| FEEDBACK
Feedback April '08. hi Brendan,
can you please remove our numbers from your
list for waterford speed dating
Justin and Anne Marie. we met at the Tower on Thursday
28th 20/30 night in Tower Hotel. We have been seeing
each other since. Thanks for your help!!!.... (Full names
& phone numbers supplied).
At our 40/50's event 0n the 13/4/08
we met Martin who is a regular with his friend John. I enquired
as to John's whereabouts and I was told that he was on holiday
out foreign with his girlfriend who he met at one of our events.
We were shown pictures on Martin's phone of the two of them
hand in hand on a beach somewhere looking
very much in love. (And another customer bites the dust. If
we keep losing customers at this rate we'll be out of business
in no time)
At last Thursdays event in Waterford
24/4/08 we met a couple who met at one of our events
about 2 months ago. (Joe & Fiona) They came along to support
Joe's sister Margaret who was attending that night. Joe assured
me that this was the real thing and that he was knocked head
over heels with Fiona. I hope it works out for you both. Please
let us know when you tie the knot.
At last Sundays event 27/4/08 for 30s &
40s in Cork we got wind of our first official engagement.
This particular guy called Joe, who travelled up
from Kenmare for last Sunday's event informed us about his
friend who has since become engaged after meeting his future
bride at one of our events in Cork last October. Joe was so
impressed he decided to try our speeddating events himself.
(Joe had a few matches himself last Sunday. Good Luck)
January 2008. Just
thought I should throw in a few comments regarding our progress
since Sept 2007 when we restarted the speeddating in earnest
after a break of 18 months. Since Sept '07 we ran events every
2nd Sunday in the Ambassador Hotel up to Christmas and almost
without exception every event was sold out & a great success.
However we made one major mistake. We
thought a Christmas Party for our regular clients & friends
would be a good idea without any speeddating for a change.
We hired the ballroom, organised live music with Oliver Kane,
a mulled wine reception and buffet food etc and all for the
usual price of €35. We thought we would attract at least
100 people and possibly the max of 180. However we got it
wrong. Not enough people expressed an interest in the party
but most just wanted speeddating. So we thought we would combine
both and have optional speeddating for all age groups before
the music & dance etc. It sounded like a good idea. Anyway
the long & short of it all was we didn't get the speeddating
right or the party right. The main problem was the low turnout.
However I think everyone enjoyed the bit of Ceili dancing
with the Falla Luimni etc. It was a lesson learnt.
Feedback since Sept'07. It
is only recently becoming obvious to us the success we have
had since September and we really need to do some research
to find out the real extent. The following are a number of
examples with names changed.
- John has been coming to us since we started a few years
ago on a regular basis. He had no problem travelling up
from West Cork on Sunday nights. The strange thing was that
he actually got very few matches. In fact he usually didn't
get any and it was all the more strange to Marie & myself
because he was (is) a regular guy, extremely nice, never
married, self employed, short maybe but good looking and
a very pleasant guy indeed with devil may care attitude
about the whole thing. Lo and behold he got a match last
October and everything is going great since with both of
them.
- We got a call from a guy in the Ring of Kerry who wanted
to book an event because a friend of his, also from the
Ring of Kerry, had found success with us. It was worth the
Journey.
- I rang this new client of ours since September who was
always full of praise but who I hadn't seen for awhile.
This guy was recently separated and divorced etc. A professional
guy with a good happy go lucky personality from Cork. He
always did very well at each event. In fact he did so well
that he was actually seeing about 7 girls on a casual basis
over a few months and all of whom he met while speeddating.
He has since hit it off with a particular girl from Kerry
who he met at one of our events and he seems to be very
happy with life. That particular girl from Kerry
came along to that event with her sister. The sister also
found a partner at the event and they are still going together
as well . I hope they all live happily ever after.
- We recently found out about another 2 regular male clients
of ours since 2005, both from North Cork who have found
success as well with girls they met at one of our events
since September. Good luck Paul & Noel.
If any of you out there would like
to let us know how you are getting on after trying our speeddating
events we would love to know?
Sept '2007. Nice
to be back after a break of almost 18 months. Because of other
commitments we took a break from the speeddating a year and
a half ago and it feels as if we never took a break. We held
our 1st event after the break at the start of last month on
the 2nd Sept '07 and it turned out to be a very pleasant night
with a very nice group of people. Not quite as big as previous
events but nevertheless a great success. When the event was
over a big group gathered near the bar and stayed chatting
for another hour or two.
From a dating point of view it was also
a great success. With the exception of 2 girls who choose
not to tick anyone every girl got at least one match. The
average was 2 or 3 with some getting as many as 5 matches.
The guys did very well also. One particular guy who shall
remain nameless got 5 matches. This guy is an old hand at
the speeddating and a regular with us from the start. He has
obviously found the secret. I have a feeling we won't be seeing
him for a while.
