I said I would send the final results of the survey so here they are. I am surprised and really quite gratified so many people responded (61!). I really appreciate getting the feedback even if the way forward is not clear. More below...
The overwhelming majority voted to move the meetings to Saturdays. Any Saturday, but the first Saturday is favored. We might change this once in a while to see how people adjust. I think consistency is important for people to plan their schedules but I'm not afraid to experiment.
The third graph (below) is where people expressed how important this was to them attending a meeting, and the majority said it would make a difference. There is a message there for me! (survey results link below)
So now here is my dilemma. We will definitely move to a Saturday starting in January. But the Spaghetti Western restaurant where we normally meet says they are not set up for breakfast at that location (they have 2 locations). Additionally, they normally open at 11 am on Saturdays because they stay up late on Friday nights. So if they opened their doors for us at 9 am on Saturday morning that means their staff (cooks, servers, managers) would have to be there at something like 6 am. They don't want to do that.
So would it be better if we moved to their other location? And what if we started at 11 am? Their other location is better for bikes as it is a larger parking lot and is totally level. And it is a better neighborhood. (If you didn't know several members' cars have been broken into over the years.). And it is somewhat easier to access off of 610. See link below.
BUT! Their back meeting room has only 10 tables (40 chairs) where the restaurant location we are currently using has 14 with room to expand. So if more people showed up because it was Saturday morning we could easily overwhelm the room! If you didn't know, we usually have 20-30 people show up at a meeting, sometimes as many as 50.
So do we stay at our current location and move to Saturdays at 11 am? Or move to the alternate location, also on Saturdays at 11 am? Or maybe go somewhere else entirely??
I saw the comments where a few people mentioned going to a new location (you can read all the comments at the link below). We can't go to a coffee shop for club meetings as we like to have presentations about epic ride reports and slide shows. So if we were to consider moving to somewhere else it would need to be reasonably centrally located in Houston, the ability to use a projector to display on a wall or screen, and seat at least 40-50 people. All without paying an extra fee! So if anyone can recommend a place that does all that I'm open to your suggestions!
Again, we will have our next normal meeting on the second Thursday of November, the 8th, with no changes. I need to work this out with the restaurant. But I think I may call for a 'meetup' at the alternate restaurant location on some weekend later in November or December to see what everyone thinks of it, and see how it goes with the restaurant managers/owners. Then make a decision for January.
Here is where the alternate location is: The Spaghetti Western #2 at 1951 W T C Jester Blvd, Houston, TX 77008, Google Map link.
I will post this in our club forums as well so you all can respond there (must be a paid member). Or if you want you can just reply to this email.
Jerry Matson
Club Manager
BMW Motorcycle Club of Houston
Here is the link to the Google spreadsheet with the results and comments from the survey. Survey Results
