Question about groups
 

I will be working one day a week in a friend's quilt shop soon and was invited to take part in a get together in the shop. The purpose was to bring something to work on and have it be a social 3 hours. The cost was $7 and food was provided. No one used any of the shop resources (sewing machines or supplies) and the general consensus of the group was that no fee should have been charged. There were no lessons being taught. Our thoughts were to have everyone bring a snack to share and the owner could provide drinks and maybe people would be spending some of their money to buy things from the store. This is a brand new venture and I really want it to be successful. Are we right or wrong in our assumptions that the fee was too much for the event?? I'd love feedback as I want to talk to her about it but don't want to be telling her how to run her business. Thanks

I do not know about the fee but you are using electricity, water and so the owner has to pay for. Maybe a little less then $7.

If the group does not want food to be provided, then I would think yes, the fee was too high.......let everyone bring their own whatever.....it's only three hours...most people can live without food/ drink for that short period....so if the owner just opens her shop to the group for gratis, maybe she'll get some sales.........maybe on that day/evening offer something for sale, or discount, or points toward something, or some sort of incentive to "shop" and sew.....just some quick thoughts.....

If she is providing the food, I would just consider it "eating out" money, not really a fee. Also remember that if the event is after hours, she is incurring a bit of extra utilities and labor expense that she has to cover.

You did use shop resources - electricity for lighting and air conditioning and also someone from the shop had to be there and their time needs to be compensated. The owner is also paying for insurance in case someone is injured and decides to sue. A small business walks a fine line trying to make ends meet. Maybe the "fee" could be discussed and something lower agreed upon if you brought your own snacks.

You are using a business facility and she is in business to make money so I would think a small fee is not inappropriate especially if you expect the owner to supply drinks.

Honestly? For food and drink and hanging out for 3 hours, I think $7 is quite reasonable!

How many people were there?

I think $7.00 is cheap. You're there for 3 hours and food was provided. So what if no one used any of the resources. You're taking up space when classes could've been going on. $7.00 per person per hour or just $7.00 period. Doesn't matter if you were going to purchase anything. That was space provided for a measly $7.00. Also as we all know food isn't cheap either.

Our QS used to be our gathering place, and I loved it. Anyone could come in on Sat. and sit and sew. There was no charge, but just about all of us would do some shopping, and check out what was new. We did bring our sewing machines if we wanted to, some would bring food, some would go get carry out. Our QS is now an on-line shop only, and we really miss it. I now meet with several other ladies in a different town. The Library lets us meet there, the first Sat. of the month from 9 - 4. There is "no charge" and everyone brings their machines, irons, crockpots, everything.

Many of the shops around here have an afternoon when you can come in and sew for a flat $5, no food provided, but the shop owner is available to answer questions if you need help with your project. They sometimes also have a free day, often associated making comfort quilts. Some of them also host free monthly meetings similar to guild meetings, with group projects/lessons/pass-it-along projects, etc. I think $7 with food is a bargain, but I probably wouldn't participate since I can sew better in my own space.

If I were the shop owner, I would probably not provide food and drinks. There will be some in the group who expect more than what is provided, some who have dietary restrictions (that they may expect to be met), and some who would prefer not to have food at all and resent that they are paying for it. It just opens up the door to disappointment when you try to satisfy everyone. And someone is bound to eventually have a spill, possibly on someone else's project. At most I would have some bottled water on hand.