Events & Adventures

I’ve been in the group for about a year now and can honestly say i have met some great friends. It was a struggle moving here from out of state and having to meet people on my own. The group has awesome events and of all different types to ensure your interests are included. There are physical activities, dinners, extreme adventures, weekend gatherings, festivals and it’s up to you on what you want to do. As with any group, that has a lot of people, there will be some you don’t care for, but you get out of the group what you put in. You will meet friends and possibly a significant other, regardless it really is a great group and they work so hard to bring fun and exciting things to do. If your someone like me you shouldn’t worry about the costs, fun costs money and remember that the others who have joined the group also want to make friends too so we’re all in the same boat :) I highly recommend joining.

Great club to meet new people. We do everything for karaōke to bubble soccer to bowling. Different events every month. There is something to do almost every day of the month. It is hard to get bored. You get what you put in. If you come to events and try to meet people, you will. Many become long time friends.

Ashley is back with E&A! 5 stars alone right there. 2016 is going to be an awesome year people. Get on board now!

They want all this personal information about you, including your income, and won’t give you any information about the fees involved unless you answer even more personal questions! Completely refused to tell me the membership fees. No thanks.

I would give this place zero stars if I could figure out how to do it. These people are dishonest and do not tell you this club is over $ 2,000 to join not including ANY of the events. This is a huge commitment. I am now in a relationship and locked into the contract until my 12 months is up… I was told I could «freeze» my account while in a relationship however I am still getting charged $ 120 a month. The only way to end your contract early is if you get married. This place is terrible and the worst commitment I have ever made! I would NEVER do this again and don’t even recommend it to my worst enemy!

I’ve made great friends and have had a blast trying new things. I’ve been a member for 3 years and have no regrets. While it’s not for everyone, it worked for me. It’s hard to make friends as you get older and this was an easy way to get to know people with similar interests in a safe environment with no pressure.

Joining Events & Adventures (Phoenix) has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I don’t normally post reviews but when I read the others thus far, I firmly believe they do not fairly represent this organization. Yes, it is not perfect. What company is? And yes, you will run into a member or two that is not to your liking. However you have to remember you are meeting hundreds of people. Odds are you will meet people you don’t care for, people that you are indifferent about, people you like, and people that are awesome and you absolutely adore. And yes, you may even meet an employee you don’t care for… If you have realistic expectations about joining a social group, you will not be disappointed.
Whenever I have had any type of issue, the company has dealt with it immediately and fairly. I have met hundreds of people, made a lot of friends, including some best friends that I intend to keep in my life long after leaving the group, and I have had a blast at countless events! Events & Adventures is like family to me.

What a fantastic way to meet new friends and people! Much better compared to searching online. You can actually interact with people and socialize. You can even build relationships with family and friends of members too to really extend your social circle and increase your chances of meeting people you enjoy, and who knows you might even end up meeting the person you’ll spend your life with. Definitely worth your time and money. I’ve fun at every event I’ve been to. Check it out!

Very happy with my experiences here so far, very surprised to see all these poor reviews! :(I have fun at all the events and have made some great connections. They were very clear about the contract and costs up front so I have no clue how so many people seem to be confused about what they were getting into. Yes, it is not free. What is anymore? But you get what you pay for… good times, great memories, and lifelong relationships. It would definitely cost more to hire a match-​maker or spend every weekend in a bar. I really enjoy the hiking and volleyball events. A chance to get some exercise, some fresh air, and good laughs. I haven’t met anyone of quality online or at a bar so far. Definitely happy I signed up and would recommend it to anyone who has free time and would like to meet new people.

Joined 4 yrs ago and it’s everything I expected, made a lot of good friends and have done many awesome events. joining was the best thing I ever did

