More often than not, I will remember a fantastic service experience long beyond holing that 40-foot putt or a fantastic 4th of July pool party and fireworks show, and will no doubt share the story with others.
As far as I am concerned, service trumps every other amenity or aspect of a club’s DNA. Great golf shots (if not rounds), sumptuous meals, tasty beverages, memorable events, and pristine grounds all contribute mightily to member/guest satisfaction, and successful clubs ring the bell in all of these aspects of the club experience.
More often than not, though, I will remember a fantastic service experience long beyond holing that 40-foot putt or a fantastic 4th of July pool party and fireworks show, and will no doubt share the story with others, as I am about to do with you now.
I made my fifth trek to Bandon Dunes in late May with seven other golf buddies. The place never gets old, it only gets better. Other than getting there (and you know what I mean if you have been), you will find nothing to complain about with your Bandon experience, which has been the case every time I have gone. Then it got better.
Somehow, one of our golfers forgot to pack a number of golf shirts, a pair of pants, and a cell phone charger when he checked out of Bandon, and discovered they were missing when he got home. Two weeks later, for the hell of it, he called the resort to see if they had a lost and found.
They do, and a guy named Nathan handled the call. Nathan did some checking and, sure enough, a bag of clothes and a phone charger were being held under my buddy’s room number. After confirming the dates and contents, Nathan said he would be happy to ship them back UPS ground—no charge!
This is not customer service, it is customer delight! My buddy has shared this story with other golf enthusiasts a number of times. Isn’t it great when one of your members shares with you a customer (member) delight story of their own?
I loved watching the U.S. Open and am a fan of Chambers Bay—fascinating TV and a shocker of a finish. Chambers Bay represents the start of a major championship run on links-style courses. Next up is the British Open at the seminal links course, St Andrews, followed by the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
We know now that Jordan Spieth can excel on links-style courses. If he wins on the Old Course, watch out. We will have non-stop Grand Slam talk leading up to the PGA Championship, which would be great for the game.
Spieth and Rory McIlroy now hold all four major titles between them. My guess is that McIlroy will have more than a bit of incentive to protect his number-one ranking when he tees it up in Scotland this month, and Spieth has the momentum, with two of the 2015 major trophies in his case. I can’t wait to see it.
The two most enduring trends in the club market for the past several years are expanded fitness facilities/programs and a greatly enhanced club dining experience. The focus on these amenities has had tremendous impact on club capital spending, design and renovation initiatives, staffing and hiring practices, and membership marketing and retention campaigns.
C&RB recently completed a comprehensive study on club food-and-beverage trends. Among other things, we will use the study findings to shape content plans for C&RB and our Chef to Chef platform (the quarterly magazine, the annual conference, and the weekly F&B e-newsletter).
Here are a few stats from the research findings that you will be interested to know:
• Average estimated F&B sales for clubs in 2014: $2.3 million
• Average increase in F&B sales from 2013 to 2014: 5.8%
• Average forecast increase in F&B sales from 2014 to 2015: 4.9%
As we have said numerous times in the past, well-executed F&B plans and practices make club dining a destination of choice for members. The numbers prove it.
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