding at this difficult time."

The details and drama open it up to far more speculation than a simple, straight-forward apology to customers and coupon holders would, IMO.

On the other hands, it kind of explains why Kahoot isn't providing refunds...

The tone of whining, casting blame on Kahoot, invoking the name of their departed founder etc. and generally not accepting responsibility does not leave a favorable impression of current management. It just makes me not want to deal with a company as "icky" as Aubrey's at all any more.

Zymurgist - It may not have changed; it's just that I haven't bought any beef from them that wasn't dry-aged!

"I think this is being a little over-dramatic. What do you think that filing a report with the police will do other than waste a bunch of police time? If Aubrey's had the money to give back to you they wouldn't be in this position in the first place." -Johnny English

I don't expect to ever see my money or the meat from Aubrey's and if you think it's over dramatic to have the police investigate what appears to be a fraud then you probably also think it was a waste of police time prosecuting Bernie Madoff since he didn't have the money to give back to the people he robbed either. If Aubrey's had done just 1 or 2 coupon offerings and, after seeing they were a disaster, stopped at that I might feel different. Instead they kept pumping out more and more coupons to raise money to pay for the last ones. That's what Madoff did and it's called a ponzi scheme. It's illegal and that's what the police fraud division is there for. I don't really care what sob story they give as an excuse-it changes nothing. If you think that just because they are a local business and have no management skills or ethics that we should donate money to keep them afloat then get in touch with me. I'm a local painter and a little behind on my bills so I'd like to sell you a coupon for 70% off a $1000 paint job. I promise to do the job as soon as I can afford the supplies unless I sell the business or go bankrupt first. So what do you say-I'm local and can really use the cash.

Further response from Kahoot after I asked why they weren't offering Groupon style refunds. Their answer follows:

"As you can imagine every company is different. The reasoning behind of refund policy is to ensure prompt payment to our merchants, where companies like Groupon pay their merchants slowly over the course of 6 or so month, we pay our merchants within 10 days of their feature. We do this to help them cope with cash flow issues arising from the flash sale of a large amount of vouchers.

Although, it may not seem that one policy is better than the other, we find our policy works for everyone, including our merchants, as we set out to not only support the great people of Ottawa, but also those hard working individuals that run our favorite businesses here in town.

Hope this clarifies things a little for you!"

@New User 4501

I'm not arguing the rights and wrongs of what Aubreys have done, I'm just asking what good you think it will do to report it to the police. Do you believe that this was purely an exercise in attempting to liberate you of your money without planning to ever give you anything in return? Or do you think it was a rather naive and desperate attempt to keep a longstanding Ottawa business afloat?

If the former, go ahead and report it. You still won't achieve anything other than wasting a bunch of police time because unless you think they're sitting on a big pile of cash laughing at you, what are you hoping to achieve? I'm rather more inclined to believe the latter though, in which case you're wasting your time, you're wasting the police's time, and you're hammering another nail into Aubrey's coffin at your expense and theirs.

It's a poor situation they've got themselves into, and it has caused them immeasurable harm. I'm not defending their actions. But you're doing absolutely nothing to resolve it for you or them, and if you actually have reported them to the police then you're making it worse for everyone to absolutely no potential benefit of anyone.

So yes, you're being over dramatic - and that's being generous. To call it a ponzi scheme and compare it to Madoff is frankly crass. You lost fifty bucks trying to get yourself a good deal, and you might not even have lost it anyway. You're just doing your best to, it seems.

Aubreys seems to have bought into the "deal" or "coupon" stuff. It seems you should check out the discount offer (Kahoots, Dealfind, Groupon, whoever...) and try to get your due reward...the fine print may leave you lost. Good luck to all those who can't cash in. I bought one and used it but I have to say the quality of the tenderloin I got was ok but the price was high and the hassle was not worth it. Said it before...no more coupons.

My two cents since I started this thread: I bought 3 coupons on the initial deal, gave one to my Dad and then saw the deal repeat itself endlessly. That made me suspicous for two reasons: one, I wondered why they were trying to raise so much cash and two, I doubted that they could source that quantity of locally reared, pastured meat.

I make that statement based on the fact that I have been buying meat exclusively from local farmers for the past 5 years, and almost everyone I deal with has a backlog. It's been 2 years now since I've been able to get a side of Tamworth pork, my beef farmer has had a 6-8 month backlog on his orders and I have to put in orders a few months ahead of time for chickens. Lamb I am able to get fairly easily but lamb is far less popular.