We
are delighted with the hotel for a number of reasons. The
room is a perfect size, with its own private bar, soft lighting
and with candles lighting on every table. The adjacent toilets
are spotless and the continuous bar service throughout the
evening is always fantastic.
Your
feedback about the venue is very positive. A lot of people
have compared our venue & events very favourably to others.
It seems that some of the other events have huge crowds with
little or no privacy or the venue isn't very nice. etc. etc.
Thank you for your comments & encouragement. They are
always appreciated.
Many thanks to the hotel manager, Mr.John
McCarthy and his very capable staff for making the effort.
We are extremely happy with the venue and we hope to remain
there for a long time to come, if at all possible.
Feedback from Sunday 14th. October
'07 40/50's Event
Eleanor: Had a great
time last night. Thank you for the numbers. It was great to
meet so many nice people.
Answer: Thank you
Eleanor for your kind comments and for going to the trouble.
Feedback from Sunday 12th. March
'06
COLMAN: Attended the event
in Cork last night and while I enjoyed the event I very
quickly noticed how much confusion there was among us all
and have no doubt that
some people may be suprised by their dates or lack of. This
is very easily addressed by a couple of minutes of instruction
before each event and if an overhead
projector was used as well it would make things clearer still,
but besides that
hiccup that badly needs to be addressed the overall idea is
a winner.
Colman.
Answer: Thanks Colman for
your comments. We have taken note & promise to improve.
We must have been a little rusty after the long break. Glad
you enjoyed the night though. (We have since improved
matters by placing instructional leaflets around the room
and also by pointing out to people where mistakes are normally
made. In fact since we made these changes the events are now
very relaxed. The feedback also suggests that the events are
now very professional and well organised.)
Deirdre: Brendan & Marie,
had a great night out Sunday night. Much easier and more fun
than I imagined. Thanks, Deirdre. (Name has been changed)
Answer: Thank you for your
kind comments Deirdre.
Niall: I think it's a great
idea. If I wasn't here tonight I'd be sitting at home in front
of the telly wasting my life away. I'd much rather be here.
Sean: This speeddating is
having a very positive effect on me. In the past I wouldn't
have bothered much with girls I didn't fancy but the speeddating
forces you to speak to everyone for a few minutes. I must
say, I have been pleasantly surprised. I have met all sorts.
Good looking, not so good looking, interesting & not so
interesting, shy & not so shy and mostly all very friendly
& extremely nice. And I have made a few new friends. If
I am not careful I might actually turn into a nicer person.
Previous Events held
before the Summer of 2005
We held our 4th. event on Sunday 15th. May
at the Vienna Woods Hotel in Glanmire. This night was a bit
of an experiment in that we held our first event for an older
age group, namely 40/50's. We took a bit of a gamble. We had
a full house again except for the one or two guys who didn't
turn up and the small group of girls who got cold feet at
the last minute and did a runner. Nearly everybody was in
good humour after the event. Everybody also remarked how nice
and friendly everybody was on the night. One particular guy,
who shall remain nameless, thought it was better than any
therapy. The same guy was only recently divorced and this
was his first real social event with the opposite sex since
the breakup of his marriage. He had to be coerced into going
but he was really glad afterwards that he made the effort.
He was actually on a bit of a high afterwards. I hope he keeps
up the good work. Life is really too short.
From a matching point of view it wasn't as
successful as our usual 30/40's event but it was still a worthwhile
exercise. We will probably introduce a friendship box on the
card for this group as well as the normal box. It seems that
people in this group are less inclined to commit themselves
to a date but wouldn't object to meeting someone on a friendship
basis only.
We held our last event before the summer
on the 29th. of May and this was also a bit of a gamble with
a slightly younger age group. However it turned out to be
a great night and not much different from the normal 30/40's
night.
Our 2nd event was probably our most successful
to date from our point of view.That night we had a very nice
bunch of people and for some strange reason we seemed to attract
a better mix of professional types than previously. I think
Colette Sheridan from the Irish Examiner
would have been in her element. Colette attended our 1st event
and complained about the number of farmers present. (See her
article below). This time we had a better mix. We certainly
had some farmers and a very nice bunch of people they were
but we also had teachers, engineers, lawyers, doctors, nurses,
vets, auctioneers, entrepeneurs, building contractors, hairdressers
etc. etc. Our 3rd night also had a nice similar mix of people
but not up to our usual standards (according to one of our
regulars). It obviously can't be the same every night.
We still have one or two minor improvements
to make for our next event. Overall everybody seems to be
on a high after each event and with few exceptions everybody
is lavish with their praise and encouragement to keep up the
good work.
________________________________________________________________________________
Re the
press coverage below it should be remembered that it was our
very 1st event.
PRESS COVERAGE (26th. January 2005)
On todays Irish Examiner we got press coverage for our first
event. On the top of the front page it states:
Mating game
Colette Sheridan speeds ahead to find a date. Features:
page 19.
Speed Wobble. With
just six minutes to spark some kind of attraction, Colette
Sheridan clocks into the mating game.
