| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Ed "Deerslayer" Naidamast |
| Date Created | 11/4/2002 9:32:16 AM |
| Message | As you may recall, I tried to investigate the reason for the sparse attendance and planned to solicit some options for improving the socials. They have always been a great source of fun and relaxation many PARR members.
I suggested in March or April that I would post something on PARR Talk soliciting thoughts and suggestions.
Not too many folks responded, but of those that did, a few suggested they simply didn't like Mama's and others didn't like the way we were being treated by the restaurant. One or two folks suggested we find three watering holes/food emporiums spread across Northern Virginia to make the the socials more accessible to folks in the Springfield, Manassas, Reston, and other areas. Then rotate the social from place to place, always returning to the same restaurants quarterly.
This is possible to do, but we'd have to find places that have good food and are relatively quiet on Tuesday evenings. They would have to accomodate the sudden appearance of a group that can number up to 12 or more folks.
I had to miss the next meeting due to my dad's surgery and subsequent complications, but at the first opportunity I responded to one or two e-mails or PARR Talk posts (I don't recall which) and was told that a committee had been formed to evaluate the demographics of our membership and to suggest some alternatives. That was back in the Spring and the committee or group of volunteers (or perhas it was one person) never got back to the membership.
The dwindling participation at the socials was an issue I raised six months ago--I agree, however, that if we're going to make changes, we need to do so soon. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Mike Wascak |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 12:14:09 AM |
| Message | It's unfortunate to hear that the PARR Socials are sparsely attended. I use to love going to the Socials. My only reason for not attending this year is my work schedule. I work every Thursday night unfortunately. The subject of location has been brought up many times. Unfortunately there is no location that would be convenient to all PARR members. I do believe, however, that we need to change eating establishments. There were too many times in past when I have attended, the management had been less than accommodating to our group -- at times being given the "left over" tables in a location that was not condusive for single group interaction. I think we can do better. I personally think we should go back to a "pizza" place like the Tysons Corner Pizza Hut who was always anxious to have our group and who always gave us exceptional service -- at time even providing extra food at no cost. It was great! It's difficult for a regular restaurant to accommodate a sometimes larger group on a regular basis. Maybe we should have two locations at the same time but ensure there is a PARR rep at each location. We may even consider changing the night. It's always been held on a Thursday night. Maybe it's about time we change that too. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Cindy Richmond |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 6:16:31 AM |
| Message | It is very hard for Doug and I to come up North for the socials. We work and with a child that needs to be run around with soccer and other school functions. Even though we can not make socials we love riding with PARR. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Dave Robinson |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 7:49:52 AM |
| Message | I endorse the Ed's idea of selecting restaurants that are spread around Northern Virginia, with the southernmost being in the Springfield area and the northernmost around Herdon. Perhaps two restaurants are all that we need, and we could alternate between them on a monthly basis.
I nominate "Spartans" restaurant in the West Springfield / Burke area for the southern locale. They appear to have the ability to accomodate groups up to 20 or more, their service has always been good, and they have a varied menu. I will investigate further and post back to this thread. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Chet |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 8:03:29 AM |
| Message | I agree that at the very least the location should be changed. I believe that the management at Mama's should have been much more accommodating, especially since their food is so mediocre. We also need more variety in the choice of food. The same restaurant can become pretty boring after a couple of months. How about different ethnic foods (Vietnamese, Mexican, Portugese, etc.)? I would be in favor of making the socials "special events", moving them throughout all of Northern VA (including such areas as Leesburg, Fredericksburg, and Warrenton in the warm weather). I have a number of places I'd recommend in the Woodbridge/Manassas area. I would also prefer rotating the social nights (with ample advance notice distributed by e-mail). As others have already noted, it is difficult for many people to attend a regular fourth Thursday meeting. We may get a more diverse cast of characters on other nights. It's time to try different things since what we are currently doing is not working. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Bryan |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 9:44:33 AM |
| Message | I will have to agree with Ed. Although I have not been to Mama's, those that have seem to be disgruntled withthe service. The Pizza Hut at Tyson's corner was always very hospitable. Since I am really out in the 'boons', others should choose the actual sites for the socials-they know of more rest. in the area. With most of us on e-mail, several sites revisited quarterly would seem acceptable, as this provides the repetition and can be scheduled on the calander. I do not have any suggestions for the meeting locations. Woof, Woof! |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Barbara Perlik |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 10:00:11 AM |
| Message | Since Ron almost always pays, I suggest a expensive lobster and steak place!
