Golden Corral Coupon

Golden Corral Coupon

by Liv | Published on February 19th, 2008, 7:41 pm | Food

Coupon/ Discount techniques
Discovered a new method of saving a ton of money at Golden Corral without a coupon:

Show up 10 minutes before 4pm when the price changes from lunch to dinner and instantly save $2.00 per person, that over 20% off on the 9.99 buffet... and by the time they bring out the steak you'll be just finishing your salad.

Also discovered that Golden Corrals have a "Manager's Discount" button that gives 10% off even if you don't have a coupon. You just need to persuade the "manager" or associate to press it. Often they'll give it to me just as a student discount.

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I've given up the all-you-can eat thing. I'm trying to live my life with better choices but when you have two kids who put you in between a rock and a hard place, sometimes you have no choice. Case and point, the kids wanted McDonald's, we didn't. I wanted Outback, they didn't. Chance asserted "Golden Corral" that way everyone can pick what they want. Rather than argue, I said "sure..." It's a statement I would live to regret.

Don't get me wrong. We used to love Golden Corral when both the kids were under 3. They ate free, and generally the service and food were good. I must also admit, the Lawndale-Battleground location isn't our usual tromping grounds, though we have been there a few times.

Rather than having you sit through an entire critique before I get to the point... I'll give you an idea of how this meal went- by presenting you the part of it I brought home to shoot with the digital camera. Let's call is penishroom:

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Now that I have your attention. Yes, I wrapped this up in a napkin to bring home. It's a penis shaped mushroom with its hairy roots still attached. Apparently my Golden Coral vegetable preparer failed to notice that my dinner was still GROWING!

Here's some size perspective for you:

You wouldn't think a Penis shaped mushroom covered in dirt and roots would be all that big of a deal. It is forgivable, certainly.... but this occurred after sitting down, and having a server who never showed up. Meaning we had to get are own plates, got no straws, and was trying my patience when I received no complimentary bread basket.

You DON'T forget the BREAD!!!

So I set out in search of the bread. Oh... guess what? They were hiding them back behind everything. Like some bakery protection program against the hordes of school bus shaped individuals ready to stick them in their mouths. The guy looked like he was going to cry as I started building a pyramid of bread upon my plate.

It all went down hill from there. Shannon's fish was cold, the pizza was cold, the butter was some oily concoction starting to separate, and the steak was no where in sight. Who the hell is going to Golden Corral Angus Buffet, and not get steak? Finally I pleaded with the nice Mexican man who had obviously just been released from prison for a mildly cooked piece of meat. He lopped on my plate a 5LB piece of meat and fat. Success! Finally... and that my friends, was as good as it got. You see unlike "bread-boy" who is going to constantly receive a 1000 people saying "dude, where's the bread?"... Meat Felon, was smart.... he knew I wouldn't be back. It wasn't coming out of his pocket, to hook a blogga up with beef.... Nope... he was the bright one, more food for me, less work for him.

So dinner went on. I sort of stopped after the whole mushroom diabolical. I can honestly say, I won't be going back to the Lawndale-Battleground Golden Corral. Frankly, I'm generally never pushed to a level of calling a manager... because I hate it when people complain on my job... but if it wasn't for Shannon who asked I refrain from saying "do you know what website, I blog for?" to the manager.... I probably would have. We honestly should have demanded are money back. Oh well. I'll probably shoot their customer service a email, and see how they respond. I'm just hoping we don't all die from under-prepared food or something.

Just a few notes to clear up here Liv...

You get your straws when you get your drinks - at the entrance where you pay.
You get your initial set of plates - at the entrance where you pay.
Complimentary bread basket? The BREAD is on the buffet just like all the other food. This is a buffet so if you didn't get your bread then, well, I don't know what to say.

If you didn't get those items then its your own fault, NEWBIE!

Now the mushroom? I can't explain that but I would have to ask you, while at a buffet, WHY would you choose to put something that abviously didn't look good onto your plate?

As far as my experiences at GC the store on battleground has been my favorite. There have been times when I've had to wait on drink refills or extra plates but it hasn't been a pattern at all. Of all the times I've ever been there I've only had to wait on steak or rolls once, maybe twice.