Wow — that escalated quickly.
My story: Went to their website, inquired by putting my name and contact info. Then some lady from Oregon or something called me and set up an appointment to meet someone in person.
They were kinda pushy about it and it seemed sales driven but whatever I wanted to know more.
I had to reschedule but I made it to the appointment in the first week.
I get to the office and they hand me some paperwork — 2 pages.
The questionnaire includes benign questions such as activities you’d like to do and activities you’d enjoy, but there are personal questions sprinkled in such as:
1) How much do you spend per week socializing
2) What is your annual income
So I could tell there was likely some considerable cost involvement with this club. I wanted to maintain a positive attitude and learn what they had to offer. I met with Tracy whom I was told was a «member». We sit down and get to talking. I think the conversation goes well. We talk about things I’ve been looking for. I ask about her experiences etc. I answer pretty much every question she wants to know. It did get a bit awkward when they started asking me about my recurring monthly expenses and such but like I said, I was trying to be open minded. We were probably talking for an hour and she seemed like a nice lady. At this point I could tell that she was definitely not doing it solely from the goodness of her heart but because there is income tied into it for her. Which is fine, we all have to make a living or spending income.
I got why she was trying to pry out emotion. I also was very open about how I am a cautious individual. How I am financially stringent about my expenses. I let her know I sold insurance, that I understood sales. All because I was trying to tell her how not to try and sell me — Hard sale. I didn’t want it to get awkward.
But anyway we proceed and she finally gets to the cost. I kinda go … woah. Well at least I know where their advertising budget comes from lol. It was basically $ 2100 for 1 year and something like $ 3500 for 2. Plus some 30 dollar a month fee for some odd reason. So basically 2500. After that initial aspect she started talking about some sort of thing where you put money down, where you can do this and that. I had already tuned her out and I tried to make it obvious giving clear indications that it wasn’t going to happen today. I tried to be polite and bring up objections. Then she did it, she went for the hard sale! LOL
During our conversation she wrote down key things I said…“In my own words” so that come objection time she could use what I said «against me»… I am like seriously I told you I sold insurance before it’s like way obvious that was going to happen and comical when you tried it on me. She was clearly upset I wasn’t willing to put money down today. She made it a point to adamantly cross out my application with a big «X» and was absurdly fake nice about it being a pleasure meeting me. I went so far to apologize for wasting her time because she was so upset it was palatable. And she wouldn’t even look me in the eye or acknowledge she was upset, instead she went on a little rant that was trying to make it seem like it was an honor for me to give them 2500 bucks without thought and that droves of people were lined up foaming at the mouth to get into it. I’m surprised there weren’t stories of people forging college education and putting down payments on homes just for the opportunity to join. I actually felt a surge of adrenaline afterwards because I got the sense she wanted to cuss me out and/​or throw something at me.
I just wanted to go on record saying, Tracy — take a chill pill. Sometimes a soft sale is the better approach but maybe that’s not your business model. I never said I wasn’t interested I am just not interested at this time. There are people out there like myself who are not impulsive and don’t like to operate on payment plans and like to allocate money accordingly. I just wanted to know what you had to offer. The way you closed our interaction only made it so that now I’d never join whereas I was considering how much I’d have to save up and for how long. I am now going to tell everyone I know about my experience which was obviously negative. And it changes my perception about what type of people would join since it’s clear they’d have to drink the kool-​aide.

I agree with many of the previous reviewers. When I joined I was told that it was a ‘quality bunch of guys and gals’ with whom I would be able to interact on a friendly and thoughtful plane. I had asked explicitly about the intellectual quality of the members and had been given assurances that it was high. What I found was that the group was dominated by «Lowest Common Denominator’ types who, unhappy with and wasting away their own lives, were also willing to waste other people’s time. I do think the prices are unfair given their inability to direct the other members to proper conduct, and I do think their sales tactics are highly questionable. I do not think their events are well-​run, and in the end I wasted money, over $ 1000, because they pressured me into an 18-​month membership, and after 8 months it became clear that the people (especially newer members) were low quality and the events (too many of which are at bars) too iffy to guarantee satisfaction out of them, and I stopped attending.
I went into it looking for a handful of close friends, not universal popularity. I may have succeeded, but unpleasantly so.
Two problems stand out that should be documented here. The first is what ultimately changed my mind about the group. I got home one Saturday afternoon from a chess club I am in – which is free – and when scrolling through my Facebook news feed I saw a set of pictures posted by one member containing other members who had been out with her at a bar the night before. Included in these pictures was one of the members flipping the bird at the camera – the lowest of all low behaviors known to mankind. So I messaged the member asking her to not post pictures like that; no response. I felt violated. Maybe I was making too much of it, but it goes a long way towards indicating the ‘quality’ of the people they have allowed to join. One suspects that ‘quality’ and ‘possession of enough to pay for entry’ are synonymous, but that ‘quality’ goes no deeper. In short I was lied to.
The second is more compelling. The volleyball event has been a feature of E&A since the beginning, in fact it is where the owner, Mark Owen, met his wife and around which he built the club. It is a ‘Just for Fun’ event and they host it weekly (and also weakly). The first several weeks I had a good time, I had not played much volleyball before but I learned quickly because it is not a very complicated sport. I learned by watching others and connecting my eyes with my brain. This is something that my cat can do, so it does not take a genius. After several weeks certain elements of the group began to show up and the results were that I would stand on the court, ostensibly a player but in fact a mere spectator, watching the ball drop 8 – 10 times in a row in the same spot in front of or between the same player or players. This, to me, is not ‘fun’. I do not mind losing but I mind noncompetitive losing, and any sport is inherently competitive to some degree.
When I asked the host to make some changes he replied in a way that I thought was not respectful. Another man who commonly hosts the events also refused to make changes, telling me that if 95% of the people were happy and 1 was complaining, he would not make changes. He blamed me for leaving the event early rather than wasting even more of my time. (I think voting with your feet is totally fair.) I knew this wasn’t true because I had enough of a connection with several members by this point to have asked them, and many of them felt the same way. A few weeks later I was talking to the events manager at another event and someone asked to talk to her about volleyball. She looked at him and said ‘I can’t help you, I get more complaints about that event than any other.’
So I waited a few months and then I was bored one night and said ‘let me see if the quality of the game has gone back to being good.’ And it was. I went two weeks later, then another couple times. And then one day it went back to a 21 – 3 debacle and I just left for home. When I got home I looked to see if there were any simple YouTube videos about playing volleyball, I found one and I posted it to the group’s Facebook page with a note asking people to not show up if they won’t learn how to play because it wastes my time, and time is my second-​most important asset.
No less than 12 people and possibly 15 – the vast majority of whom were not the ones the post were aimed at – ganged up on me and told me I was a jerk, cursing at me and repeating ad nauseum that I was bringing a negative attitude and that it was ‘just for tun’ so I was in the wrong. And they were really aggressive. Now I don’t know about anyone else but I think that when 12 – 15 people have to aggressively attack one isolated individual the 12 – 15 are always in the wrong. What’s peculiar is they accused ME of trying to be a bully. I fail to see it. Not one member came to my defense, even though plenty agreed. Quality, inde