Actually, I agree that a pizza place of some kind would probably be the best choice considering we
tend to wander in for 15 or 20 minutes. It is hard for a waiter to take orders of entrees when we don't
all arrive at the same time and don't know when everybody has arrived.
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Danny Martin |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 10:25:53 AM |
| Message | I always try to attend but would forget if it wasn't in my Palm Pilot with an alarm set. Except for an occasional late night at the office I have no excuse not to go. By 7pm traffic is usually not an issue. Living near the Pentagon, everything around the Virginia side of the beltway is about the same distance. And I'll eat just about anything. So I'm open to any new location. However, I think we should pick a place and stick with it for a while, at least six months, so there is no confusion and less chance of getting lost. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | garrett burke |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 10:40:44 AM |
| Message | 1. sorry but i have a standing commitment every thursday night, year round. that seems to be a busy night for a lot of folks. also have my daughter every other week.
2. maybe an email reminder might help. i don't keep the parr calendar handy.
3. mama's stinks. the last few meetings i attended they shoved us in the deli with no A/C and we ate on our laps.
4. pizza is good. cheap and does not have to be ordered all at once. or a BBQ rib joint like dixie bones in woodbridge, just off i-95. yum yum |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Andy Perkins |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 11:23:18 AM |
| Message | As you can tell from the responses, either most members don't like the restaurant or have other functions happening on Thursday nights. Which I am in the same boat going to school on that night. I only have a couple suggestions that might help. Still have the Monthly meeting on the 4th week of the month, but have it rotated every month. Starting on Monday for January, then Tuesday for February, and so on. Have 4 restaurants picked out and visit them quarterly. For instance, the first quarter of the year we go to one restaurant, the second quarter another, and so on. An email can be sent out to all the PARR a week before the Social to let them know the details, so those who can't access the webpage will at least be aware. Would be glad to help out with getting this in place for next year and help getting things set up with the restaurants. I say for the fall back plan that we all meet over at Dave Robinson's house!!!! |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Jack Hardman |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 11:43:16 AM |
| Message | I've been disappointed at Momma's twice. One man's
opinion: a very good Italian restaurant is "The Esposito"
probably less than a quarter mile from Momma's near Patriot.
I'don't know how they would react to our group, but a phone
call or reservation would help.
Tysons (or any) Pizza place is good, and I like the idea
of trying different venues so as to share the drive time
for busy people. I'm always ready to try a new ethnic restaurant.
I'll eat anything. That's one of my problems. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Joe Smith |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 5:01:04 PM |
| Message | I'm probably a short timer since I'll be going overseas next year. Before we move anywhere we should try to determine why the poor attendance, is it Mama's, is it the location? Then start to rectify the situation. I think we should start with a quick, but short survey. Questions like:
1. Do you regularly (x out of y times in the past year) attend the social meetings.
2. If you don't attend regularly is it because of the specific restaurant?
3. If it's not the restaurant, is it because of the location?
4. Would be will willing to attend if the location were 1 to 5 miles from your home?
5. Would you be willing to attend if the location were 6 - 10 miles from your home?
6. Would you be willing to attend if the location were 11-15 miles from your home?
7. Comments: e.g. you can't attend do matter what,or can seldom attend, because of distance, work schedule, martial disputes, etc.
