Answers to
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who joins Connect 4 Lunch?
- What’s the cost of Connect 4 Lunch?
- Is the cost of the meal included?
- Can my company be a Member of Connect 4 Lunch?
- Where are the lunches held?
- How do you choose which members can join Connect 4 Lunch?
- How does Connect 4 Lunch match Members for lunch?
- What if I can’t attend lunches on the scheduled day of the week, or can’t make it at noon?
- What if I commit to a lunch and then can’t attend?
- Can I send a substitute if I can’t make a lunch I’ve committed to?
- What if I’m shy?
- What if one of the people I meet is a real jerk? Or if service at the restaurant wasn’t up to par? Can I report things like that?
- More questions? Contact us.
Who joins Connect 4 Lunch?
Connect 4 Lunch members are business owners, professionals and independent contractors. They join Connect 4 Lunch to meet potential clients, individuals who may refer business to them, suppliers and business partners, and friends.What’s the cost of Connect 4 Lunch?
| Two lunches per month: | $11.95 / month |
| Four lunches per month: | $19.95 / month |
Your Connect 4 Lunch subscription is a month-to-month subscription cancelable at anytime. Click the "My Account" button for cancellation instructions. No refunds or credits for partial monthly subscription periods.
The flat monthly fee includes the services that we provide you (scheduling lunches, managing invitations and RSVPs, creating new diverse lunch groups for you each week, making restaurant reservations, supporting your online profiles and lunch history, as well as providing customer support). The cost of the meals is not included.
Is the cost of the meal included?
No. To make paying for lunch easy, we select restaurants that are willing to provide separate checks to everyone at the table. When you arrive at the restaurant, simply remind your server that you'd like separate checks at the end of the meal.
Can my company join Connect 4 Lunch?
Because Connect 4 Lunch is about enabling businesspeople to make personal connections with other businesspeople, members are all individuals. If you’d like to have several employees of your company join Connect 4 Lunch, we’d be delighted. Each should register for their own separate membership.Where are the lunches held?
Lunches are at local restaurants in your area. We make reservations with restaurants that have accessible parking and a commitment to providing you the quality service you deserve. You will be notified of the specific restaurant where you will be dining—along with its address, phone number and a link to a map—in your lunch assignment email and on your lunches page on the day before your lunch.How do you choose which members can join Connect 4 Lunch?
We don’t. Choosing some and excluding others means less diversity for you.How does Connect 4 Lunch match Members for lunch?
The only factors that influence lunch assignments are that we try to ensure that no two people at a lunch are in the same business (based on the business categories that each member lists in his or her profile), and that no two members have previously been booked a Connect 4 Lunch lunch together.We understand that some members might like to be able to target their client “types” and only lunch with them. However, Connect 4 Lunch was founded on the idea that success often has serendipitous origins and that the more diverse your connections the healthier and more profitable your business. You never know where your next referral or breakthrough idea will come from.
What if I can’t attend lunches on the scheduled day of the week, or can’t make it at noon?
As more people join Connect 4 Lunch in your area, lunches may be offered on additional days of the week. For only a nominal increase in membership fee, you’ll be able to attend lunches on two days a week if you wish when sufficient members have joined.What if I commit to a lunch and then can’t attend?
If you have to miss a lunch after RSVP’ing "Yes, I will attend", we ask that you call the other members and let them know you won’t be there. We also ask that you notify us of your change in plan.The remaining group members will have lunch without you. If two people are forced to cancel, the lunch appointment can be kept, or not, as the members wish.
If you miss three lunches that you have committed to attend within a three-month period, we may ask you to observe a one-month suspension before resuming your membership.
A word about canceling:
When you make a lunch date and then cancel, it's not just a "neutral" event for the two or three people that
you're scheduled to have lunch with. Comments we've received from other members indicate that it definitely
leaves a negative opinion when you don't show up -- unfortunately, even when you have a valid reason for canceling!
Connect 4 Lunch is word-of-mouth marketing. It's easy, it's cheap (just a little more than what you'd leave for a tip), and it's effective. But because it's so easy (you just show up!), it can also be easy to take it for granted.
When you don't show up for a lunch you've committed to, you're still doing word-of-mouth marketing... but not in a good way. During lunch, for over an hour your empty chair is reminding your lunch partners that they made the effort to meet with you... and you didn't. It says something to them about you and your business, and your willingness to stand by what you've committed to.
You'll find that not every lunch turns out to be the optimum networking event for you. That's just life. But what you're doing as a member of Connect 4 Lunch is creating word-of-mouth marketing for your company and above all, for yourself as a person in the chamber community. As you know, word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful form of marketing there is — whether positive or negative.
When participants don't fulfill their commitment to go to lunch with the others in their group, there's also a larger impact on the effectiveness of Connect 4 Lunch inside the Chamber community. If participants begin to question whether their lunch partners will actually show up for lunch, it weakens the structure of what can be a powerful vehicle for getting recognized in the Chamber community. By fulfilling your commitment, you're not just supporting Connect 4 Lunch; you're supporting the larger Chamber community as well.
You're in business for the long haul; not just for this week, or this month, or even this year. Our principle at Connect 4 Lunch is that you never know where your next referral is coming from.
Can I send a substitute if I can’t make a lunch I’ve committed to?
No. Only Connect 4 Lunch Members may attend lunches.What if I’m shy?
Connect 4 Lunch members are genuinely interested in getting to know each other and in learning about one another’s business. If you are shy, start by asking others about themselves and their businesses based on what you read about them in their profile. The setting will be casual; no spotlight, no microphones, no particular agenda. By the time you’re asked what you’re into, you’ll probably feel comfortable enough to speak up.Conquering anxieties about self-promoting is one of the most important, and most difficult, hurdles for the shy. But we know you have confidence, or you wouldn’t have gone into business for yourself! Practice is what you need, and with Connect 4 Lunch, practice is what you’ll get!
What if one of the people I meet is inappropriate? Or if service at the restaurant wasn’t up to par? Can I report things like that?
We welcome all kinds of feedback. Let us know what you think about lunch logistics, meeting places, tech issues, or even your favorite meal choices!To be true to our mission, we will strive to build an open, diverse and tolerant membership community. We will not automatically suspend memberships due to member complaints about other members. If concerns are raised regarding harassment, offensive language, or the like, these will be taken very seriously, and explored by Connect 4 Lunch staff with the individuals involved. It may be the case be that a fellow businessperson merits constructive feedback, or the opportunity to learn how others perceive their attitudes and opinions. And, once you’ve had lunch with a given individual, you are unlikely to be matched with them again.
Please see the Terms and Conditions section of our member agreement for additional information regarding community standards.
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