Post Carlisle Survey

[DPDISXR4Ti]

The responses have been coming in fast and furious to my post of this survey on IMON, but I wanted to make sure we covered those of you who frequent the Forum as your "Merkur Water Cooler" too.

I realize requesting an e-mail response in a web forum doesn't make much sense, so feel free to respond as you normally would in this topic thread. Just try not to be influenced by the "exit poll" of others' comments. If you have something that is best left as an off the record comment, don't hesitate to respond directly to me at events@merkurclub.com

It's time for the annual post-Carlisle survey! This is your chance to
provide feedback to direct us for next year's big 20th anniversary event.
Feel free to
answer as many or as few questions as you like - all feedback is appreciated
- the good, the bad, and the ugly!

1. What were the highlights of this year's show for you?

2. What would you like changed/improved/added for next year? (please be
as specific as possible)

3. Hotel
- What did you think of this year's choice of the Clarion hotel? i.e.
What was good and what was bad?
- Given a choice between the Clarion (4 miles to show-field), Holiday
Inn (13 miles), or the Radisson (15 miles), which would you prefer to
stay at next year?
- Would anything in particular change your answer to the question above?

4.Saturday night dinner banquet
- What would you like to see changed?
- How was the food quality and selection?
- What did you think of the sponsors and their prizes? Any vendor(s)
you'd like to see participate as a sponsor next year?

5. MCA Awards
- What did you think of the awards?
- Should we do more, less, and/or different awards next year? (Again, please be as specific as possible with your suggestions)

6. Do you find the Merkur directory of attendees valuable? Why or why not?

7. If you brought your wife, kids, friends or other family members, did
they enjoy the show? Is there anything they would like to see
added/changed for them?

8. If you are an MCA member, did you attend the Annual General Meeting
on Sunday morning?
- Was the timing, length and location of the meeting satisfactory?
- Any suggestions as to what you would like to see at future meetings?

9. Did you like this year's t-shirt design and color? What color
t-shirt would you like to see for next year? Blue, Red, Black, Green,
White, Grey, Other?

10. Were you happy with our location on the show-field?

11. Did you attend a show-field seminar? Did you find it useful? What
other seminars would you like to see?

12. Was the MCA Carlisle planning website useful? What else would you like
to see included? Was the addition of PayPal useful? Easy to use?

Thank you for participating in this survey. If you have any interesting
stories, Carlisle related or just Merkur related, please forward them to
n.tannehill@comcast.net for inclusion in an upcoming newsletter. We look
forward to seeing you at next year's show - circle the date now... June
3-5, 2005.

[mhamilton]

1. Highlight, winning both 1st place trophies. Meeting alot of my forum brethren was the best.
3. Clarion was ok, just rent lighting for next year.
6. The directory was not accurate this year. It was more true in the past.
8. Yes I attended the General Meeting. The length was okay, alot must be said in one hour.
9. T-shirt this year was good. 2003 was the best so far. Black is tough to wear in the summer sun. The 2003 gray was nice.
10. Happy with the showfield location. 2002's location sucked.
12. Planning site was great and the Paypal option was great also.

[John Brennan]

Well, this was my first Carlisle Experience, so please bear that in mind:

1. No question about it-- meeting all you fine people was THE highlight.

2. I was looking for The Party, and it didn't happen. Seems like there should be some sort of organized event where we get loose and party together. The dinner was terrific, but maybe something like a luau would be fun. You know-- fire, throbbing drums, dancing...Maybe that's what these guys are saying about the parking lot.

3. I've already commented on the hotel-- nice enough, good amenities, good proximity to the show-- but a little anal. I don't think they would be letting us set up lights in their parking lot...

4. Kinda' answered by #2. Food was good, awards dragged on a little too long.

5. Nice and thoughtful awards-- just speed it up so we can have The Party afterwards.

6. Didn't use it, probably coulda shoulda.

7. I didn't, but I wish I could have. Don't worry about it-- you can't be responsible for everything. Just concentrate on the show itself and let people find their own peripheral activities.

8. Hey fellas-- we're not all from the East Coast! 7:30 AM is 4:30 AM for me-- not much chance of me making that one. We're supposed to be on vacation, remember? Not going to bed and getting up with the chickens!