I think answers to these questions would be a good start. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Bennett Teates |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 5:34:55 PM |
| Message | I am too far away to make normal meetings and socials, so my suggestions should not be counted. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Jack Moar |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 5:46:50 PM |
| Message | Two reason's I don't attend the socials: first,I hate Mama's, second, I have to eat and run because of my work schedule.
My suggestion is to do what other clubs in the area do and have a dinner ride co-ordinator. He/She would pick a different restaurant every month or twice a month, pick rotating days, Thursday,Friday,Saturday,Sunday and in the warmer months pick different starting points for the ride. In the colder month's everyone just meets at the restaurant.
It's much easier for me to make a dinner rider on Saturday or Sunday night than during the week, I also would be more likely to go during the week, if it were a restaurant that I liked. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Steve Muller |
| Date Created | 11/6/2002 9:04:26 PM |
| Message | I'm all for rotating date and place IF it's not too much trouble to find new places and get the info out either in tghe calendar or via e-mail alert. Otherwise I suggest going back to the Pizza Hut in Tyson's. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Phyllis |
| Date Created | 11/7/2002 7:48:53 AM |
| Message | One persistant comment I've noticed is change restaurants and nights. Notify people via email, but make the decision early enough to get it on the calandar. With this new website, I think we could do this without the time constraints. It seems that Ralph has gotten the "blast" email running efficiently, & the information for the dinner could be posted on the website & blasted via after the monthly business meeting to give people enough time to plan to attend. That way, we could bring it up at the meeting & see if anyone wants to change the restaurant. I like the idea of changing nights with Monday in January, Tuesday in Febuary... this would allow members to plan the year.
Hopefully, Joe & I can attend some this way.
Phyllis |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Ed "Deerslayer" Naidamast |
| Date Created | 11/8/2002 12:11:39 PM |
| Message | Glad to see the number of responses in respect to the Socials. This is exactly why I raised the issue last spring. The most common thread among the responses appears to be Mama's -- either food or service. It seems the majority would prefer some kind of change in venue eventually.
My only suggestion is that whatever we decide--keep it simple. Rotating from place to place each month and sending out a blanket e-mail is fine, but several issues come to mind.
1. Who is going to select the new restaurant each month?
2. Since we never know how many will show up, what do we tell the restaurant management to expect?
3. What if they can't handle a sudden surge of 14-16 members?
4. If members don't have a chance to log into their e-mails, they may fail to learn where the upcoming social will be.
Best to keep this simple--find a two or three places we can call home and visit them quarterly. We can always drop one and add one during the year if we get bored or don't like the food or service.
It would seem to me that we need to find a few places that are relatively quiet during weeknights, but have good food. We can always return to Pizza Hut in Tysons. They did give us good service, but apart from Pizza and a relatively limited salad bar, the menu there was extremely short. I believe a place with a menu similar to what Mama Lucia's offers (where we go after the business meetings) would be better. Of course they'd have to have the space.
The issue certainly requires more investigation and some recommendations. Let's discuss this at our Tuesday mtg. |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Ken Breen |
| Date Created | 11/15/2002 10:49:33 AM |
| Message | I don't attend because it's impossible to drive from DC to NOVA on weekday evenings. And I don't drive, my Wing is the only vehicle I own. When you're looking at new locations, how about trying to find some close to a Metro station? |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Andy P |
| Date Created | 11/22/2002 11:37:48 AM |
| Message | Would volunteer my services to help coordinate the scheduling, location, and notification of the new places to meet next year. Since I will be more available after the middle of next month. Have a couple of places in mind and going to see what they think about us holding a social meeting there. Will let you know what I find out. And let me know if anyone else is interested in getting together or is already in the process of doing this.
Andy |
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| Topic | Re: Socials at Mama's |
| Author | Ralph Warren |
| Date Created | 11/22/2002 2:52:06 PM |
| Message | Great, right after the first of the year I will get a group together of PARR members to orgainize the Social.. Please stand by.... you are included!!! |
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