Here are some answers to questions we are often asked.

What does it cost to become a member?

We are excited to share with you that to become a member of Social 8 is only $450. We know two of our competitors charge $3,300 and $2,400!!!! Yes, that's right. And yet we feel we not only charge less than a quarter of their price, but also provide a superior service! And this price has stayed the same for the past 6 years! This fee entitles you to be a member for 18 months and during this time you will be invited to approx 30 to 40 events plus dinner invites. The membership is flexible and lets you come in and out of our service as you need/desire. Should this occur instead of restricting you to 18 months, it will be extended to include 18 dinner invites.  Still need convincing this is money well spent? This is your investment in our time to make sure we don't waste your time meeting people you are not likely to enjoy meeting. The fee covers our time to apply our filter system to our membership program ensuring you only meet genuine single people and not the time wasters! Need more convincing?  It is less than a small flat screen TV for the second room, or a gym membership or a cup of coffee a day for 3 months and is guaranteed to give you more pleasure than these other items!  OK no more convincing here. You either see the value and respect what we do or you don't. If you are excited by our service, then please read on!

Are there other costs involved?

Yes. We charge various co-ordination fees for putting together and hosting various events. They range from $25 for our movie nights which includes your ticket and our co-ordination fee, $50 for bingo night which includes nibbles, host, entertainment, bingo games and prizes, $85 for a cooking class including chef/teacher, 3 course meal and wine or at the top end of expensive is our trips to the theatre which range depending on what we are seeing. Have a look at our flyers on past events at the 'whats new' page to get a better idea of event costs and what is included. Our dinners also have a $33 co-ordination fee for each dinner you attend. Food and beverage costs are additional. This fee is set to cover our time putting the dinner together, gathering feedback post event and swapping out of numbers of anyone who wishes to catch up again. We manage your privacy here so this fee covers that service too.

Can I dine with my own age group?

Absolutely. Most of our dinners on average are with people 5-8 years either side of your age dependent on gender and age however it may be up to 15 years if we believe someone either older or younger could be someone you would enjoy meeting. We encourage you to dine with as wide an age range that you feel comfortable with however as the more people you meet, the greater your chance of meeting people you will want to see again. Increasing your social network is the key to finding a life partner. Talk to us about your preferences and we will advise if we can accommodate your wishes.

Everyone tells me I don't look my age. Can I meet people younger than me?

So often we meet people who don't look their age. We also meet people who don't act their typical age or those who have a much higher energy than typical for their age. It is however difficult for us to put you at dinner with people lots younger than you, (say 15 years younger). The main reason is that we don't have very many people (both male and female) asking to meet people 15 years older. So while you may not look or act your age, it is our job to ensure we are as honest as possible when co-ordinating the dinners. Dependent on your age, most dinners will be with people approx 5-8 years either side of your age although this can vary dependent on our members requirements. We also however give you invites to attend our members only events which are often in wider age groups. An example is 30-45 yo or 46-60 yo. This way dependent on your age, you may easily meet our members that are younger. The same goes for our non member events which as a member you will be invited to first! All age groups are guidelines only.

How many dinners will I go to?

It is difficult for us to give a clear answer here as it varies depended upon your availability, age, gender, personality and the gender balance within your age range. On average most members will attend dinners anywhere from weekly to every few months. On average it is monthly however we are unable to guarantee this due to gender imbalances that occur in various different age ranges. Your membership entitles you to go to a certain number of dinners with no time restraint on it. This way you can make yourself available as suits you together with giving us some flexibility due to gender balancing.

How many events can I go to?

Loads, we have events nearly every week/fortnight! In the past we have had wine tasting, cooking evenings, golf, painting class, quiz nights, bingo, theatre, movie nights, photography class, movie nights, tennis, running, bush walking, valentines cocktail party, halloween evening, life coach workshops, beer evenings and Christmas parties. Our events are mixed between being in smaller suggested age groups such as just 30's or 40's etc or 30-45 years or other events may be for over 50's etc while still others such as our quiz night are for all ages with tables in age groups. We recommend you go to as many events as possible as the more you attend, the more likely you are to meet special friends, important business contacts and romantic partners.

What is the proportion of men to women?

At our dinners, it is always 3 ladies and 3 men. Our membership varies all the time and depends on which age group however we work hard to aim at a 50/50 balance. At group events, women seem to feel more comfortable bringing along a female friend, as well as women will book in early so we quite often get up to 25 percent more women than men. We keep close tabs on the registrations for all events and will do everything we can to achieve a gender balance where advertised. We often call and email members to encourage them to come out and play. Some members have asked that we call them if we get too many people of the opposite sex, so we've created a special list of these people. Let us know if you want to be on our last-minute list! Some of our events such as movie nights are not age or gender balanced, simply a nice night out with nice people! With regards to our  membership program for dinner attending, we often have more ladies than men in certain age groups. The main reasons are that ladies tend to be more comfortable joining an organisation like Social 8 without knowing anyone who is a member. They also are born networkers which results in ladies loving our dinners and recommending us to their friends who come and join. On the other hand, many of our male members are more comfortable joining after hearing from friends how comfortable and easy it is to be a member. To help us maintain gender balance, please spread the word to those men in need of extra encouragement.

