New meeting location

 

Here is the criteria for a new location.

Must have ample parking, similar to what we have here at Ricky's.  So we can get monthly club photos.

Must allow Minors, we do have a few club members that are under 19.

Must have a banquet room that we can use free of charge.  Currently the situation is that as long as people are eating we get it free.

Must be easy access close to the freeway.  No more than 5 mins from the closest Trans Canada exit.  This is a major downfall with our last 3 locations, people could drive from North Van faster than it would take to get from the Freeway to our meeting place.

Must have reasonable prices.  Average dinner burger fries and a coke 10-11 bucks.   I know some people want the Keg others suggested McDonald's, so something in between.  I'd love to find a pizza joint with a buffet, but I don't think any exist in our areas.

Locations. We are trying to stay in the Surrey / Port Kells area.  However if enough people from the other side of the bridge we can consider Coquitlam/New West. 

Hours of operation. No EARLY CLOSERS.  This is a big issue we have with Ricky's.  They close at 9pm, and keep rushing us to pay our bills at 8:30.  I mean Frack, we normally get inside about 7:30, and by the time they take our orders, its 8pm, we just get our food and start eating by 8:30.   10pm is the earliest I would like to see our new place close.

 Service, I guess we can't say we want good service as that should be a given.  However repeatable decent service is important.   I have had minimum wage burger flippers from McDonald's be nicer than some staff at a few restaurants.    I realize our group can be a bit of a pain in the butt, however that just means that they need to staff us better or add extra people to our area.  Lisa and I normally spend about $35 for the 2 of us to have 2 pops and 2 smaller meals.  Is to much to be able to ask for a refill on a drink without worrying if I am pissing off the staff?

 

So far some of the suggestions have been.

Denny's in Port Kells.  Roughly 200th street and 88th Ave

Rickey's in Port Kells Roughly 203rd street and 88th Ave.

ABC Restaurant at 158th and 104th Ave in surrey.

 

It doesn't match all of the criteria, but the Uncle Willy's just off Kingsway has decent prices, allows for all of us to get in, and sit down in one area, has tons and tons of parking, and the backdrop of MetroTown is quite photo-friendly. It could be used as a last resort if no other options pan out.

I agree that a new meeting place/restaurant is probably a great idea. I’ve only been going to club meetings since July, but I can’t believe how badly the current restaurant wants us out of there by 9 PM. Most places on a weekend evening are just getting going by that time! And what was with all the confusion tonight regarding who ordered what, and who got what bill? What a complete joke of an operation!

My only concern with meetings moving farther east is that club members and/or prospective club members from the Vancouver area may not be all that keen to drive 45 minutes or so each way (and longer when driving conditions aren’t perfect) to attend a meeting. I would think there are a heck of a lot more Fiero owners located west of the bridge. It might be said that currently, most(?) club members are located east of the bridge, but my response would then be that already the meeting place is too far east to attract more Vancouver/Burnaby/New West participants.

Now before somebody jumps all over me and states that this is a car club and we’re all supposed to enjoy driving, I just want to mention that from my perspective it’s more of a time issue. Not everyone wishes to drive for an hour and a half to two hours (round trip) just to attend a meeting. I’d rather be spending my time looking at club member’s cars and shooting the breeze with other members than sitting alone in my GT for up to a couple hours just driving back and forth to the meeting.

Time wise, the possible location mentioned just off 200^th may not be any worse than the current location, as driving down 152^nd from the freeway to Ricky’s in Surrey is a slow process with all those stop lights. Anywhere beyond that location (time wise) would be a mistake in my opinion, and quite honestly, I’d rather see a new centralized location selected in Coquitlam just west of the bridge. There are a lot of restaurants on the Lougheed Hwy between Brunette and the bridge. Surely we could find a suitable location along there somewhere.

Below is a map of the whole Lower Mainland with the selected area in Coquitlam indicated...

However, as a club we need to get as much input as we can from members and/or prospective members before any decision can be made. Don't be shy, speak up!