I still give the place a B+

BecauseHeLives wrote:You get your straws when you get your drinks - at the entrance where you pay.

I'll admit, I can't remember, and this may be true.

BecauseHeLives wrote:You get your initial set of plates - at the entrance where you pay.

Yes, we got those... but I'm sure the government food people wouldn't be too happy with us going up for seconds on the same plate.... contaminating all the food. Luckily we were aware of this and sought are own plates to prevent disease and death.

BecauseHeLives wrote:Complimentary bread basket? The BREAD is on the buffet just like all the other food. This is a buffet so if you didn't get your bread then, well, I don't know what to say.

I've never ever had to get my initial assortment of bread.... extras, yes... but come on.... these people expect a tip for refilling your drinks? They can bring me my darn bucket o' bread.

BecauseHeLives wrote:Now the mushroom? I can't explain that but I would have to ask you, while at a buffet, WHY would you choose to put something that obviously didn't look good onto your plate?

It's in a big mushroom tray covered in mushroom juice. It's like a soup. You're not completely aware of what's in there till you scoop it out and on your plate. At that point, returning the mushroom seems a bit unappetizing to other guests I imagine.

BecauseHeLives wrote:As far as my experiences at GC the store on battleground has been my favorite. There have been times when I've had to wait on drink refills or extra plates but it hasn't been a pattern at all. Of all the times I've ever been there I've only had to wait on steak or rolls once, maybe twice.

I've been to this location one other time, and the service was better... but still wasn't up to par with the Zoo Golden Coral, down by my parents house.

Liv wrote:I've been to this location one other time, and the service was better... but still wasn't up to par with the Zoo Golden Coral, down by my parents house.

I went to the GC in Burlington a few times... clean, good service, etc... too bad Sanjuro burned it down.

Serendipitous wrote:
BecauseHeLives wrote:Just a few notes to clear up here Liv...

You get your straws when you get your drinks - at the entrance where you pay.
You get your initial set of plates - at the entrance where you pay.
Complimentary bread basket? The BREAD is on the buffet just like all the other food. This is a buffet so if you didn't get your bread then, well, I don't know what to say.

If you didn't get those items then its your own fault, NEWBIE!

Geez, BHL! Do you work there or what???

You don't attack my kid's favorite restaurant and not expect backlash!

Sanjuro wrote:
Serendipitous wrote:
Liv wrote:I've been to this location one other time, and the service was better... but still wasn't up to par with the Zoo Golden Coral, down by my parents house.

I went to the GC in Burlington a few times... clean, good service, etc... too bad Sanjuro burned it down.

Yeah, with my disdain of all things "trough-y"

I'm still certain the sneeze guards are just for looks and they don't do a damn thing for the little boys and girls with snotty faces and hands, sticking those hands in everything... whose parents are too busy slopping their own plates instead of fixing plates for their little nosepickers. Of course, it's not just the kids... Here at work today, I visited the loo and someone who was in there before me LEFT WITHOUT WASHING HANDS! bleeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh

Employees washing hands in the bathroom is just for show. Restaurants that understand anything about food safety require their employees to wash in the kitchen hand sink after coming from the bathrooms - even IF they washed their hands in the bathroom. You can wash your hands in the bathroom but as soon as you touch a doorknob its all for naught.

POST #3000 FOR ME! yay!

BecauseHeLives wrote:Employees washing hands in the bathroom is just for show. Restaurants that understand anything about food safety require their employees to wash in the kitchen hand sink after coming from the bathrooms - even IF they washed their hands in the bathroom. You can wash your hands in the bathroom but as soon as you touch a doorknob its all for naught.

POST #3000 FOR ME! yay!

Well, at least you wasted your milestone on my germaphobic b.s. :mrgreen:

Papertowels. Must have papertowels to touch the door if you have to pull it to get outta there.

Food services - yep. The handwashing sink in the kitchen has to be used... soap and rinse up to the elbows.

Well, I was at the Golden Trough at Crossroads in Cary for lunch yesterday and everything was tasty! Although there always seems like there is someone there who goes through some sort of self narritive as they survey the selection.