Given these backlogs and the limited number of local farmers raising pastured product, there is no way that Aubreys could fulfil a half million dollars worth of orders at discounted prices. For that reason alone I decided not to use the coupons as I did not believe they were being sourced as promised. A previous post from someone who worked for a factory butcher that supplied pork to Aubreys would seem to confirm this. My first instinct was to ask Kahoot for a refund but reports on this forum discouraged me from wasting my time. :(

@Johnny English

Either you are not aware of the scope of what Aubrey,s did, are affiliated with Aubrey’s in some way or completely delusional. I’ll assume it’s the former and give you the facts.
Over a 9 month period they had 16 different coupon offerings with the last one done just 8 weeks before they started refusing to honor them.
They sold nearly 12,000 vouchers using at least 10 different marketing companies.
The sales of these vouchers totaled close to $800,000 and had a value of nearly $1,900,000 worth of meat.

Do you honestly believe that they were just naïve? Do you really believe they thought that selling 12,000 vouchers was an attempt to bring in some new customers? Can you possibly imagine they were ever intending on delivering 1.9 million dollars worth of product when they couldn’t even pay the rent or their suppliers? After looking at these numbers do you still think its “crass” to compare them to any other ponzi scheme? If so perhaps my first assumption was incorrect.

Aubrey’s is toast and for those of us left holding Kahoot vouchers, the money is gone. The companies that did refund the vouchers will most certainly pursue Aubrey’s for breach of contract to recover those monies and the chance of them surviving is next to nil.

So what’s the point of reporting this to the police for investigation? A failing butcher shop in Toronto did this very thing last year. After collecting all the cash from the voucher sales they stopped accepting them, closed the shop and subsequently opened a new shop across the street. If nobody ever reports this type of fraud there will never be any deterrent to stop other failing businesses from doing this. They know that landlords and suppliers will pursue them in court for monies owed but the thousands of people left with worthless vouchers will be just like you and say “ You lost fifty bucks trying to get yourself a good deal, and you might not even have lost it anyway.” Oh well.
Wake up and smell the beef. File a police report and let them determine if it’s worthy of further investigation.

After thinking it over a little bit more, I wrote the following email to Kahoot. In hindsight, the use of the word 'entitled' may have been a little much, but I think the point stands. I haven't heard back from them since last Wednesday. If any of you haven't contacted them at all yet, maybe try this approach and let me know where it gets you (probably nowhere). I knew I wouldn't have purchased one of these things without some sort of return policy...:

While I was ready to accept that this would be the end of my attempts to receive something from Kahoot, I just revisited the actual voucher which I received last year. The text on the voucher states:

"Our 100% Guarantee If you are ever dissatisfied with anything you purchase, we will refund 100% of your money back. Click Here or browse to www.kahoot.ca/return-policy to find out more".

While this is certainly different from the current return policy, it seems more in line with what was on Kahoot's website on Sept. 14, 2010, a few months before the Aubrey's deal. (Cached page available at: web.archive.org). The policy posted at the time (possibly not in March of 2011, I admit) was that coupons would be refunded in full or a Kahoot.ca credit would be provided in the instance of an unsatisfactory experience. I believe that, despite the merchant's inability to honour the voucher at this time, Kahoot had also provided a guarantee which it is currently not honouring. If you disagree with this claim, then please provide to me the terms posted on Kahoot's website at the time this deal was available so that I can confirm exactly what, if anything, I am entitled to.

And the letter has changed once more -- surprised? No? Me either. LOL

[quote]ISN’T THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH A WONDERFUL THING!

First let us thank you for your support and truly apologize for all the ill feeling this has created.

We understand the frustration. It was not the intention of anyone at Aubrey’s, past or present, to have this happen. To all our clients old and new, we are doing everything we can to make sure you do not lose money.

The store is not going to go bankrupt. The only way Aubrey’s will close is if we are not given a permanent lease by the City of Ottawa. We have too much of our own hard earned dollars invested.

The interview with the TV stations did not say what we had wanted them to. This is apparent by the amount of comments which are all over the internet. However, some good came of it. Clients whom had been loyal to the store returned for the great service to which they had become accustomed and they knew there would be product available. Thank you for that.

The original KAHOOT coupon was the root of this problem. We had requested it to be posted after March break 2011 to give us time to figure out how we would manage it. KAHOOT did not put any limitations (fine print) on their coupon. We were assured by the sales representative from KAHOOT not to worry; they would support us if we ran into a cash flow problem. We all know how that went. We were told the second coupon with KAHOOT was for charity, (SENS foundation). We have requested a statement of that transaction. However, we are still waiting.

The funds from the original deal (KAHOOT) were indeed used to pay the city (Bad call? Maybe). If we did not, the store would have closed. Mr. Kennelly did not want that to happen, so out of love and respect for him, we struggled to keep his passion alive. Now we are paying the price. All other coupons were used for the daily supplies required to maintain the inventory to meet your demand.