 

Capt Fiero wrote: Out of that 13, 9 were from East of the Bridge(Surrey Langley Aldergrove)  4 were from West of the Bridge(Burnaby, Vancouver New West).  So in sheer numbers, its more than a 2-1 ratio.

I don't think we should read too much into the attendance for one meeting, but even if the attendance was consistently 2-1 in favor of members from east of the bridge, I still think what I posted above applies. It may be that the club's meeting place is already too far east to appeal to Fiero owners located west of the bridge. And as I previously stated, I would think there are more Fiero owners (not necessarily club members) located west of the bridge (due to the denser population) than east of it.

We need to attract more of these people to the club and to the meetings by making our meeting place more accessible. We need a more centralized location. Looking at and/or considering meeting places/restaurants out by 200th is going in the wrong direction IMHO.

 

Fiero Zen wrote: Hey Patrick, Let's just have the meeting at your house

Nah, the fellas from out yonder wouldn't want to venture into the wilds of East Van. 

 

Romeo, I'd like to respond to some of your comments, but I've got to ask you - Have you attended meetings of any type of club on a regular basis? I’m not asking in a snooty manner, I'm genuinely interested if you have or not.

The reason I ask is that I’ve been on the executive of a video club for the last 17 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes during that time span. Some good, some bad. My comments below are in regards to clubs in general, not just the Fiero club.

I can tell you for sure that it does make a difference how far people need to drive to go to a meeting. It’s not like people have to go to a club meeting. It’s not like they’ll go no matter where it is. They just won’t go at all if they figure it’s not worth the effort.

Keeping a club attractive and appealing for new members is imperative. Established members come and go. People move away, interests change. If new people don’t join the fold over time, a club eventually dies. Nothing sadder than a once thriving club being reduced to a half-dozen lonely members.

Okay, I’ve said enough on the topic. Perhaps some of you feel I’ve already said too much.  If I have it’s only because I’m enthused about the club and would like to see it prosper. I will now bow out of the discussion unless I am directly addressed. Thanks.

 

IN regards to cards, yes, we need some more.  I actually just got an email from Ken in regards to them, I have not had time to actually read it all through and reply to him.  The place needs a sample card and I think we are totally out of cards.   I'll try and make it over to the place that did our last printing and see if they have the original file, maybe get them to spit us out a batch of 500 then give a few to people to have estimates made out on more of them.   500 cards does not go far when everyone grabs 10 at a time to hand out. (which is totally in reason) 30 members at a meeting thats over 1/2 the box in one shot.  We may have to go and add in a system we did in the very early days of the club.  Make up a standard flier on 8x11 paper, do it in MS Word so that everyone can open it.  Email out the word doc and everyone that has the ability to sneak them off at work, or has a Laser Printer at home, run off 50 or a 100 of them. Then just stash them behind the passenger seat.  When you see a Fiero, just put the flyer on the windshield.  Its not as nice as business cards, but we are able to put a great deal more info on it.  The flyer can also have contact info for "Fiero Racing Info" Fiero Parts Info, Club site, email list and ...........    I have always put my personal cell number on everything and if anyone else feels like fielding lots of calls on a daily basis is more than welcome to be a club contact.  (I used 1488 mins on my cell last month, and over 1/2 of it was Fiero related, either people buying people selling or tech advice on current cars)

I would like to add something for consideration;

I've been a member for 2/3 years - travelling from Maple Ridge via the Port Mann and Burnaby via the Port Mann. I have only missed 2/3 meetings in all that time.

What has been a constant when travelling to the meetings is the terrible grid-lock of traffic going west from the 160th exit, down the hill onto the Port Mann bridge.

While I agree with attracting new members west of the Port Mann. Will that be at the cost of exsisting members + possibe new members getting fed up just sitting in traffic with fiero engines getting perhaps to hot?

Travelling east over the Port Mann on a Saturday evening has NEVER been a problem.

What's the trade off?

I personally have enjoyed getting out and having a bit of a run in my fiero, especially coming to the club meetings in Surrey.

I also happily drive out to see club members in Surrey and Langley, for me the driving experience (The Zen) is part of owning a sports car.

FieroZen