Achieving the 5-Star Award for Member Care

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“Achieving The 5-Star Award For Member Care”

January 27, 2014

Capital City Club - Downtown

9:00am - Jeff Blass opened the meeting and thanked Capital City Club for hosting the event.

9:05am - Josh Paris introduced the speaker for the day Richard Flint

In 1978 Richard Flint started a journey designed to teach people the process of being better. It is Richard’s belief that most people are designed to be average.

It is also his belief that most people spend their days repeating their frustrations.

As a University Instructor he challenged the minds of young people to respond to their dream and not settle for what society tells them they can have.

As a professional speaker Richard challenged people daily to move beyond their pain and struggles by responding to the positives in their life and not reacting to the negatives others had handed them.

Richard challenges people daily to face their design, challenge their behavior and seek to find the opportunity that lies in the midst of their daily journey.

Richard is known as one who knows you even though he has never met you. You are about to experience a person who can make you uncomfortable, challenge your thinking and offer you the possibility to live your life to the fullest.

Richard Flint – Richard Flint International

Terms to Understand

Ø  Member – One who is paying for privileges of a club

Ø  Customer – One who enters the club with a set of expectations

Ø  Customer Services – A concept designed to make the internal customer aware of the importance of how the Customer is treated

·  The internal customer is your staff

·  Your staff if very important because they have the most contact with the member

Ø  Customer Satisfaction – The reward of customer loyalty that is created when the customer is happy with their experience

Ø  Customer Appreciation – The bridge that connects the concepts of customer service to the result

Ø  Reputation – The feeling people have after they have experienced the club

·  Your staff strengthens the reputation of the club through their behavior

·  A leader that stops paying attention becomes a part of the confusion

·  When you don’t address concerns they become problems

Ø  Integrity – The result of respect and reputation coming together to create the belief that I can trust who you are and count on you to do what you say you will do

Ø  Purpose – The reason we do what we do

·  P – Plan of action to be implemented

·  U – Understandings that unite people around a common agenda

·  R – Reasons for actions

·  P – Provides clear expectations for everyone

·  – Opportunities for improvement

·  S – Sense of direction that says “we know where we are going”

·  E – Expansion of ideas

The Club

Ø  Club: An environment where the Member, Management and the Staff come together to create an experience where the Member feels important, Management has member support and the Staff becomes the bridge that demonstrates Management’s commitment to Member care

·  The achievement of this purpose must the driving force behind the behavior of Management and Staff. If it is not, the Club has failed to deliver the reason it exists

Ø  To achieve this Purpose, each must:

·  P – Prepare yourself to be the best at what you do

o  Being average won’t allow you to strengthen your partners

·  U – Understand this is more than a job; it is a crusade

o  When it is merely a job, you won’t bring your best

·  R – Rise to the challenge that is presented

o  When the need is to step up, you don’t question; you step up

·  P – Pursue a “whatever it takes” attitude

o  You are committed to enhancing the Member’s experience

·  O – Orchestrate positive experiences

o  Each must always look for a positive resolution

·  S – See the Member as your guest

o  When you achieve this, you present a quality presence

·  E – Express genuine concern

o  When this is your passion, this is easy to achieve

The Connection

Ø  When Management and/or Staff lose sight of their purpose, they lose the connection with the Member

Ø  When you lose the connection with the Member, you:

·  C – Create emotional collisions with the Member

o  Deal with concerns before they become problems

·  O – Open a world of Member criticism

·  N – Negate the good you have or are doing

·  N – Narrow Member involvement

·  E – Extract the fun the Member should be having

·  C – Cost the Club Member money

·  T – Tear apart the Club/Member relationship

Ø  Not every Member is going to be your favorite, but you can still be polite and do you best to make them feel appreciated

Not a Job

Ø  Working in the Club must not be a JOB; it must be an environment where you come committed to helping the Member have a GREAT experience

Ø  When Members are having fun, you have strengthened the Club’s Purpose

Ø  Richard’s Dictionary

·  An environment is where one goes and prostitutes oneself for a paycheck

Ø  When the Member feels you appreciate them, you get a calmer spirit, which strengthens the fun factor

Fun Factor

Ø  The Fun Factor allows the Member to:

·  A – A place to unwind or calm spirit

·  L – Laugh and smile

·  L – Less stress

·  O – Opportunity to be yourself

·  W – Worthwhile friendships

·  S – Sense of being appreciated

Ø  The Club must not become a retirement center, but a place filled with activity that keeps the meaning of life alive to the Member

Ø  If the Club is not about living, it will:

·  C – Cease to be a positive presence in the Member’s life

·  L – Lose the purpose for which it was created

·  U – Underscore its own demise

·  B – Become space without positive spirit

The Crusade

Ø  Continue to search for ways to enhance the quality of life for the Member

Ø  Without this as a driving force, the Club becomes a place that exists, not an environment that enhances the lives of its Member Family

