FEB
13
2012

What We Love About Ouffer HQ

by admin in Category: Culture

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we wanted to share with you what we love about Ouffer HQ: that magical place where irresistible deals are concocted, goosebump-inducing copy is churned out, and mouthwatering photos are sourced for all of our Ouffers! Between our cosy workspace, work-hard-play-hard philosophy, and opportunities for growth and development, we think Ouffer HQ is a pretty darn sweet place to work! Read on to find out why…

We work in bean bag chairs!

Sure, a start up full of twenty-somethings wearing hoodie jumpers with bean bag chairs is cliche–but  Like a trip to the bahamas for bums burnt out by long hours in uncomfortable office chairs, bean bag chairs afford Ouffer employees the freedom to delve into their work instead of focusing on the low back pain brought on hunching over their computers!

“All I need is a pina colada!” says our content specialist.

We do handstands.

Here at Ouffer HQ, we’re of the mindset that comfortable employees are happy employees—so you won’t find any stringent dress codes here! “Every Oufferite has their own style of delivering results, and it’s cool how Ouffer respects that,” says one team member. We’re always looking for fresh inspiration to knock our member’s socks off—which ranges from going for a walk by the water (our subeditor’s favourite part of our office location!), stopping for a think-sesh in a bean bag chair, or, as evidenced below—a few handstands to get the creativity flowing!

We work hard. And when we’re not working hard, we’re playing hard. Playing ping pong, that is.

To those who think that working in a startup is all tee shirts, bare feet, and bean bags—we say—you’re right—but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our killer competitive streak—as evidenced by our very serious ping pong league right inside the office.

Lunchtime ping pong tourney. Just another day in the office!

We genuinely like each other.

Whether we’re cruising the harbour, singing karaoke, celebrating obscure holidays, or just flying through a regular workday, the gang at the Ouffice all enjoy each other’s company–which makes for an incredible workplace, day in and day out! We’ve got a gaggle of winning personalities, an abundance of team spirit, and a bevvy of nicknames. Interested in working for us? Click here, yo!

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FEB
10
2012

Ouffer Review: High Street Bistro

by admin in Category: Culture, Reviews

As a self-professed bunch of armchair foodies, the Ouffer crew gets pretty excited when we get to feature a particularly hot restaurant. Although we would prefer to go out and sample all the culinary delights that we feature on the site ourselves, alas, we fear for our waistlines, and thus we enlist the help of our food blogging friends with more educated palates (and arguably more discipline than we could exercise!) This week, Zina, who blogs at Tasted by Two and tweets @zinazhang, took on the enviable task of sampling a three course dinner for two at High St. Bistro (with wine, of course!). Without further ado, we present to you a tantalising description of today’s deal: 

You just can’t help but fall in love as you step inside Willoughby’s High St Bistro.

Having only been open a year, this cozy eatery has built up a loyal clientele of well heeled locals. But what is it that draws them to this neighbourhood darling?

Is it the trendy decor, the attentive service or the relaxed bistro dining concept that’s so en vogue?

Or maybe it’s chef and owner, Jeff Turnbull who was most recently executive chef of the Aqua Dining Group. He’s also cooked alongside Dietmar Sawyere at Forty One prior to its closure in 2010. Jeff’s pedigree shows in the sophistication of the High St Bistro menu which sports a fine dining feel. Continue reading.

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FEB
9
2012

Happy Birthday!

by admin in Category: Culture

Well, Oufferites, it’s been a crazy year. Today, we turn TWO. That’s right. Just 730 days, three office locations, 346 cupcakes, and countless wine-ing, dining, and hair removal deals ago, we launched our very first deal with Bistro Lilly (it was a $30 for $60 worth of food deal, in case you were wondering!). It’s been a deal-a-day rollercoaster since then, with Ouffer Australia live in five major cities! And, we can’t say tooooo much…but there are some crackin’ things to come–watch this space!

Between now and then, we’ve:

  • Moved office from a teensy shoebox in Double Bay to a CBD address near the Opera House.
  • Played an epic amount of ping pong.
  • Consumed mountains of cupcakes.
  • Interacted with tons of awesome customers. Yes, YOU!
  • Cemented a pretty sweet office culture (bean bags, work-from-home days, team-building days!)