I went in and saw this lady Tracy who completely lied to me about what the company actually does. My whole interview was based on my dating life and she promised me i would find the love of my life and everyone that was part of the club was looking for relationships. She def made it seem like a dating service even though they are not a matchmaking company. She totally lied about everything. She told me I was not allowed to attend a event until after 3 days (my cancellation policy) and when I went it was so different. Everyone was just looking to have a good time and be friends, this place is not to go if you are looking to date. Now I cant get my money back even after she lied to me.

After reading the reviews of Events and Adventures, I feel compelled to share my story.
I heard from E&A on the radio, and decided to check it out. When I got to their office, I filled out an application and got called shortly afterwards. I can’t remember the name of the lady who interviewed me, but she was telling me about the company, requirements, etc… She tried to tap into my emotions (I was recently single and very lonely) and got very defensive when I started inquiring about the cost. When she finally broke it down (it was something between $ 1500-​$ 2000 + monthly fees), she was about to take my card to charge it, to which I said I didn’t had that amount of money. She then proceeded to tell me that the price was the special that ended the same day. I told her that as much as I wanted to, I didn’t have that amount of money, and I really wanted to think about it. Her «friendly» attitude somehow changed because I wasn’t willing to sign up that day and she didn’t even said she was looking forward to hear back from me. After reading the reviews and realizing E&A is a complete scam, I’m glad I didn’t join.

Stay away from this place at all costs. They double charged me for an event and I couldn’t get my money back for two weeks. They had a collections service call me because they forgot to deduct from my account.
Then when I decided to move and call to call cancel and I was told someone would call me back. 4 days later I call back again to cancel and some Destiny tells me the cancellation process has to be in three days and you went to events. I informed her I was moving to a place where they don’t offer events within 109 miles so the contract says I can cancel. She didn’t have much to say then. We will see if I get a call back but I know I’ll be filling with the BBB about their practices.

I just wanted to share my experience with this organization. I am not a member, but I was interested in joining so I called to schedule my appointment. Right away I was suspicious when the woman I spoke with on the phone instructed me to bring in 3 forms of ID to my appointment. She said, «drivers license, credit card…» That to me was a red-​flag. When is a credit card a form of identification? So I came home and out of curiosity turned to Unilocal for some reviews on E&A. After what I read on here from current and former members, I replied to the appointment email they sent me, cancelling my interview. Since then, i have received a phone call from them EVERY day! I even received a TEXT message one day! I feel like I’m being harassed! They cant take no for an answer? Today I answered the phone when they called me to tell them one more time, I am not interested any longer at joining and please stop calling me. The woman who called still tried her best to get me to reconsider… OMG this is ridiculous. Totally confirms what the other people who wrote reviews on here are saying. Maybe the word is finally getting out about this shady organization and they are desperate for new members? That;s what it seems like to me.

I cancelled on my second day after one event where I met socially inept, creepy 55+ year olds. They are trying to charge me $ 400 as a cancellation fee. The guy I interviewed with not only hit on me during the interview and told me what kind of men I «need,» he told me there was no cancellation fee. Literally crying in my office after this experience. Stay away!

Do a lot of research before you give them your money!!! They will be rude to you if you hesitate to sign up for their «club».