"Mmmm greenbeans....I haven't had greenbeans in a while....Aww.....I don't see any any drumsticks.....Mashed potatoes...interesting......Awesome Potroast.....Maybe I should give that a try......"

BTW....The Bourbon Street Chicken is teh winz! :mrgreen:

You know what gets me really mad? Besides the fact dad insists on taking us to a place for dinner which is the metaphorical wave pool of fat and calories? When a reputable big business such as Golden Corral doesn't have coupons online? I mean, seriously... It's 2008, people. Us Internet people are hungee, but we also like a good coupon to make us feel special.

So far I've wasted about 2 hours looking. I guess it's pointless anyways since a) I'm not paying, b) it's kid's eat free night & c) Golden Corral actually isn't a very expensive proposition. On the other hand dad loves saving a buck, and I always aim to be a good daughter and impress him with my web savy-ness.

That said, I'm convinced there isn't a single Golden Corral coupon on the web for our area. (even checked my "Entertainment book")

It's a long road home. 8 months of dieting, running, in-line skating, and tonight I fell in defeat at Golden Corral. OMFG! What's wrong with me. First it was the salad, with ranch dressing, cheese, croutons, chicken, parmesan, bacon bits, and cottage cheese. Upon finishing my dainty bowl of high fat ensalada, I almost felt full. That's when I went for steak, & the honey butter bread rolls. Suddenly my body says "Oh crackin yeah. It's fatty boombalatty time!" - Next came the nachos, the cheese bread, and finally the chocolate/peanut butter slice of diabetic goodness.

My sides ache so bad, and all I want to do is throw up. It was so bloody good, but yet so horribly wrong.

Liv wrote:You're good... Have you tried them locally?

No. I haven't. However there isn't anything on the coupon that says it's good for a particular store. I know that doesn't mean anything as they can always refuse it but most of the time just about any coupon will be taken no questions asked. Even expired ones. Another thing you might can do is call them up and see if they take competitor's coupons. Most fast food places do (even though they don't advertise it) and just maybe GC will as well.

Does anyone remember the Golden Corral before they went more towards the buffet style? We had one back home that closed in the 90's. We used to go there often. It's now a Mexican Restuarant, but you can still tell it used to be one of those old-school steak houses from the 70's.

I remember the one down in Siler City for awhile before it closed down. They still had a buffet, but it was "old-school". Still a fairly decent deal, but nothing like their Vegas version they have now, else where. I'd like to see some healthier option on their buffet personally. I will tell you this, stay away from the steak burger. I went to their website the other day just to see how bad stuff was, and the steak burger was king of fat at 55g a piece....

Pineview Style wrote:Does anyone remember the Golden Corral before they went more towards the buffet style? We had one back home that closed in the 90's. We used to go there often. It's now a Mexican Restuarant, but you can still tell it used to be one of those old-school steak houses from the 70's.

Was it like Ponderosa? That's the place I used to hit with my family in Morgantown (yes, BHL when visiting WVU). I thought they had the coolest plates... wood and metal.

BTW, Pineview, where is "back home" for you?

Liv wrote:I remember the one down in Siler City for awhile before it closed down. They still had a buffet, but it was "old-school". Still a fairly decent deal, but nothing like their Vegas version they have now, else where. I'd like to see some healthier option on their buffet personally. I will tell you this, stay away from the steak burger. I went to their website the other day just to see how bad stuff was, and the steak burger was king of fat at 55g a piece....

Yeah that's how I remember how they were back in the day. I want to say even further back that they just had the salad bar and it was just a one trip deal. You would go through the line and and get your drink and tell the cashier what entree you wanted.

Oh, and as long as they have the Bourbon Street Chicken, then I can stay away from the Steak Burgers. And I'm sure that once I finish putting together a salad they, it is only marginally healthy. Oh the things we put in our bodies.... :roll:

Serendipitous wrote:
Pineview Style wrote:Does anyone remember the Golden Corral before they went more towards the buffet style? We had one back home that closed in the 90's. We used to go there often. It's now a Mexican Restuarant, but you can still tell it used to be one of those old-school steak houses from the 70's.