Ø  This Crusade must be about:

·  C – Continually moving forward

·  R – Refusing to be the Club you’ve always been

o  Sometimes tradition isn’t best, always to search fresh ideas

·  U – Ushering in new ideas

·  S – Seeing the Member as the focal point

·  A – Addressing all areas of concern immediately

·  D – Developing a higher level of quality

·  E – Expanding the meaning of Customer Care

Ø  You are more than a Club; you are an important part of the Member’s life

Ø  You must remember that no matter how great or small the Member’s business is with you they are your life blood

Ø  As a Club you have a purpose which is to create an environment where the Member feels appreciated, wants to be involved and sees the Club as part of their extended Family

Ø  Members rate the value of the Club to their life by their participation in the Club

Ø  For most Members, the Club provides:

·  C – Calm place for them to attend

·  L – Leisure time

·  U – Unmatched hospitality

·  B – Best time with people they enjoy

Star Principle #1

Ø  State what you will deliver and then deliver it with the highest quality

Ø  It is one thing to say what you are going to do; it’s another to deliver it

o  If you say you will deliver and don’t, your trust is diminished

Ø  Delivering the highest quality is:

·  S – Stating your commitment through action

·  T – Testing everything to see if it can be improved

·  A – Allowing people to bring their ideas to the table

·  R – Refusing to let “just ok” be “ok”

Star Principle #2

Ø  Treat each Member as the most important Member you have

Ø  Every Member is important

Ø  When you don’t express how important your Members are you will lose future connections with them

Ø  Member Importance:

·  S – Seek Member concerns, listen and address

·  T – Time invested in searching for ways to improve

·  A – Appreciation is shown on every front

·  R – Refuse to expect anything less than quality

Star Principle #3

Ø  Align your Staff around a common purpose, a common agenda and a common commitment

Ø  Without a common purpose, common agenda and a common commitment, everyone will do their own thing

Ø  This will destroy the synergism between the Staff and the Member

Ø  Staff Alignment:

·  S – States rules and consequences and then, doesn’t back down

·  T – Trust each person sees their involvement as more than a job

·  A – Addresses all concerns immediately

·  R – Refuses to make exceptions

Star Principle #4

Ø  Refusal to lower your standards in any area

Ø  Where there are inconsistencies, there is confusion

Ø  Confusion makes people doubt you mean what you say

Ø  Staying Consistent Requires:

·  S – Straight talk; no beating around the bush

·  T – The leaders really lead

·  A – A consistent emphasis on acceptable behavior

·  R – Refusing to make exceptions that compromise stated guidelines

Star Principle #5

Ø  Stay on the path to greatness

Ø  It is easy to lose focus and very challenging to get it back once you have lost it

Ø  The path to greatness requires:

·  S – Staying in the now, but planning for a greater tomorrow

o  Living in yesterday alters improvement for tomorrow

·  T – Treating every situation as a classroom to learn from

·  A – Allowing people the right to fail once

·  R – Re-recruiting your Star people constantly

Final Thought

Ø  The Club is the environment; the Member is the focal point; the Staff is the energy connector that makes the Member feel good about being part of the environment

Richard Flint International – 1-800-368-8255 – www.richardflint.com

Business Meeting

Jeffrey Blais - President

Ø  World Conference will start Feb 4th -5th in Orlando, FL

Ø  Social in hotel lobby Feb 5th 5:30 – 6:30

Ø  Chris Borders recognized by the Georgia State Golf Hall of Fame, first manager to be inducted

Ø  Jim James, Augusta National Golf Club was recognized by Club Managers Magazine for Club Executive of the Year

Ø  Introduced Corey Neihaus, John Deere and Jim Roberts, Greenville Turf & Tractor who presented the Chapter with a check for $45,507.51. The check amount represents a rebate for sales of John Deere equipment made to the clubs in 2013

Josh Paris - Education

Ø  March 24th – “The World of Craft Beer” Speaker Simon Leitch at Horseshoe Bend CC

Ø  April 28th – Club Officers Day at Dunwoody Country Club

Ø  May 19th – “Club Trends” Speaker Phil Newman at Athens Country Club

Ø  June – Braves Outing

Ø  July – Summer Conference in Atlanta

Ø  August 18th – Peach Classic at Druid Hills Golf Club

Ø  September – Team Championship at Augusta Country Club

Ø  October – Whitney Reid

Ø  November – Installation Dinner at Ansley Golf Club

Josh Thomas – Assistant Managers

Ø  Next meeting Feb 18th on Social Trends at St. Ives Country Club

Michael Cofer – Treasurer

Ø  $24,000 in Operating Account and $110,000 in Investment Account