I took the plunge and went speed-dating this week, curious
about the type of singleton who is willing to admit they can't
find a partner in standard social situations.
What first struck me was the number of men who had travelled
all over Munster to try and get a date. Is there really nothing
going on in Kerry or Tipperary that these guys had to travel
50 or 60 miles in an effort to hook up with a woman?
The organiser said that the event was geared towards
people between 25-40, so I had to take a few years off my
age to be admitted. But the reassuring thing was that there
were lots of people there over 35.
All 15 of us women had to sit at individual tables,
each one allocated with a number. The 15 men had to circulate
and chat to each woman for six minutes, after which a bell
rang.
Six minutes is not a lot of time in which to try and
form an impression about somebody and, crucially, decide whether
you were going to put a tick next to his name , therby signalling
that you'd like to meet him again.
However, it suited me. I'm prone to sizing people up
very quickly. I dismissed out of hand one guy who was wearing
cowboy boots. A bit too country 'n' western for my taste and
besides he was a little bitter about women, having broken
up with his wife some years previously.
Then there was the guy who looked a little like Bill
Clinton- minus the charisma. He turned out to be an old hand
at singles' events and had recently been to a singles weekend
up the country. "If you're not in, you can't win,"
he said, grinning. I mentally wrote him off. Anyone who talks
in inane platitudes is seriously lacking in conversation skills.
I met several farmers and had bizarre conversations
about dry stock. I even found myself doing the cute hoor thing
and asking one guy how many acres he had! The farmers were
eminently practical. They were there to get a woman. She didn't
have to be beautiful, witty or enchanting. She just had to
be willing. A case of 'brace yourself Bridgid!' Thinking it
must get lonely down there on the farm for these poor guys,
I tried to envisage a future that involved going to Macra
dances and helping to bring in the hay. But I really couldn't
go there.
Apart from sons of the soil, I spoke to several men who
were fed up with the pub scene. They simply couldn't meet
women in pubs. Try chatting up a woman in a pub and chances
are she'll report you to the Equality Authority for harassment,
one guy said to me. Yes, it's a mine-field out there. Which
is why speed-dating , the personal ads and internet chat rooms
are increasingly the way to go if you're looking for a relationship.
With just six minutes to go, I hadn't ticked off a single
guy on my card, despite having paid €30 for the privilege
of discussing acreage and the like with available men.
But , then, this rather good-looking, non-national man
sat down at my table and I perked up. I knew he was younger
than me and asked him his age. He was 35. When you have only
six minutes, there really is no time for preambles. I asked
him what he did. He said he worked in a hospital. After a
bit of probing I established he was a doctor and the snob
in me became more interested.
He then paid me a compliment - but not the kind I wanted
to hear. "Why are you here? You obviously have a high
IQ. Surely you can see that men are just simple creatures"
he said. I was totally disarmed. This guy had sussed out the
whole men/women scenario and he was right. Men ARE simple
creatures with basic needs. But then women have their needs
too, even if we're not simple! In any case I put a tick beside
the good doctor's name and went off into the night.
The idea is that the organiser rings you the next day
with the results. You may want a date with someone but unless
they, too, have put a tick after you're number, making it
a situation of mutual desire, you can forget it. I was told
two guys had been interested in seeing me - but then the doctor
wasn't one of them.
Would I pay €30 again to go speed-dating? I don't
think so. Fifteen men and not a single date. But at least
you leave with you're dignity. Now is there any way I can
engineer a situation to bump into the good doctor? (
END OF ARTICLE )
More Feedback (Sunday 23rd. January)
Violet. Very enjoyable evening. Would return
to do another event.
Brendan. Great night. Sign me up for the
next event immediately. By the way I've met a lot of the girls
who were at the event later on by chance around the city.
It's definitely a good way to expand your social circle.
Cameron. Very interesting night.
Jennette. Thanks Marie & Brendan. Really
enjoyed the night. Sure you'd never know.
Text from Mary in response to text from Velo re next
event: Tanks Marie 4 update, but u def made a match
4 me the last time. Still madly in love! I'll b in touch if
it doesn't work out!!! Mary (Name changed)
Feedback from Sunday 13th. March
Helen. Well you know what? I never had such
a great time. I've been laughing & smiling to myself all
day thinking about last night. I really, really enjoyed it.
Nick. Thanks for a great night. I will definitely
give you some feedback on the web and I will definitely spread
the word. Keep up the good work. (We're still waiting Nick)
Mary: A great night again. I think it's
a great idea. Keep up the good work. (Mary booked for the
next event 5 days later) Mary has attended every event so
far and seems to be hooked.
John: (a very popular guy) A great night.
A fantastic idea. Put me down for the next event immediately.
(John, I don't know where you get your energy from. I would
have thought 5 or 6 dates would keep you going for awhile)
(Name changed) John cancelled a few days before the
next event because he was still seeing one particular girl
who he met at the 1st event. Seems fairly serious. We haven't
seen John since. (1 year later)
MORE TO COME
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