What is the age range of your members?

Open to everybody aged 30 and over. The largest part of our membership ranges from the mid 30's through to early 50's though.

Is your membership price always the same?

Yes however we do often have specials for various age groups and different genders. Our greatest commitment to our members is to ensure we maintain as close to gender balance in each age group to ensure we can continue to honour our commitment to provide new people for you to meet. Sometimes we will offer a price reduction special to entice a membership balance or we may offer the opportunity for a limited time for a particular age or gender to attend more dinners to help balance the dinner opportunities. We have even been known to offer come 'n' try dinners to entice gender balance when needed.

Why are the dinners for six and not for eight?

We tried running the dinners with eight as we understand our members want to meet the maximum number of people, however we found the tables were too large and conversations became split up into smaller groups leaving it difficult to have a conversation as a whole. As a result we are Social 8 arranging dinners for six!

Where are the dinners held?

We predominately use restaurants near the city location although we are now opening up the restaurants on offer to include the beach areas (Henley, Glenelg etc) and the hills area (Stirling etc). You are welcome to give us your preference to ensure you dont need to travel too far. View our venues link here.

How do you seat people?

We have small discrete place cards with just your first name on it and place these boy/girl etc. As the tables are for only 6 people, it is easy for you to converse with all at the table.

How long do the dinners last?

Our dinners are all on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings and start at 7.30pm and often end early (often around 9.30pm) because most people work the next morning. However if a group is really enjoying themselves which is a regular occurrence, the dinner may go much later. So if you need to be the first to leave due to an early start the next day, please feel comfortable to do so however we expect you to stay until around 9.30pm. All our members have careers and they understand. That said, it is not uncommon for our dinners to kick on until the restaurant has the lights flashing. We believe a sign on a good night.

What do I wear?

Usually business casual or smart casual is appropriate. We suggest you dress to impress as first impressions count. Why not also make yourself feel good to help the success of the evening. Buy new clothes or get a modern haircut, have new make-up done or get a professional shave. Feeling good does translate into helping to have a great night out.

Can Social 8 match make for me?

No and yes. Our purpose is to introduce single professionals or business people to our members who are also looking for fun, friendship and fine dining. However, many of our members become romantically involved, even more end up doing business together and a majority make lasting friendships. It is however natural for us to want to pair you with someone we believe you will enjoy meeting, particularly as we get to know you better over time. So if you have special requests, let us know and we shall do our best to accommodate.

How best can Social 8 work for me?

Be realistic in your expectations. It is highly unlikely that you will meet that special person at your first or second dinner or event. It has happened but it is a very rare occurrence and one you should not pin your hopes on. Instead we recommend you focus on enjoying meeting lots of new people and encourage you to make a new circle of friends. Take some responsibility for your enjoyment of the club, try to initiate conversations, ask out someone, and be friendly and approachable. The success of the club depends upon people taking an initiative and instigating fun, instead of passively waiting to be entertained

Can I use Social 8 to network for business?

Of course you can! Our events are a great way to network, so bring a stack of business cards. We do ask that you refrain from giving sales pitches during the members only dinners though. This is a dinner party, and while it's okay to discuss your line of work, please don't pressure your "captive" audience! Many mutually beneficial business partnerships have started at Social 8 dinners.

Is my name ever given out?

No! Your name, address and phone number are personal and kept confidential. We never give them out to anyone without first getting your permission. Ever!

Can you help me contact someone I'm interested in?

Yes! We will call or email that person for you to ask if we can give you their phone number or have them call you. This happens all the time and our members find it's a great way to take that first step. Don't be shy email or call us! This is what you are here for.

What if I need to cancel or can't show up last minute?

This is strongly discouraged because of the difficulty of scheduling on short notice and the importance of gender and age balance for the dinners. If you must cancel, notify the office immediately so can attempt to fill the space. Notification should be via a call to our mobile phones. PLEASE honour your commitments. The integrity of our club depends upon the integrity of our members If you must cancel at the last minute please notify the restaurant and leave a message with our mobiles.

Can a non-member attend a dinner?

Sorry, guests are not allowed at Social 8 dinners. This is a privilege for members only. Please feel free to invite your friends to our non member group events.

Do you pro-rata refund my membership if I meet someone on my first dinner or two?

We don't. We jump up and down getting very excited for you and celebrate again how great this service is. We even get excited if you met someone special, not through us and we had nothing to do with it. On a slightly negative note, what we do is suspend your membership. We make your file inactive. While we sincerely hope you have met 'the one' and you wont need our services again, experience has taught us that sometimes it isn't the one. If this happens to you, you can feel comfortable knowing that your membership can be activated at any time and you can continue to go to dinners and events again should you need to.

What if I don't like the dinners and want a refund?

Thankfully this is a very rare occurrence, however if you happen to change your mind for whatever reason and decide you no longer want to participate, we don't give refunds. What we can do is suspend your membership until you want to participate again, and there is no time limit on when you have to resume by. So please think carefully if this is a social arena and situation you really want to be a part of before joining.

Dating help...check out our dating help page here to help you be the best you can be and to enjoy success soonest

Do you have a question we haven't covered here? Please either email or call us. We would love to hear from you and will do our best to provide an honest answer and to make you feel comfortable.