9. T-shirt was cool. Do whatever you like next year. I trust you.

10. Location was very nice. Our own little area, yet not far from everything else.

11. What seminars?Were there seminars?

12. EXTREMELY well thought out and very useful. Bravo!

[88_WRC_Replica]

1. Getting back into the Merkur Community, DG’s car,
2. No rain… but I guess you guys can’t control that. I would love to see the Sunday morning autoX back again that used to be the highlight of my Carlisle weekend.
3. Room was nice, but everyone was too spread out and no light.
I would go back to the Radisson, the drive didn’t bother me since there are so many great roads on the way back.
4. Didn’t attend.
5. I was happy to win again but I would like to see a rule that no car can win the same award two years in a row. It would give some of the other members who can’t spend quite so much money on their cars a chance to win.
6. There was a directory of attendees?? I thought the name tags were a good idea.
7. NA
8. No
9. I didn’t like the color. I don’t where T-shirts much other than in the gym so white is the only color for me.
10. It wasn’t bad it could have been worse just look at where the Focus club got stuck last year on the far side of the hill.
11. No I always seemed to be out walking the field when they were on.
12. Yes it let me know just how long I could procrastinate before having to register. Paypal was great it’s a fantastic service and allows me paying in CDN funds to get a great exchange rate.

[wilky]

1. a) Meeting fellow Merkur enthusiasts - I have never been involved with such a diverse bunch of folks before - it's great! b) Seeing all of the cars - they are just as eclectic as their owners - again, it's great! c) the show.
2. A better meeting/party venue for the "Merkur only" sessions in the car park.
3. a) If Simon truly knows a good backroad route to the showfield then go back to where we were in 2003 or somewhare with similar car park, hose pipe, lighting etc. b) Hot tub was great after getting drenched and cold at the showfield.
4. a) Food was good. b) Bar would be good c) sponsors prizes were excellent d) Maybe Labatt's would make a good sponsor?
5. Awards were fine although lengthy. I wonder if you should have less awards for a greater range of model years based on number of entrants? I suspect that some of the stock awards were based on maybe only two or three eligible competitors.
6. Yes, its an excellent idea & usefull. It would be better for me if it included mug shots of the owners.
7. I brought my son and based on his absence from our hotel room I would say he had a good time
8. Yes I attended and thought it was a very well run and informative meeting. I was very dissapointed at the lack of attendance though. I think anyone who travelled less than 3 time zones should drag their arse out of bed and attend (JB you can thank me later). Early in the morning Sunday is really the only time when the majority of us are in one place and there is nothing better to do whilst awake.
9. Grey
10. Yes
11. Yes but only one. I would like to have someone with a high hp car go through the modifications made, when, why, what it does, why its good, etc
12. Website was great. PayPal is a real improvement - particularly for us Cannucks.

Wilky

[John Brennan]

I'll thank you now, and still ask for a meeting...later!

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Thanks for the feedback guys. In no particular order, I'll respond...

1) Wilky, you're in charge of getting Labatt's as a sponsor for next year!
2) I agree Sunday morning is the best time for the meeting, although I too think the 7:30AM start time was a bit over the top.
3) I like the idea of doing just one seminar on Saturday afternoon - poor Don Sweigart has been trying to do his seminar for two years now to no avail
4) June 3-5, 2005 is forecasted to be sunny and 75 degrees - you heard it here first!
5) We're giving consideration to changing the format of the MCA awards for next year, so all input regarding that is appreciated.
6) John, you mean to tell me hanging out at an English pub Sunday night wasn't the highlight of the trip!?
7) Directory content is only as good as the input. I wonder if people are "ho-humming" it, since most have done it several times before

Thanks again for the feedback - keep it coming...

Brad

[John Brennan]

The English pub was terrific, and I really enjoyed that-- I'm just thinking of a bigger something everyone can attend-- Friday and/or Saturday night. Like I said; luau, barbeque, that sorta thing. Looks like we have enough DJ's aboard to handle some tunes.

[wilky]

English pub! What english pub and why wasn't I there .

Looks like we have enough DJ's aboard to handle some tunes.

...............but will I know any of the tunes (I haven't so far)

Wilky

[fastmaul]

1. What were the highlights of this year's show for you?

FM: As always seeing old friends that I only "See" maybe once a year, but either email or talk with frequently! Meeting John B!!! and suprisingly also meeting Mr. Ed L.( I think I understand his humour better now )
And of course the rest of me fellow Forumettes. A very Few cars impressed me, but having PM Motorsports as my main mechanic I might have become a little Biased to what I like (Big HP Engines, NOT Just Pretty Ones!!!!) David Godfrey's car is a work of art! No if and's or But's about it! I didn't like his grill at first but look past that and it doesn't even matter!!! (hint, hint Pyropete)


2. What would you like changed/improved/added for next year? (please be as specific as possible)

FM: I somehow still didn't feel as the MCA elders extended themselves enough to get to know you? and some "looked" as if they didn't care? (Hmm maybe when they found out I was Fastmaul the "Trouble maker" they didn't want to bother??) Still that's just me being picky. What would I change? well again being picky if a registered memeber is going to Carlisle, there should be enough goody bags for them(one of your lures to get us to join and go to Carlisle ), I understand you guys ran out? just wondering why? The Award for Biggest Car club, maybe put it in the planning website that if we do win we will all gather in a certain place so we can "All" be in the picture with the trophy not just a choice few.