By May, the rent was paid up to date and the store was to be sold to Catherine, at which time a lease would have been obtained, and proper financing (not coupons) would have been put into place. Banks need some guarantee as we all know. Unfortunately, Brian passed away before terms could be agreed upon. The store is on a month-to-month lease, but it has no ownership. We love the store and want it to be there for years to come. In order for this to happen, we need an owner. A proper valuation of the store is required, so at this time all coupons/gift cards are suspended until May 1st 2012.

With positive support we will make that happen; we have investors waiting to invest.

At the end of the day coupons are not the way to go in this industry. No matter how hard we tried, we always came up short. We were assured by the coupon companies that if we put a limit on how much could be redeemed on a daily basis, each client would spend an extra $10-$20, giving us the required cash flow for the next order. That was not always the case; we have had to take two chicken wings out of a bag to make the total under $50.00. For those of you that did help us with that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We have met some wonderful people that we would not have met otherwise.

It is our intention to make sure you do not lose any money. With that being said, if you don’t want to wait until May, most of the coupon companies are issuing refunds. We have records of all transactions; the company will be confirming the balance remaining on your coupon/gift card with us.

See you in May.

The staff at Aubrey’s [/quote]

Sounds like Aubury with the owner out sick last spring, did not know enough about the profitability of the business to figure out if the coupons could work for them or against them.

They needed cash for rent to the city and took the promise of easy cashflow from the coupon deal not realizing the implication and impact on future business and profits. when they needed more, they extended deals or did new deals to raise cash. If the store was to be sold to Catherine by May but she need financing, who would be liable for the prepayments the coupon represented that need to be paid back in terms of products? Sounds like someone needed some training on finances of running a business.

One thing I don't understand, why would someone do a deal for Sens foudation if they are having cash flow and profitability issues? Charity is good but you need your own house in order first.

Update on coupons (from the Aubrey's Contact Us page today):

"Notice to all Aubrey’s Meats Inc. coupon holders:

This notification is meant to clarify the outstanding issue of coupons which were put on hold January 17th, 2012. It is the intent of the current owner of Aubreys, without legal obligation, to accommodate all of our past and present clients who bought coupons for purchases at Aubrey’s Meats Inc. between March 2011 and December 2011 in the following manner:

We will start redeeming coupons as of May 1st on Wednesdays and Thursdays only.
All purchases will be 1 for 1 with no exceptions. If you purchase $50 worth of product, $25.00 will be on your coupon and $25.00 will be paid in cash/ debit/credit card, up to $100 total per day.
All original coupons must be presented even if it was transferred to a gift card.
There will be absolutely NO cash refunds.

Thank you"

Thanks refashionista. I've been wondering what their next weasel move would be.

I stopped by today to attempt to get a refund, as Kahoot said I had to deal specifically with Aubrey's.

They said they are now known as Aubrey's Meats Inc. (Instead of just Aubrey's Meats) because the owner had changed. Slimy ways of doing business. The employee kept changing her story though, because when I pointed out the signage sais Aubrey's Meats, she said they hadnt yet changed it over.

Horrible way of doing business.

Ugh. What a joke. Kahoot won't respond to emails and doesn't have a phone number that ever actually connects to anyone; Aubrey's apparently has no idea how to run a business. What's the point of including terms and conditions on anything if all issuing parties unilaterally void them? This is ridiculous.

50% on the coupon and 50% in cold hard cash? Let's do the math. If I buy a $20 steak, then I have to pay $10. Given the discount offered on the coupon, I've paid in another 3.14 already. So while the initial, advertised, agreed-upon deal would've seen me spend about $6.20 for the steak, now it'll cost me $13.14?

There's nothing wrong with paying full price, but this is a bait and switch that will also cause it to take twice as long for me to use my coupons. I'll probably just burn them unless somebody here wants them, although I think they're cursed and I wouldn't wish that upon you.

The name change is completely legal - take it up with your government.

Look what GM did over the last 3 or 4 years - the old company held onto all the toxic assets and its stocks went to zero. The new company took all the best parts of the old company and moved forward. A little slight of hand and away we go - standard operating procedure in Corporate Canada

The ponzi scheme they undertook is not legal.

The idiots should have done this sort of coupon deal from the get go to make financial sense.

I have four coupons left.. and I'll be paying pretty much retail pricing *due to their inflated prices* at the discount.

Keep in mind, they are going to charge tax on top of the full 100 purchase as well.

