Membership fees and request by Club to continue

I am in a position to forego a membership extension in lieu of the site closure period if it helps. Many members may justifiably wish to benefit from an extension and put the eventual saving to better use. Purchasing vouchers at a discount may be welcome for some, but that presupposes funds are available today to pay for holidays tomorrow. My guess is that some members may not renew and be lost for a while, or perhaps permanently. Others may hang-on and some take up the discount.

When the COVID-19 restrictions ease and we resume our travels, the severe economic consequences of the pandemic will remain for some time and funds will remain tight for many. There seems little doubt that the economy will tank, jobs will be lost, incomes will be squeezed and the tax burden will rise. There are very tough times yet to come. There seems little doubt that the Club will feel the impact. So now is the time to make ready.

I suggest there are two priorities the Club must have; maximising revenues and minimising overheads. That means getting people back on site. It means member retention, loyalty schemes, special offers, new customer incentives, every trick in the book. Hang on to those members you have, get them spending, make them safe, make them happy, have them tell their pals. Do not pig them off.

Notice I said earlier, minimise overheads, not minimise costs. For me that means less generals, not less infantry. For me, management is an expendable overhead like everything else. Customer facing warriors, who make great holidays, are a necessary cost and not so expendable. Members tend to value the warden who took care of the heart attack victim, or the customer support agent who got home a family stranded in Europe. They value gleaming facilities and a well-kept site. They get irritated by price rises, excess management, poor maintenance, cheap toilet rolls, smaller light bulbs, hanging on the phone, false economies. You know the kind of thing.

The present crisis is especially tough on those on furlough, worried about the future and doing their bit. It is also difficult for members whose pastime is severely curtailed. Their forbearance should be recognised and appreciated. Everyone needs to play a part in getting the Club through this difficult time and making it ready for the challenging times ahead. Bluntly, that means nothing should be ruled out.

An old boss used to say something like, if it is not necessary to book a great product, to deliver a great product and to maintain health and safety, it is on the list, and Dave, that includes you!

My membership is due for renewal in June the way I look at it if the club is not going to offer an extension i am not going to offer one and cancel my membership

Notice I said earlier, minimise overheads, not minimise costs. For me that means less generals, not less infantry. For me, management is an expendable overhead like everything else. Customer facing warriors, who make great holidays, are a necessary cost and not so expendable. Members tend to value the warden who took care of the heart attack victim, or the customer support agent who got home a family stranded in Europe. They value gleaming facilities and a well-kept site. They get irritated by price rises, excess management, poor maintenance, cheap toilet rolls, smaller light bulbs, hanging on the phone, false economies. You know the kind of thing.

I would be interested to know what evidence you base your views on. How is the management top heavy and what roles would you cut? Organisations don't function without management in the same way the army would not function without officers. Its all very well having a pop at the club's leadership but unless you have an intimate knowledge of the structure and how it functions I don't see how you have reached your conclusions.

David 

David, if it's like any other businesses these days reduction usually occur at management level first before the workforce, as that has already been trimmed to the minimum required for it to function properly.

In a nutshell! 😉

That is not quite what I asked. I have been aware on many management changes in the company that I worked and not all of them very successful to say the least. My point to the poster was where was his information on what jobs he thinks are not required. I am sure if the Club felt there was a need they would take action but hopefully that would be based on a proper review and consultation rather than someone with no internal knowledge suggesting changes.

David

I worked in a large organisation where the Regional General Manager had a dictat: 'If you're not serving a customer, make sure you're serving someone who is ...'

Another of his homilies was: 'The only difference between your branch and the corner shop next door is that your business won't go bust if it makes a loss; but you might lose your job ...'

It all helped to keep a focus on looking after the customers and encouraging them to make the branch the first port of call, rather than an afterthought. One of the reasons he was Regional General Manager and I wasn't!

Steve

Why do people blame predictive text for errors?  Do they not read their responses before pressing the Reply button?

I'm sure people do read their text before hitting the reply button, Tom, but it's well known that the brain reads what it expects to see.

We all make mistakes as none of us are perfect and it's generally regarded on forums as being bad form to point out such things. Often, too, the person who points out the error will eventually fall into the same trap and then wish he'd kept quiet when his remarks come back to haunt him. 🤪

My phone won't accept some of the words I type and if I spot errors I often have to "fix" a new word into the text memory. The system obviously decided Lima's was what I intended, it's still doing it now. If I type at speed I don't always check, I'm no doubt expecting too much of the phone.