3. Hotel
- What did you think of this year's choice of the Clarion hotel? i.e.
What was good and what was bad?
- Given a choice between the Clarion (4 miles to show-field), Holiday
Inn (13 miles), or the Radisson (15 miles), which would you prefer to
stay at next year?
- Would anything in particular change your answer to the question above?

FM:As Others have said, the Hotel was a let down! If I was alone it would of been fine, but I was with a Car club damn it! they spread us out like a pair of Hookers legs on a hot night! I really prefer the Radisson, I don't care how close we were to the show field! And the ride back to the Radisson was/is Awesome!!! And I miss Perkins :lol"


4.Saturday night dinner banquet
- What would you like to see changed?
- How was the food quality and selection?
- What did you think of the sponsors and their prizes? Any vendor(s)
you'd like to see participate as a sponsor next year?

FM:I haven't gone for the last 3 years, so I really can't answer that, but I might attend next year only because of the fact it's the 20th for the Merkurs.


5. MCA Awards
- What did you think of the awards?
- Should we do more, less, and/or different awards next year? (Again, please be as specific as possible with your suggestions)

FM:I still don't agree with some awards given out, but hey.. What ya gonna do? I don't understand why a car that was given an award 4 years ago with nothing changed is still getting an award for the same thing when there are others that had "Real" performance mods done to them and are overlooked?? But like I said, hey...what ya gonna do?


6. Do you find the Merkur directory of attendees valuable? Why or why not?

FM:I didn't know there was one? I picked up my member goody bag and it wasn't mentioned?? or I don't remember seeing it??


7. If you brought your wife, kids, friends or other family members, did
they enjoy the show? Is there anything they would like to see
added/changed for them?

FM:My Wife Taryn (ZTee24) Had fun and so did my nephew(4 Carlisles and counting), Thanks to Peter, Rose and Co. for coming down! She was a little bummed her car wasn't done, but then again, it would of been spoiled by the rainy day.


8. If you are an MCA member, did you attend the Annual General Meeting
on Sunday morning?
- Was the timing, length and location of the meeting satisfactory?
- Any suggestions as to what you would like to see at future meetings?

FM:Uhh 7:30 in the AM on Sun morning?? yeahhhhh Riggghht!! must be for the people that don't stay up until 3/4 am? What is actually talked about? maybe I'll attend next year? Is anything Really changed??


9. Did you like this year's t-shirt design and color? What color
t-shirt would you like to see for next year? Blue, Red, Black, Green,
White, Grey, Other?

FM:White and Black are good, but the design IMHO looked too busy! (The Merkur Desktop one is Awesome! simple and to the point) Only make them in other colors if they are a simpler design.


10. Were you happy with our location on the show-field?

FM:So glad we have that spot, it's like "Our" spot!! I really wouldn't want to be in anyother location


11. Did you attend a show-field seminar? Did you find it useful? What
other seminars would you like to see?

FM: I watched a little of it, but with little time to look around because of the rain, I decided to walk around and see as many cars as I could not just Merkurs. Maybe you could have a list of people who are going to attend the seminar so you can have enough seats? Or a schedule of "Short" seminars through out the day? I think this was done before??


12. Was the MCA Carlisle planning website useful? What else would you like to see included? Was the addition of PayPal useful? Easy to use?

FM:Very Helpful!! Paypal was a great added feature!! even helped out last minute people like myself..good thing i'm married now

Well that's my input Good, Bad and Ugly

[John Brennan]

Wilky-- the only reason you weren't there, my friend, is because you had already left-- this was Sunday night! Rest assured I would be delighted to hoist a few with you next time around! What could beat being in an English pub with an Englishman (I know, I know, being in an English pub with an Englishman-- in England!)?

[fastmaul]

I thought Wilky was Australian?

[wilky]

Ahh, OK John - your forgiven!
Nope Eric - I'm a Brit (Leeds) who saw the light and went to Canada in '78 (I tried first to get into the States but you guy's wouldn't have me - I guess I shouldn't have called the immigration guy a revolutionary SOB). I go to Australia/UK/SE Asia about 6 times a year though on business (I could tell you what that business is but I'd have to kill you).

Wilky

[fastmaul]

I go to Australia/UK/SE Asia about 6 times a year though on business (I could tell you what that business is but I'd have to kill you).
Wilky

Oh, get on the MCA line for that

[Ed Lijewski]

2. What would you like changed/improved/added for next year? (please be as specific as possible)

More chicks.

(please be as specific as possible)
OK, more leggy, busty, lithe, nubile babes.


(PLEASE be as specific as possible)
OK, more honeys (above) of all varieties with/without Merks of any kinds.


[Send private message if more specificty required. ]