So, 100purchase = 113. Of which 50$ you paid 15$ for (if you got the 70% off ones) plus the other 50 they're making you pay now. = 78bucks. Or. 63$ out of pocket, when you'd have been able to obtain the full purchase fulfilled by the coupon before.

Somewhat like a kick in the teeth. If you are daft and normally shop at aubreys, (we've learned they lie about the source of their meats, claim bacon and pork is organic when its not..etc) (Not to mention higher retail pricing than other sources, huge difference if you buy your AAA/top grade meat on sale and stockpile it.) Then this is still a savings.. your savings are approximately 35% over their normal pricing.. or zilch compared to other butchers or sales on meats like Sterling Silver AAA T-Bone @ Sobey's for 6.99/lb. Aubreys price on T-Bone is 12.24/lb, and they charge extra for the porterhouse cuts, Sobey's doesn't.

Anyways, I'll have to use the coupons for non-standard purchases. I would frankly prefer to have my money back..

There is a valid and completely solid case to sue kahoot. There's proof that their policy was changed, and that they did provide people refunds on these aubreys coupons. But who wants to bother? It would teach them a lesson, but I learned recently that principles can be costly.

No the Ponzi scheme is probably not legal but nothing you can do since the company who did that is gone now.

Kahoot , sent me an email saying they will refund my &$@/)($& ...aubrey,s coupon
My business will never go to Aubrey's after this

I have tried writing to Kahoot again to see if they will issue a refund. I will let you all know! Last time I asked they said it was between the company and I.

I see an underlying message here that it is usually businesses that are in trouble financially trying to get cash quickly, getting involved with the Groupons et al.

The slew of businesses not honoring coupons grows daily all around the world. Groupon U.K has been suspended by the government while they try to untangle the mess it has left behind for the honest Joe who wants to get a good deal, only to find they were duped into giving over their hard earned money, getting nothing in return except false claims etc.

Lesson learnt! Do your homework on businesses before buying their "Great Deals."

Well there you go - just like I said - new owners, new company, no obligation. And the new owners are saying as much

www.ottawacitizen.com

IMO they are crazy keeping the same name and same location.

It interests me that the new owners kept the name ("without the apostrophe"). You would really only do that if there was equity in the name and as a reassurance to the customers of a continuity of service. In both instances the name Aubrey's does not have equity or equate with good service. So now we wonder why they did ...

Well, presumably because the vast majority of customers are people who didn't buy coupons and therefore frankly don't know or care about the whole debacle. Aubrey's has a reputation for being a good quality butcher and to change the name would be to risk losing a base of customers who know it for nothing other than that.

Anyone else get a refund offer from Kahoot?

I don't really feel like buying Veal, and lamb from these guys. While the veal I had when the deal first first started was great, the later times I had it the cuts were very poor. (The price certainly hadn't changed to reflect the crap cuts that were now being sold)

Financially, it only makes sense to purchase items you'd normally not buy at any grocery store on sale. Veal, lamb etc. Chicken and beef here is insanely overpriced, so unless you're looking for a very specific butcher cut for bbqing or the like.. there's no point overpaying or paying market rate with the vouchers.

Especially since you're required to go on wed/thurs only. While standing on one foot, hand raised, while cuukooing like a rooster.. (word is that latter bit will be in the new coupon redemption requirements)

I had about $30 left on my coupon from Kahoot and now I just threw it out. With the latest restrictions I would end up paying about twice to get 50% off and still end up paying more than I pay elsewhere. Last time I got an order of rib eyes they were thin and frankly did not taste great. I will continue to get my steaks and other beef/meat either through Fitzroy or Costco.

And kahoot is out of business, so don't expect any money back from them.

www.cbc.ca

@HFF was happy to see the wankers go.

I still haven't been to aubreys with my coupons.. I don't suppose anyone wants to buy any?

I just made use of first offer and don't know whether they have extended the offer.

I want to buy if this is still available.

I bought several coupons and only used 1 :(

So are they still alive?

Just curious ...

Ha, ha! They changed their name! Smart move (as I said above)

www.yourcornerbutcher.ca/

.... and from their "What's New Page":
"To All Our Clients re: "Coupons"
Please note that Your Corner Butcher will honour the coupons from the PREVIOUS owners at 50/50 basis."

What does this 50/50 basis mean ?

I'm curious too as I have a couple of them.

Straight from their website:
"Those still in possession of online coupons i.e. those purchased from Groupon or other online firms) need not worry. They will still be honored at a rate of 50/50 (i.e. will be used to credit half of your day's purchase) until they are exhausted."

www.yourcornerbutcher.ca

Can anyone confirm yet if they're living up to their promise?

Was looking at their meat list and I'd like to order stuff, but not if this is still going to be a sham for people :\