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DIALOGUE
HvdG: There are very few challenges with the minimum system.
Our spend expectations are reasonable and every member
other than juniors, students and social members has an applicable
minimum.
Hendrick, I know your club has recently taken back
an outsourced F&B operation to now managing it
yourselves. Has anything changed in regard to your
minimums?
HvdG: We had a substantive change in January 2019 with a new
F&B program run by the club. As mentioned, we had a contractor
in place for the previous two seasons and the club essentially needed
to start from ground zero. Considering these circumstances, it
was a time to re-evaluate the minimums system.
A few scenarios were considered but, in the end, it was important
to have the members’ F&B spend remain stable and so we continued
with the same system. It was also apparent after dissolving
the contract with the vendor that member confidence was low in
the F&B space, so we needed to encourage folks to try our bright
and shiny new product. It worked well and members came back
with great confidence by the year end, using their minimums at a
rate not seen in the past. Had we not had the minimum in place,
this process may have taken longer, which would not have been in
the club’s best interest.
Brad, what made your club consider changing and
lifting the minimum altogether?
BD: A change in philosophy. If the product and service is good,
members will choose to come. Forcing members leads to poor
experiences. If a member shows up and is only there because they
have to be and if any small thing goes wrong, it leads to a negative
experience. We wanted the club to become a dining destination for
members. The other reason for doing this was to help control the
hours of operation. It’s difficult to have a minimum and be closed
at certain points of the season.
What kind of results have you seen since
making the change?
BD: Sales went up and continue to go up year over
year by 10 to 12 per cent. Gratuity for staff went
up nearly six per cent. Since the experience
is better, our member headcount has also
increased.
Since you’ve taken it away,
has anyone complained about
members who don’t come and
contribute?
BD: No, not at all. In fact, it’s gotten
better, as those who weren’t coming are
coming now because they are not being
told to come.
CMQ § Spring 2020 § 9
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