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Signing up for events... (Freiburg)

Dear fellow expats and/or global minds.
Having done a short stint as Ambassador in the Freiburg community (I just stepped down), and being the type of person I am, there's one question I'd really, really like to put out there: Why do people sign up for events they clearly never intended to show up for?

I know, I know, most of the official events are on weekdays/school-nights and people are busy. Well...So don't sign up! Generally, in Freiburg, around 50% of the registered attendees never materialise. For the Anniversary event (on a Saturday night btw), which was announced a full two months before the evening, 54% of those signed up never showed. That's frustrating. To say the least.

"Ah now, settle down there Tuka, it's not like it's a big deal. It's just informal meet-ups over a pint or two, mind..." Well, true. It does however make the Ambassadors' job a little difficult, when negotiating with venues for the monthly events. Take the Anniversary event; more than 70 members had signed up. On the evening around 45 guests checked in, Protected content which hadn't registered in advance. What that tells a venue is...next time InterNations comes around to talk about an event, take whatever numbers they/we present with more than one grain of salt. What it tells the organising Ambassadors involved is, well...never mind :-P Suffice it to say that, in my book, it makes volunteering a little less attractive.

Right. So... in these lives we live circumstances change, stuff comes up and we often need to change our plans. That's a given. No worries. When the no-show rate consistently hovers around the 50% however, it's more than that. So to those of you who more often than not can't be bothered: If you're fairly certain you're not going to attend - don't sign up. If for no other reason than out of respect for the volunteer Ambassadors.

See you at the next event :-D
T

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