The Countdown

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Just a quick note to all you wonderful retreat ladies!  Hope your Christmas and New Year’s is filled with love, happiness and joy! 

I am also posting a very in depth look into the comments made by you lovely ladies regarding the last 2 retreats.  I truly took the time and reviewed all your comments and have made some changes as you will see.  Should anyone wish to comment further please do not hesitate to respond.

Comments from the Feedback Forms for 2010

Well after spending several hours going over this year’s feedback forms I have listed below some of your most common concerns and comments.

Lunch

· This past retreat we tried a different approach to lunches and several of you gave very good and thoughtful comments in regards to the buffet lunch.

- Comments were that the lunch was just average compared to the 5 star meals we have had in the past

- Others did not like the buffet lunch at all

· I will discuss this further with Ami, but will be keeping the idea of a light lunch buffet style but with just a little more class per say, the lighter lunch is a much easier form of meal as some of the retreaters prefer to stitch rather than take a long time off for a big meal

Dinner

· Several of you commented that you did not enjoy the varied time schedule for the dinners and would prefer to eat all at the same time.

- To assist those who need to eat a little earlier due to health concerns, I have sat down with Ami and stated that we will be only working with 2 seating times – 6:30 and 7:00. I would love to have everyone sit down at the exact same time but if we would like to pick from the menu or have varied choices we need to have at least 2 sittings.

- As discussed with Ami there should be no problems with the kitchen and she does know our concerns and is working the best she can with the kitchen staff they have at the Inn.

· Tables at dinners will be set again as they were in the fall with varied settings of tables of 4, 6 and 8.

- I hope that everyone will make the most of it and try to mingle with each other during the dinners. It is nice to see everyone mix it up a little so that everyone gets to know each other, again your retreat director and her helpers will definitely be mingling between tables!

Market

· Comments were made regarding the posting of hours and that the market was not open long enough, also that lighting was not good enough to see fabrics while looking at them for purchasing.

- To fix this and make the market more a part of the retreat and a lot easier for everyone to get to, we will be moving the market to downstairs in the St. Lawrence room. Lighting here is much better and lights can also be set up for viewing fabrics and patterns. I spent some time on Monday measuring the area and feel we can set up the market in the corner where we had the Stitching Gallery.

- This will allow everyone the opportunity to see everything without having to go up and down the stairs, and allow both the market participants to be more a part of the retreat during the day. Hours can also be expanded as we will now be there within the room with you all.

Themes, Prizes and Stitcher’s Gallery

· Comments were made in regards to the themes and that they were not sure about them, we did want to say that they are just a way of making the retreat a little colourful and fun. We do not intend to ever let the theme take away from your initial reason for attending the retreat which is to stitch.

· Prizes are a part of every retreat and we have and hope to in the future have plenty more surprises for you . We may change the way we have handed prizes out in the past to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to win a prize. Therefore as each name is pulled it will not be placed back in until the final grand prize, ensuring then that everyone gets a chance to win a prize. We will still keep on giving you that one gift that each of you will receive ensuring that no one goes home without something!

· The Stitcher’s Gallery at this point will still be a part of the St. Lawrence room on the one side of the wall where the store will be. Voting for the top 3 best designs will now instead of being voted by you the stitcher’s will be done by your retreat director and her assistants.

Again, to all I wish you the best and will see you in 2012! 

                                                  Laura