Like most two year olds, we’ve had our share of growing pains, along the way. Unlike most two-year-olds, we’ve gotten through it with the help of a few of our favourite things: wine, cupcakes, and deals. Lots and lots of deals. We’ve had team outings to Brazilian BBQ, karaoke, harbour cruises, mass cupcake orders, and more. We’ve covered the usual: Italian food. Chinese food. Wine. And the unusual: hair removal. Zorbing (look it up!). Jet-boating. Lasix eye surgery. Dental appointments. Colonics!

But, in all seriousness, we couldn’t have done it without our faithful, deal-loving members. So, in celebration of 730 days of terrific deals, a super-duper workplace, and our community of members, we raise our glass and our cupcakes to YOU and say a hearty, “Happy Birthday to US!”

Celebrating our second year as most toddlers do, with cupcakes & wine!

Happy TWO years, Oufferites!

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DEC
15
2011

Ouffer’s Little Helpers

by Amanda in Category: Culture

We know, we know. Everyone knows the true meaning of Christmas–eating too much rich food, drinking one (or two or three) too many cocktails at the office Christmas fete, and dodging the is-Santa-real question from the 7-year-olds in your life (note to our 7-year-old readers: the answer is absolutely and without a doubt, YES!). And while Christmas does seem to involve an awful lot of merry-making, gift-giving, and sipping-of-cocktails, we think, in the words of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, that “Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

Ouffer has saved Australians just a teensy bit over $67,000 on all sorts of delicious-crazy-adrenalin-inducing-totally-fun deals, and we couldn’t have done it without our good-looking, supportive members.   So, we’re calling on you, dear Oufferites, to spread some Christmas cheer by giving the gift that keeps on giving: a donation from Ouffer to the Salvation Army! We partnered with the Salvation Army, one of Australia’s favourite charities, which reaches out to those “facing hardship, poverty, or anything else that crushes the human spirit,” and we’re very proud to announce that Ouffer will show your support for the Salvos by donating .25c for each Facebook “Like” Ouffer Sydney attracts during December–so if you love the Salvos, “Like” our page!

Spreading Christmas cheer is easy–here’s what to do:

1) “Like” our Facebook page & sign up for our daily emails on Ouffer. We’ll reward  you with fun contests, amusing pictures, and of course, the very best deals out there!

2) Follow us on Twitter!

3) ”Share” this post via the handy sharing buttons on the bottom of the post! Spread the Christmas cheer!

Merry Christmas, Oufferites! We couldn’t do it without you!

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NOV
29
2011

Ouffer Getaways Booking Guarantee

by Amanda in Category: Culture

Unearthing your snorkelling gear from the basement, decanting shampoo and conditioner into teensy tiny travel containers, and ensuring you pack that awkward inflatable velveteen travel pillow for the flight: you don’t have to tell us twice–travel is stressful, and by the time you have to book your travel dates in it’s enough to make even the most enthusiastic holiday-maker throw in the proverbial beach towel! So, to help you out, Oufferites, we’ve devised a painless way to guarantee your travel bookings when you purchase an Ouffer getaway-with a little thing we like to call the Ouffer Booking Guarantee.

You may have noticed this shiny badge gracing our most recent travel offers, and we think you’re going to like it! Once you’ve found a suitably luxurious getaway to purchase, you can sort out your travel dates and make your booking straightaway! Our partners will do everything in their power to get your getaway booked in on your desired dates–but if for some reason there isn’t any availability on the dates you want, Ouffer will refund you in full! All you need to do is make sure you let us know that you’re not able to book your dates within two weeks of purchasing the Ouffer.

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NOV
21
2011

Ouffer Presents…the Ouffer Outlet!

by Amanda in Category: Culture
Christmas is around the corner, Oufferites! While that means Christmas parties, vacation time, and lots (and lots and lots) of food and drink, it also means Christmas shopping time! In the true spirit of Christmas, we’ve tried to do a good deed and reduce the number of bad Christmas prezzies this year (you know the ones–ugly sweaters, self-help books, vast tins of artificial cheese flavoured popcorn). How did we do it? With an Ouffer Outlet, of course!

