FAQs

Convenient, Small Group Business Lunches Arranged for You

1. Each Tuesday, you'll receive an email from ConnectForLunch asking you if you'd like to go to lunch the following week.
2. On Friday, if you clicked "Yes" on the invitation, you'll receive an email with details of your lunch reservation:
   • the restaurant name and address,
   • a link to a map with directions,
   • the names of the other business people in your small group,
   • and links to profiles describing your lunch mates.
3. On the day of your lunch, at noon, when you arrive at the restaurant, you'll find that your reservation has already been made for you in advance. There's nothing for you to do except show up (the cost of your meal is not included). You'll have an hour or more at each lunch to get to know your fellow lunch mates and for them to get to know you and your business. After lunch, you may now have new customers, referrals, and new ideas for your business based on wisdom gained from others at your table.
4. After lunch, you may record notes about your lunch or review your lunch mates in your own private Contact Manager in your personal ConnectForLunch account.

ConnectForLunch is relaxed, comfortable and personal, and it happens at lunch — not after hours, when work is over and most of us would rather be at home.

Who joins ConnectForLunch?

ConnectForLunch members are business owners, professionals and independent contractors. They join ConnectForLunch to meet potential clients, individuals who may refer business to them, suppliers and business partners, and friends.

What's the cost of ConnectForLunch?

Two lunches per month:	$9.95 / month
Four lunches per month:	$17.95 / month

Your ConnectForLunch subscription is a month-to-month subscription cancelable at anytime. Click the "Your 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 ConnectForLunch?

Because ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch, 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 ConnectForLunch?

We don’t. Choosing some and excluding others means less diversity for you.

How does ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch lunch together.

We understand that some members might like to be able to target their client “types” and only lunch with them. However, ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch 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.

Do I use up one of my lunches?
Unless all others have canceled, the short answer is "yes." If you don't change your RSVP by 5:00 PM Friday, you have basically contracted to use one of your lunches. You'll be scheduled for a lunch group for the following week.

The lunch partners in your group will be setting aside time to meet you. They'll be thinking of questions for you about your business, referrals for you, people for you to contact, etc. They have purchased a monthly ConnectForLunch subscription to meet you. By you not showing up, you diminish the value of their subscription.

However, if there's some technical error on our part that interferes with you attending lunch, you'll receive credit for that lunch.

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!

ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch; 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 ConnectForLunch 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?

We will coordinate a replacement for you, if you are unable to attend lunch.
If you would like to help us, here are our guidelines:

1. Replacement must be cleared by us in advance, (by 10:30 AM the day of the lunch) so that we can assign the person to the group.
2. Replacement must create a ConnectForLunch account.
3. Replacement must be in the same profession as you.

What if I'm shy?

ConnectForLunch 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 ConnectForLunch, 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?

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 ConnectForLunch 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. Just a reminder, once you’ve had lunch with a given individual, you are unlikely to be matched with them again.

Please see the Terms of Use section of our member agreement for additional information regarding community standards.