great, comfy, interesting ... but i still was hungry @ the end of event :-((
personnel was kind and attentive.
people diverse, garrulous, met few interesting personalities.
thanks.
Good_One, Nov 20, 2008 @ 20:28

Hello



Thanks again for organizing the fab musical chairs diner. I appreciate that you're again organizing things yourself, the "NIR" touch sure makes a difference.



I really like the musical chairs, I think that's my favourite event : I feel intimidated in a large crowd and I find it difficult to walk off to some strangers to introduce myself. The diner allows you to actually have time to chat/get to know people. It went so well, that I was talking to people after the diner, some mentioned that they felt that actually the time between courses was a bit short and that they would have wished to have been able to speak longer with the people at the table. But if you extend it, people will start saying, oh crap, slow service. You really cannot win.



I would still say that it's easier to speak to the people either at the table or after diner. At the beginning/apéro, you haven't yet met anyone so you're still a little bit embarrassed and I could see that I wasn't the only one trying to figure out how to start a conversation. So maybe apero could be shortened a little bit but this is a minor detail.





I actually had to scratch my head to come up with anything remotely negative, it was a great party, very smooth organization, food and very central location and best of all, fantastic people.



Thank you again for having me.



cheers
titoan, Nov 24, 2008 @ 22:06

Good_One, Titoan,

Thanks for taking the time to share the public feedbac, appreciate it. 19 other folks shared private feedback with me via emails - also much appreciated.

Here are the key feedback points that came up (I also sent all participants an email with the below points):

1. Overall, the evening was great, and most people (me included) enjoyed it a lot.
2. Improvement ideas for the next dinner on December 3:
• Have name tags for participants.
• Consider having a 4th 'place swap' (instead of just 3)
• Have more filling food.

Thanks again for your trust, and hope to see you on our next dinner on Dec 3 (Xmas Special),
 
Nir
Nir Ofek, Nov 25, 2008 @ 18:39

Hi hi

Overall, it was a great evening and I met lots of interesting people.

If I can just add one criticism besides what others said, it'd be about the price. 70 francs is quite a lot and though it was fine for once, I would certainly not be able to do this more regularly. Maybe you can have the 3 free drinks as an option ? I don't drink alcohol, so I usually don't get much out of that.

I don't quite realize the cost of organizing all that, maybe you're very reasonable, but I just wanted to bring that up, cause we're not all financially stable out there.

Oh one last thing, it'd be nice to know what's the menu in advance for the vegeterians/allergics.

Anyways, thanks a lot for the event, the organization was great and I had a great time.
Alp_, Nov 25, 2008 @ 19:01

i find meeting what...70,80 people in one night over dinner is waaaay too many people, and in the end you really don't remember many people. 

so if it were a smaller event and not necessarily over dinner when you're trying to eat and talk as the french would say is just rude.

musical chairs with just drinsk & tapas would be a) more affordable and b) less casual.
YouMeCo, Nov 25, 2008 @ 21:06

Alp, Tinkie, Youme: thanks for the feedback.

Alp, Tinkie:

You raised the point of getting the cost down (CHF 70 / person, incl 3 course meal, 1/2 bottle wine, welcome cocktail).

We tried hard to get the price below CHF 70 / person, but if we want to keep the current elements - good food, in a good resto, in a central location, reserved just for us - we end up each time at a min of CHF 70 / person. And I think this is the price each of us would pay (min) if he/she went to the same place on a 'standard' night.

We can get the price below CHF 70 / person, if we agree to significantly cut on something: go to less quality food, or to a resto further from the center, or to a resto that doesn't agree to make it a glocals only event, etc.

For a resto in center town that works well already & serves quality, a revenue of CHF 70-80 / person is what they would do anyway. So they do not agree to go lower, atleast from our experience to date. 

But again - I think a key point here is that the price - while not cheap in absolute terms - is 'correct' for what we're getting in return.

Youmi:

You raised the point of a night with 70-80 people being too big for really meeting new people.

Not sure it's the case for me, but in any case: when you come to the Dinners you'll see that participants don't interact with 70 people, but rather with 3-4 people sitting at their table each time...So it's a lot more small and easy. From all the feedback we received so far, and from my own experience, the Dinners really work excellent for meeting new folks.

Any more feedback welcome,

Nir
Nir Ofek, Nov 25, 2008 @ 21:40

and the next Dinner for all ages?

May 2009.
jasper, Mar 1, 2009 @ 17:36