= harsh but fair

Agree totally.  There is a certain type of person who will sign up for more than one thing at the same day and then goes to whichever he prefers.  There is also another type which causes less stress but starts asking questions about an event which takes time dealing with and then just disappears or (as in one case I had) just cannot make up his mind. 

I can see your point, Helen, few times I organised drinks and it made me mad when people subscribed but didn't show up... the only way to prevent it - remember their names and e-mails and next time "sorry, you are in the black list"

Little bit rude, but truly...

PS life was so much easier when there was only phone and no internet =)

Totally fair. I wish Nir & Oded would address this issue sooner (using some form of yellow cards and red cards etc) ... in fairness, I know they have been considering it and looking for a practical remedy to ease the situation.

Regarding the no-shows ...

Isn't it amazing that vast majority of Glocals members are cultured and educated and well mannered. They are most expats in high-level positions (for their age and experience). They mostly work in professional organisations. Yet simple manners and sparing a thought for others deserts the no-shows!

How would anyone feel, if "you" cooked dinner at home for a limited number of friends and half your guests didn't show and didn't call!

Why is the restaurant owner any less than the rest of us!? Of course he/she is not. And the no shows give a bad reputation to Glocals too ...

... in all the events I set up, I stick a printed "Glocals" sign on the table so our newer participants don't have to ask a bunch of strangers if they are with Glocals. So those who turn up get a bad name for those who don't!

No-shows please pay attention:

One more soide effect of your behavior for a restaurant event is that those who do attend as planned wait & wait & wait before ordering. Also as a consequence the table is ocuppied for a much longer time period than normal ... once again unfairly impacting the restauranteur too.

What I do ...

To be fair at my events, I declare one of two things depending on the type of event:

"This is a public event, it is OK to change your mind after your RSVP YES"

or the one I use for restaurant events etc when attendance matters:

"Do not RSVP YES if you cannot attend or cannot be bothered to change it to NO in time. No shows absoluetly will not be tolerated." ... so far it has worked ok.

Let's stamp out this rudeness sooner. It is bad for everyone.

Thanks sooo much for replying online & for all the mails & txt msg.

I really appreciate it, just to make one point clear; I’ve organized many dinners in the past 4 years or so, never said a word, keeping my “little black No-Show book”, even send a warning out on Tuesday eve, sometimes after 10 pm

(part of the mail; Wow, thanks sooo much for signing up…really looking forward to seeing you. :-)
I’m now marking the event FULL, over 30 guests. ( may I say this? Two person signed up again, …I’ve got a no-show list ;-) so, I will not name you, but I hope that you show up this time! )

I’ve put up this post, as I’ve heard from so many organizers that they have the same problem, (sometimes 10 no-shows!  for dinner) 

I guess many of  you know me by now , as for drinks and any other events (like swimming at 6h15 or so on – I always say, no need to sign up – just show up)

@ Nir & Oded, sorry guys, I know we had this discussion over a few years, without any solution…

Looking forward what is being done for the “No-Show’s “ @ dinner…or maybe the next dinner: "No Show dinner"

Happy weekend everyone.

@ Onis, in my days when the dinosauriers still used to be around...we used the pigeons (pigeons delivering the post). Guess, I've said it all...

When I organise walks which involve staying at a hut I guess the number of people and book a month in advance and then I give a cut off date of say 5 days in advance.  I keep the hut filly informed of how things are looking and i have never had a problem.  With the hash house harriers where we book a restaurant afterwards without having any idea how many people we are I usually know to whther we are going to be 20 or 30 and I always book with the restaurant say 15 +/- 5 and then reconfirm with them two hours beforehand.  The group has a series of restaurants who are quite happy with this method.  I do realise that I am not talking about no shows but about myself not knowing the number of people.  The mangement problem is the same but my way of doing it is that the restaurant hut is not upset.   For a no show it is also possible to tell your black listed people that the event is full.  I thought I had a case this weekend on the my walk but it turned out that he was ill and that my emails to him had remained unanwered because I had sent to his work email and not his private one.  for this reason i would be against an semi official black lisitng of people who do not turn up.  This is a slightly softer approach than my initial reaction higher up this thread.

Just realized once again, that we never have the no-show problem when we go out for dinner with the Geneva Runners group (sometimes dinner for up to 50 people)  ...

@ Nir & Oded, what is your view as to no-shows @ dinner? Thanks.

@ Nir & Oded,

A few of us are still waiting for a solution...

Once again, 3 no-shows @  the last curry night:

Anil Passi, April, Kaykay

Sorry for posting your name in public, but you did not even have the courtesy to appologize for not showing up...

Just for the record, for curry nights, you have 2 guarantee @ least 30 people for dinner in order to get a good deal with the Restaurant...simply not fair for the other guests, organizer, etc...

Once again, my 2 cents...

I think whatever solution is suggested will be unfair as people who are genuinely ill might not be able to warn you.  But if there is no apology then <i agree they should be blacklisted.  I am managing quite well with my own list. 

Luckily I have not too many no shows and where it involves making an adanced payment or guarantee of more than CHF 20 per person eg group train ticket or air fare I do not post the activity on glocals.

At the monthly drink in Lausanne there use to be 20% no-shows. For the last one for example, there were 139 on the guestlist including 60 new members, and there were 38 no-shows (more than usual, 10 excused with a valid reason...).

When organizing a dinner, advanced payment would be an option but not simple to organize.

A better option is, and I think this is easiest to implement in glocals, a system where at inscription there is a commitment to pay the announced fee (also in case of a no-show). This should be an option activated by the organizer, and with an interface similar to when you need "to agree with sales conditions" before you are able "to proceed to the next step".

Would this not be a nice option SWISS ?

A comment by Nir/Oded on the feasability would be welcome here.

hi everyone,

long time i don't post...my 2 cents

all organisers do an incredible job at filling in our social agenda..i agree that at the very least no shows should advise...i agree with all your points regarding etiquette, rudeness, restaurant etc...but i also dont think its realistic to request a payment in advance...

if anything, why dont you just accept the overbooking (a bit like airlines) and to those that show up at the restaurant beyond a 15 minute delay just wont be served...or at least not part of the deal and get turned away at the door..

for ex..first 30 people at the people will only be served at 30chf..

saturday morning lazy thoughts

diva