Continue reading →

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NOV
17
2011

Ouffer Review: Asti

by Amanda in Category: Reviews

A few things make the foodies of Ouffer HQ do a collective happy dance: fine-dining deals, happy Oufferites, and getting some blog lovin’ from our favourite foodie bloggers. And when all three of those things happen at once, it’s definite cause for a celebratory jig. Check out the blog that’s got us feelin’ groovy: when she’s not working her corporate job or keeping up with an army of foodie followers at @thesuzchef, The Suz Chef blogs about all things food in Sydney (we’re not sure when she sleeps!).  Read on for a run-down of a fine-dining Ouffer at Asti, complete with lamb, duck, and (arguably, the most important course) dessert.

The Suz Chef Carpaccio

Regular readers of my blog know that I am a fan of the daily deal sites, and love to snap up some great deals. It is hard though, to find deals from quality, reputable restaurants but it is possible. I’ve purchased deals for Etch, Bistro Lilly, Swissotel high tea and the like from these sites and mostly find them to be worthwhile experiences. I usually don’t purchase a deal if I haven’t heard of the restaurant before, but after this experience, that may change! Recently, deal site Ouffer were kind enough to offer me a complimentary dinner at Asti in Pyrmont. This deal was one that had featured on their site – $89 for 2 people to have a 3 course meal, including a glass of Prosecco each.

Having never heard of Asti before, I surfed their site and was really impressed with the menu and the pictures that they had of their food up online. The deal was also fantastic value – it was normally $60pp for the 3 courseses + Prosecco! Located at the end of Harris Street in Pyrmont, it is a cute little restaurant with a bar area at the front and an outdoor seating area at the back. Seated inside, the restaurant was empty to start with on this Saturday night, but filled up quickly. The menu is straightforward – 4 choices under each course, except for dessert where there was only 3 which baffled me as I think that’s the most important course in my eyes! Continue reading.

Asti
46 Harris Street
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
(02) 9660 4075
Friday lunch: 12pm to 3pm
Tuesday-Sunday dinner 5:30-10pm.
Closed Sunday & Monday.
www.astirestaurant.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

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SEP
26
2011

Our Week: Coffee, Cigarettes, and Graffiti

by admin in Category: Culture

We love what we do here at Ouffer HQ—and we take it upon ourselves to be the guinea pigs for a lot of our Ouffers (those cupcakes aren’t going to eat themselves!)!  Fortunately, company policy on using Ouffers goes like this: use ‘em to your heart’s content! And if you’ve ever wondered what Ouffer employees do in their spare time (besides searching for world peace and rescuing stranded kittens from treetops)…here’s your answer—they use Ouffers! Check out what happened at Ouffer HQ last week.

Fibonacci Cafe has been enjoying a daily dose of our resident ping pong champ and accounting whiz, Matty, who put his commerce know-how to work by stocking up on Ouffers for $10 coffee cards. There’s a bit of division in the ranks of Ouffer coffee drinkers as some of the team are loyal Presse Cafe supporters after taking up this coffee Ouffer—but we’re pretty sure as long as all the addicts are properly caffeinated, everyone’s winning.

“It’s kind of addictive. Is this stuff legal?” Presse Cafe coffee review from one of our Ouffer caffeine fiends

Speaking of vices, Sid from our sales team recently tested out an Ouffer for E-Ciggies. We know they’re intended to help crush a smoking habit, but we’re not sure if this is the best strategy, because after seeing Sid’s sweet smokeless ciggies, 3 of the Ouffer crew rushed onto the site to check out the cigs! Whoops! We’re envisioning a poker den sort of atmosphere in the Ouffice—update to come!

But it’s not all coffee and cigarettes at Ouffer HQ—we know how to class it up, too! We recently ran an Ouffer for Peter Doyle at the Quay,  where Oufferette Harriet went out for a fancy schmancy dinner overlooking the Opera House. Swanky!

