Following trends and applying what will work at your club is smart. Providing consistent, memorable service is priceless.
We write about trends—a lot. From club governance, to membership marketing, food and beverage, recreation and fitness, technology, employee training and motivation, golf operations, design and renovation, management best practices, to dress codes and beyond—every monthly issue of Club & Resort Business is packed with ideas you can sort through and apply at your club to help achieve one or more of three basic needs: drive revenues; reduce costs; or enhance member and guest satisfaction.
In fact, we devote an entire issue each year to ideas and if you missed last month’s 8th Annual Ideas Issue, hunt it down (or call or e-mail me and I will send you a copy) and read the sampling of fresh ideas that clubs from all around the country are implementing with great success.
And as you have come to expect, the pages of the July 2014 issue include plenty of new ideas for your consideration. This column, however, is not one of them.
This column is more of a step back to see the forest for the trees, and I am writing about it following my club’s annual invitational. I don’t play too often in this event, mostly due to travel and schedule conflicts. Plus, my partner and I are normally one of the teams most people want to have on their bet sheet. We are not much of a threat to win, but were motivated this year for some payback on the “friendly wagering” endemic to the festivities.
The invitational is practically every club’s signature golf and hospitality event of the year. A practice round and three days of competitive golf gives you a lot of time to savor the game and experience the club in its finest hour. Further, it served as a great reminder to me for why I belong to a club in the first place—trends aside.
We join clubs primarily for social networking, fun, and fellowship. Like-minded people tend to gravitate to one another and the club environment lends itself to a relaxed atmosphere in which we share in the fun and ambience of a comfortable, familiar setting.
Fellow members are a powerful motivator for joining and staying at a club, but it’s also important to understand that we members equally value a relationship with the club itself and its management team and staff. Like the “Cheers” setting on the TV show, we like a place “where everybody knows your name.”
Service and the relationships we build with the club staff is not a trend, but it doesn’t happen by accident, either. Great service starts with the standard the General Manager sets (and the training he or she provides) at the top. And great service isn’t contrived—it’s second nature to those who provide it.
And here’s the bottom line. My invitational (out-of-town) guest really enjoyed the tournament format, the course conditions, and the opportunity to meet so many of my friends. He thought the tournament favors were great. He enjoyed all of the meal occasions.
But he raved about the genuine, friendly service at our club and how he was made to feel welcome and at home—by the GM, the wait staff, pro staff, and locker room attendant. That’s a real endorsement for what the club experience is all about.
Following trends and applying what will work at your club is smart. Providing consistent, memorable service is priceless.
P.S. After a slow start the first day we rallied and sawed off our bets. Now we have momentum for next year.
Quote of the Month:
“May thy ball lie in green pastures, and not in still waters.”
—Ben Hogan
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