Meetup

Love the idea of having website functionality to help manage and inform a group without being a web designer. Meetup could be awesome. Instead, it has been one of the worst experiences with any company for me.

First, their customer service is non-existent. I tried to contact them on multiple occasions for various issues such as having a very strange URL assigned to our group and also billing questions. No response, until the 3rd attempt. And that response was basically, 'tough, deal with it'.

Second, I cancelled my meetup membership after 2 months because it just wasn't working for the group and I decided to go back to using a website. Apparently, the membership canceling process was ignored or didn't work. They billed me for 2 additional month despite me removing my credit card information from the site. (this is when I received the 'tough, deal with it answer'.

Third, apparently the new UI defeatured the site. It is really not functional at least for our group. You can only post pictures. Navigation is awkward at best. It seems like a UI from about 2003. Just not good.

We run a sports meetup on MEETUP and guy pulled a knife and was upset and threatening. He then harassed members for several weeks.

We emailed police report, photos of him at events, and testimony from several members TO MeetUp Headquarters.

Naturally we banned him, so what did MeetUp HQ ask: did we ban him. WHEN he was banned he immediately attempted to start his own group on MeetUP.

What did MeetUp do? They took his money and started his MeetUp while he harassed members several more weeks.

We asked, why are you profiting from this guy?

They said go to your local cops. We had already sent MeetUp police report, so it was pointless.

We literally email MeetUp photos of this guy at an event, UN invited (not rsvp d), AND we email testimony from members that he was stocking group, AND MEETUP TOOK HIS MONEY TO START A NEW MEETUP? They are scum.

MeetUp totally sucks if there is an issue, and since you are dealing with the public, in time, there will be an issue.

MeetUp actively promotes violence BY watching and not acting.

It is like the teacher who watches bullying and then blames it on the bully. The violent guy acts out because he knows there is an environment that encourages it.

I do not doubt that one day they'll be a big news story on MeetUp for being sued for this type of non-action.

I have been wanting to cancel my subcription but you all are not responding at all! 3 months. $37 Each

This is a great site by which to find social events and activities, but the good thing about meetup is also the bad thing: Anyone and everyone can join any meetup group. The people lie in their profiles, post pictures of cartoon characters or when they were 20 years younger and so forth. The groups get huge turnout when they are first announced and then after that, no one is interested and attendance fades to nothing after 2-3 meetings.

If you charge for workshops, even fewer people will come, and everyone is out for themselves from their own farming angle: if you go to a singles group rest assured the organizer has a singles company or website business, and so on.

Also, if you want to organize a meetup group, the fees are fairly expensive considering that most groups lose 90 percent of their turnout after the first two meetings or so.

So... there are pros and cons, and they're huge. Big turnout when your group is announced, only to have turnout drop drastically after one or two meetings as people lose interest and look for the next "new" thing that they can go to for free. The people lie and just click on whatever the "new" group is without reading group descriptions or requirements and meeting places are often expensive to reserve with no-shows a huge issue with meetup.

I've organized close to a hundred meetup groups at this point and feel very ambivalent about the groups, the people, and the company. Meetup has deleted my groups for no apparent reason and without notice, sending automated e-mails when I asked them why (you have to use very vague language in offering descriptions).

So I can take or leave meetup depending on the day of the week and how I feel.

Meetup is going through a transition and things are not good.

I have been an organizer or assistant organizer for multiple Meetup.com groups over the past five years. It's a great way to meet new people who have similar interests, it's usually a safe way to meet new friends, and it can offer new experiences at events to teach you a new skill.

That said, Meetup was sold in late 2017 and they have been undergoing a re-programming of the website and it has been a disaster. As an organizer, I find it harder and harder each day to use either the website or the mobile app because links are broken, tools I used to use are no longer working or missing, and members of my group are being dropped from event without their permission.

Meetup corporate has changed their phone number and emails to their team are bouncing back unanswered. The few people who used to be there to help with web problems are gone. I'm still paying almost $200 a year for the ability to use Meetup with my group, but getting more frustrated each week as more problems arise.

It's not that we organizers cannot learn their new system. It's that the new system does not work as promised. If anyone is checking reviews and thinking of becoming an organizer and using Meetup my advise would be to wait 4-6 months and not sign up right now. You will pull your hair out waiting for things to be fixed. If I didn't have so many events already on the calendar I would walk away from Meetup today.

Update 2/28/18. Website is still not usable. I and my members are fed-up with the lack of support from Meetup management. This week I told Meetup I will not renew when my group comes up for the next payment.

As an organizer, Im shocked that any functionality is all but lost with the new system. To schedule a meetup, you cant format text, cant add price, or change number of guests allowed. The max number of guests you do set doesnt get set. Forget copying an old meetup and keeping the same settings. Worst of all, If you do want to set price, youre directed to the old interfaceand guess what? If you didnt save first, if you click on go to the old interfaceyou just lost your copy. THEN when you manage to get a meetup scheduled... the rsvp list is unreliable. Users rsvp or un-rsvp and the system doesnt always record it. The syncing between the mobile app isnt reliable... also it doesnt seem to show maximum number of participants to users... and thats just from an organizers POV -my community of users isnt happy either. What the heck? Meetup currently owns this market - how could their systemtheir ONE PRODUCTfail so badly?

Hi, I asked meetup to make adjustment to my subscription payment since it is an outdoor events group that I took over this year. They declined and asked me to do online events (what?), So I decided to cancel, however it was difficult, on the iPhone and web browser no option to cancel subscription (really), you have to send email to support. Even then they will not cancel but send you and offer with a discount on next renewal fee. What I did find (web search) is that the Android app does allow you to cancel within the App very easily (i do have a spare Android phone luckily). So cancelled using Android platform, and stepped down as organizer using the PC web browser (because I wanted to delete grp), however it didn't allow me to delete group, that option appeared and vanished quickly (new owners). I would recommend to all of you to cancel your subscription on this platform with the current situation I feel this platform is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE AND MANAGEMENT HAVE NOT REACHED OUT TO ORGANIZERS WITH REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS THEY ARE only after your money, it is not going to spend any money on an new concepts and are definitely not interested in your well being.

Customer service is horrible, they don't know the basic integrity and quality of a human being. I contacted them for a fraut organizer who charged my money but lied. Who pretended to be a some kind of facility to help! Very apparant scam. I asked a refund, the organizor didn't reply me but told her members that she would like to refund me if I reached out to her, said I never requested a refund. I reported to the customer service, but you know what, the customer service people blocked my account, deleted my comment for the fraud. I showed them the evidence of messenger. They just said they can't confirm the organizor is fraud! And deleted my true comment and blocked my account.
I think they just try to charge business money, do not care anything happened with customer. The service is so horrible, bad people together.

Stupid people go there and be manupilated.
They should shut the door, they don't deserve exist for our normal people. Super bad. Hopefully they can bankrupt and close their door soon.