Was it like Ponderosa? That's the place I used to hit with my family in Morgantown (yes, BHL when visiting WVU). I thought they had the coolest plates... wood and metal.

BTW, Pineview, where is "back home" for you?

It probably was similar. I've been to a Ponderosa only one time that I can remember. I think that the old GC's had the same wood and metal plates back then as well. I remember Western Steer also had those kind of plates. (Are there any of those restaurants still around?) IIRC those types of restaurants had kind of a western decor (plastic bull horns on the wall and wagon wheel style light fictures), but it was more of a 70's style western.

Oh, and "back home" would be Roanoke Rapids.

they some times run ads in the weekly monthly coupon books - but they alsoo went up in price for lunch now to over $ 10 with a drink - a good value still but alot for a lunch...........

Shan forced me into going to Golden Corral yesterday. I left in pain and anguish after realizing the human body cannot support it's other vital organs when it's stuffed into tight jeans and you fill your belly with unusual amounts of high fat food. It's my own fault, I've forgotten G.C. protocol to always arrive in sweat pants.

Now I know I'm no runway model, and while I've still got a lot of weight to lose, it was obvious we weren't the buffets usual customers anymore as well. So about half way through dinner when I began complaining about the painful stomach cramps and how "no single individual should ever eat this much food", the beautiful but very unproportionate woman whom earlier almost sat on her child gave me a quite a mean look after making such comments. As Shan took the kids over to the dessert arena (that's about as proper as I can put it) and I was gripping my stomach bent over in pain, I casually heard the whispers of the two women say something another about how "that" family (which I can only assume was us) is a bunch of skinny Yankees who think the south's food is too good for them. This as they glanced at me with a hateful look. What's sad is a) we're not all that skinny, b) I about broke out laughing because none of us sound northern, more of a standard dialect, c) they thought I couldn't hear them but I did. d) I was in severe pain but the fact that they said this all with a chicken bone in their mouths from their two chairs they sat about made me laugh.

Yes the Holidays are an interesting time at Golden Corral.

I mean... I guess rule one, is never ever complain about how much food there is when you go to a restaurant whom advertises "all-you-can-eat" in the name.

Well, it turns out that they have done some remodeling at the one over in Cary. They did some painting and some reconfiguring of the buffet (more food). Also, you don't have to wait for someone to bring you plates, since there is a station for those now. They also had someone playing the piano over near the salad bar. Guess they're trying to class that joint up.

We went to the Golden Trough the other night on the way home from visiting relatives. This was the first time in a couple of years. We found out that basically, the only thing the "servers" were expected to do now was to provide drink refills and clear away dirty dishes. You now have to get your own dishes and silverware. My guess is that they did this in order to "improve productivity" and give their locations a chance to lower their headcount, giving each server a larger territory to handle. Great for the bottom line, but sort of crappy for the economy.

The quality of the food was about the same as always, except that the "beef tips" were actually either softened leather or seasoned gristle. After paying over $12 per person... we left less than totally pleased. But hey -- we only go there once every couple of years, so it's no big disaster. Ryan's should really be kicking their bottoms soooo badly these days.

I worked at an "old School" Golden Corral.
GC coupons usually come in the mail. That's where I get mine. It's usually the manager's option to put them out.

While I'm sure everyone loves saving a buck whenever they can, I know the GC I work at does not offer any coupons. We honestly have no need to- Its a great value; well worth the price with tons of options even for those on strict diets. I do know that some stores offer coupons, by choice of the manager or franchisee. My only suggestion: If you bring a coupon in from another store, they just might honor it if it appears to be a valid coupon. Can't hurt to try!!
^_^

November 18th, 2010, 8:21 am Reply with quote

OMG that mushroom is gag-ariffic. (where's a vomiting smilie face?)

Who said their dad takes them to GC? MY dad does that too!! Every time. He says it's just so all the kids can get their own favorite foods, but I know for a fact he's an eating-trough junkie and knows where every cafeteria and buffet is in the US.

As far as deals go, anyone with kids 3 or under, kids eat free. Also, on Veterans day, all veterans eat free. Aside from that, I think it's pretty cheap to eat there to begin with (which is probably why my dad loves it so much), so maybe they figured coupons weren't necessary.