Horrible! Events are boring. When I was still undecided about signing up I was told that I could potentially meet my soulmate and that is priceless. I hate myself for believing in that bullshit. I have way more chance to meet someone I would love anywhre but in this group. The fee: 2k$(for a year) + 30 $/​month + most events still cost money. I am just waiting for adventures now, but they are hard to come by and probably going to cost a fortune. They said to be able to get discount, but after everything you pay, it is more economical to go alone. Socializing with other members? Let’s just say I am not in the same age group as them.
Finally, refund policy is crap. You lose all the sign up fee for an event (yes, you have to pay once you sign up) if you miss the cancelation deadline. And believe me, this will happen a lot because life happens. Remember, you cannot buy friends. There are other free services for meetup.

I would never recommend this social club. It is way too expensive for such little quality. I’ve been a member for over a year (the minimum «official» membership”) and I’ve been sorely disappointed.
The gist of the club is for unmarried people to «get out of the house» and «do stuff» and «meet interesting people». E&A is supposed to set up at least one event per day for people to sign-​up and attend. It is advertised as «not a dating club», and that is probably the most accurate statement in their sales-​pitch. E&A has been around for «over 20» years, but the Phoenix chapter had only been around for less than one year when I joined.
I paid $ 2100 for a year membership; this includes $ 1600 membership for 12months + 3months «free», monthly membership dues of $ 30/​month, and sales tax. I was misled with their sales pitch that this whopping $ 2100 would pay for everything. In fact, it pays for nothing but access to the «exclusive» website so you can sign up for events. Then, you have to pay IN FULL for the event yourself, PLUS gasoline/​transportation costs, PLUS the time it takes to get there. There have never been any «group» discounts and usually you could get a better deal if you had gone to the event on your own.
When you first enter their office, they avoid telling you the cost and make you list out the reasons why you want to join, as a way to hook you in, and they say that «this price» is only good if you sign up THAT DAY. Come to find out that once I joined and talked with other members, not one other person paid the same amount as any other person. Each person had a completely different deal than everyone else. Some people were offered 6month memberships, others paid only $ 500 for a year, etc. What the heck?!
PROBLEMS:
1)I found their calendar of events to be very «uneventful» and predictable. Every Tuesday evening is volleyball. Every month consisted of a members-​meeting night, bowling, volleyball, at least 2 – 3 restaurants and 1 hike per week. Yawn. I wanted _​adventure_​, to experience exciting or new things with people that also had similar interests in enjoying all that life has to offer. Phoenix/​Arizona is such an exciting and diverse state and I found that E&A’s lack of innovation extremely disappointing.
2) The members-​meetings were supposed to be a time to suggest events you would be interested in seeing on the calendar. After trying to be enthusiastic and offer suggestions, I quickly learned that none of the events would ever show up on the following month’s calendar. Long-​story short, the Phoenix chapter is owned by Christian-​Mormons and have «high ethics» and veto-​power for what events will actually be offered, despite high-​demand for activities and that we are paying so much money. If by chance a cool event was on the calendar you could pretty much count on it never being offered again, so if you couldn’t attend on _​that particular day_​, too bad for you.
3) E&A also brags that it has over 1000 members, but I really only saw perhaps the same 50 people over a number of events, or never some people again, despite attending on average at least 1 event per week. I have no idea where these other 950people are. And you’d think by costing so much you’d meet «quality» people, but you still get a bell-​curve mix of jerks and nice people.
4) I attended several of the hikes and outdoorsy events. These are ok in theory but if I wanted to join a hiking club…$! Hikes were time-​consuming and early in the morning. We wouldn’t even begin the hike for another 45min past the «begin time» because we would be «waiting for people to find it». That is entirely too much time. The policy should have been «within 15min of start time, we are beginning without you». We would be waiting for people that would never show, or people that were lost en route.
5) Their website seems somewhat clunky to use. If you sign up for an event (and thus your credit card is charged immediately) and then later cancel, you cannot get that money «back» except to use it as credit on future events. And you cannot use a $ 29 credit towards a $ 36 event. The website is not sophisticated enough to only charge you the difference, $ 7. E&A is extremely good at taking your money, but it takes a long time to get it back.
6) E&A burns thru event-​coordinators every 6months, because they make them work over 60hrs/​week, making them host many of the events, paying them little, and being the only voice between «management» and us members, but giving them little power to offer events (see veto-​power).
7) Hosts of events should have been provided with a cell-​phone so that members could call and say they were late/​not-​attending/​lost. This would have prevented alot of frustration with inadequate driving directions, and waiting around for people. I attended too many events where we were waiting for others for over 45min.
I made a handful of good friends, but still, the xp is way too $$. Could have had A TON more fun for $ 3000 last year. ($ 2100 +event$)