“Order the corn fritters and don’t look back. So good!” Amanda, who fell in love over the weekend…with Cafe Salina’s brekky menu

And while we love talking about Ouffer between 9 and 5 Monday to Friday, it also makes an appearance on our weekends! Ouffer Amanda did her due diligence as part of the Ouffer crew and ate her weight in corn fritters daintily brunched on corn fritters at an Ouffer for breakfast at Cafe Salina on a sunny Saturday in Bronte. Yum!

It’s not all glitz and glam, though–our Ouffers are practical, for things like lunches! Marky Mark and ALim, from our content team, have been using their Ouffer for Seafood@Metcentre every single day since the Ouffer ran!

And in related news, we spotted this little beauty this week. Has anyone else spotted this?

Check it out–we discovered it our lunch break at Abercrombie Lane and Pitt Street. You can also check out where we were this week:


View Ouffer Crew: Out & About in a larger map

Have you used any Ouffers recently? Let us know in the comments!

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SEP
14
2011

Ouffer Review: Cala Luna

by Amanda in Category: Culture, Reviews

Here at Ouffer HQ, we love food. And while we could tell you ’til we’re blue in the face just how yummy some of our Ouffers are, we realise our limitations: as much as we’d like to pretend, our palates are regrettably uneducated, and, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t biased in our reviews–we LOVE Ouffer! So we called in the pros to give an unbiased review of one of our Ouffers.

Food blogger Lex from A Food Story reviewed Cala Luna on a sunny Saturday in Mosman. A Food Story is written by Lex and Dylan, two Sydneysiders who share a passion for good food. By day, Lex is a print production manager of a leading DM advertising agency in Sydney. She loves chocolate, woodfired pizza, Italian, Thai, Japanese and cupcakes but wishes condiments did not exist. Follow Lex & Dylan’s mouthwatering tweets @afoodstory, or swing by their Facebook page to say hi! Read on for limoncello, arancini, and of course, melt-in-your-mouth pasta! And if you just can’t wait…buy the Cala Luna Ouffer right now!

Dylan and I were recently offered to sample a new deal from the group buying website Ouffer. The deal was for lunch for two at Cala Luna in Mosman. We live quite far away from Mosman (then again we live quite far away from most places!) but having heard good things about the restaurant we thought it would make for a nice Saturday lunch outing.

Headed up by Michel Rossetti, Cala Luna has been around since 1997 and appears to have quite a good reputation around town. Michel and the team are clearly passionate about fresh produce and great quality food. Their menu is seasonal, many items are described as ‘house made’ and they source a lot of ingredients from the Rossetti family farm in Sutton Forest on the Southern Highlands in NSW. Diners are welcomed into the restaurant with a cheery hello like old friends, it’s a comforting place. Read the rest of Lex’s post here.


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SEP
5
2011

Ouffer Review: Ninety4

by Amanda in Category: Culture, Reviews

If you know us at all, dear Oufferites, you know that we love our members almost as much as we love the stash of cupcakes we keep in the office (just kidding–members before food…almost always!). All joking aside, we care about the experiences you have with our vouchers! 

To that end, we called in the pros. Meet food blogger, John. A self-described hungry Sydney urbanite and ex-chef that loves cheap eats, fine dining and anything else between, you can read about John’s culinary escapades at heneedsfood.com , or follow him on Twitter @heneedsfood. Read on for John’s post reviewing an Ouffer for a degustation at Ninety4. Caution: this post is not to be read by the hungry. It’s filled to the brim with eggplant, black truffle paste, balsamic reductions and delicious wine. Mmmm!

The last time I ventured out on a ferry was a bit of a failed attempt where I was too preoccupied with my iPhone and ended up getting off a stop before I was meant to. Funny enough it was to the same postcode for brunch at Deckhouse Café not too far from Ninety 4 in this leafy peninsula that juts out into the harbour. It’s not often I head out this far for dinner but when the Ouffer deal site was advertising a $59 Italian 7-course degustation for two valued at $180 including a bottle of vino it was worth the public transport schlepp from Erskineville. Read the rest of John’s post here.

Ninety 4
94 Woolwich Road
Woolwich 2110
02 9879 3355
Wed-Sun 5.30pm-late
ninety4.com.au
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