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The golf club analogy

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    The golf club analogy

    Jeff is a member of the local golf club. He wasn't a founder member, in fact, the founder members weren't keen on Jeff joining originally as they'd heard he could be a pain in the butt, but eventually they did let him join. Jeff has become a senior member of the club, is on the committee, has helped to write most of the cub rules.

    Over the years the club expanded it's membership, but also the benefits increased. Initially just a place to play a round of golf, it later developed a club house with members only section where members could buy subsidised food and drink. There was a non-members bar and restaurant too where food and drinks were not subsidised.

    There are rules at the club that everyone, members and non members, must follow such as a strict dress code, use of golf buggy, non swearing plus many more.

    The club runs lots of golf tournaments that Jeff used to enjoy playing but as more members have joined the club he is no longer the best golfer and he doesn't play these tournaments so much. There are however a couple of key tournaments a year he still loves to play and he alsways turns up for these.

    There are preferencial rates for family membership. Jeff's wife used to play and and is a member, as are his two sons. The sons though have left home and no longer play, and his wife has got fat and is more interested in watching big brother so she no longer goes along.

    There is a club shop where club members get a 20% discount on equipment. Non members pay full price. Over the years Jeff has bought quite a lot of discounted kit from the shop.

    Jeff takes advantage of the subsidised bar and has always argued in the club committee that non members should not have the same rights and cheap food and drink as members. He's also always argued that non members should not get the same discounts in the club shop as full paying members.

    This year Jeff's wife and sons have said they no longer want to be members of the club. The sons don't like some of the old fuddy duddy rules like the strict dress code, and the wife doesn't see why she should pay such a large membership fee when she hardly plays any more. Jeff has reluctantly agreed to resign his membership but argues that he should still get to keep some of the benefits of being a member, like the subsidised bar, club shop and the ability to play in his favourite tournaments. He's happy to pay some fees for these, but doesn't see why he should pay full fees when he doesn't want to use all the facilities anymore.

    The committee have accepted his resignation but would rather him not go as he's always a key player when they compete against other clubs. However they are very firm on not letting Jeff pick and choose which membership options he can keep. Jeff now thinks the club is being irrational, even though he used to use the same arguments when he was in the club.
    I am what I drink, and I'm a bitter man

    #2
    It all falls down when you understand the truth, the committee realise Jeff is one of the three members who pays half their annual budget. Jeff has asked to use the course as a paying visitor while doing so and obey the club's rules when doing so.

    If he does this the club won't let him play at other clubs, wants to decide which driver Jeff uses anywhere and wants to charge him more than other non members. The reason the club is doing this is because they are terrified that the other members will leave.
    Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by vetran View Post
      It all falls down when you understand the truth, the committee realise Jeff is one of the three members who pays half their annual budget. Jeff has asked to use the course as a paying visitor while doing so and obey the club's rules when doing so.

      If he does this the club won't let him play at other clubs, wants to decide which driver Jeff uses anywhere and wants to charge him more than other non members. The reason the club is doing this is because they are terrified that the other members will leave.
      Jeff only wants to pay some of the subs and only wants to follow some of the rules. He doesn't want to follow the main committee rules and be bound by their decision making, he wants decisions to be bound by his own rule making and not the clubs. He wants the benefits of membership, for only the areas he is interested in, and doesn't want to pay for benefits he doesn't want. He wants a bespoke membership scheme specific to him and is complaining to anyone who will listen that it is the clubs fault that he can't get everything he wants.

      Surely if he has resigned his membership as he isn't happy being in the club any more he should just leave and go find another club to play in. It's his choice to leave the club, therefore it is not up to the club to bend over backwards to appease Jeff.
      I am what I drink, and I'm a bitter man

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Whorty View Post
        J
        Surely if he has resigned his membership as he isn't happy being in the club any more he should just leave and go find another club to play in. It's his choice to leave the club, therefore it is not up to the club to bend over backwards to appease Jeff.
        They were very happy to bend over backwards to try first, to convince him to stay, then when that didn't work to bully him into staying.

        Blows a huge hole in your feeble analogy, don't it?

        2/10

        Try again....................
        “The period of the disintegration of the European Union has begun. And the first vessel to have departed is Britain”

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Whorty View Post
          Jeff is a member of the local golf club. He wasn't a founder member, in fact, the founder members weren't keen on Jeff joining originally as they'd heard he could be a pain in the butt, but eventually they did let him join. Jeff has become a senior member of the club, is on the committee, has helped to write most of the cub rules.

          Over the years the club expanded it's membership, but also the benefits increased. Initially just a place to play a round of golf, it later developed a club house with members only section where members could buy subsidised food and drink. There was a non-members bar and restaurant too where food and drinks were not subsidised.

          There are rules at the club that everyone, members and non members, must follow such as a strict dress code, use of golf buggy, non swearing plus many more.

          The club runs lots of golf tournaments that Jeff used to enjoy playing but as more members have joined the club he is no longer the best golfer and he doesn't play these tournaments so much. There are however a couple of key tournaments a year he still loves to play and he alsways turns up for these.

          There are preferencial rates for family membership. Jeff's wife used to play and and is a member, as are his two sons. The sons though have left home and no longer play, and his wife has got fat and is more interested in watching big brother so she no longer goes along.

          There is a club shop where club members get a 20% discount on equipment. Non members pay full price. Over the years Jeff has bought quite a lot of discounted kit from the shop.

          Jeff takes advantage of the subsidised bar and has always argued in the club committee that non members should not have the same rights and cheap food and drink as members. He's also always argued that non members should not get the same discounts in the club shop as full paying members.

          This year Jeff's wife and sons have said they no longer want to be members of the club. The sons don't like some of the old fuddy duddy rules like the strict dress code, and the wife doesn't see why she should pay such a large membership fee when she hardly plays any more. Jeff has reluctantly agreed to resign his membership but argues that he should still get to keep some of the benefits of being a member, like the subsidised bar, club shop and the ability to play in his favourite tournaments. He's happy to pay some fees for these, but doesn't see why he should pay full fees when he doesn't want to use all the facilities anymore.

          The committee have accepted his resignation but would rather him not go as he's always a key player when they compete against other clubs. However they are very firm on not letting Jeff pick and choose which membership options he can keep. Jeff now thinks the club is being irrational, even though he used to use the same arguments when he was in the club.
          Heard that some of jeff's family are pretty decent microservices developers do you mind if I pop over and nab a couple ?
          Warning unicorn meat may give you hallucinations

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by shaunbhoy View Post
            They were very happy to bend over backwards to try first, to convince him to stay, then when that didn't work to bully him into staying.

            Blows a huge hole in your feeble analogy, don't it?

            2/10

            Try again....................
            But they are not bullying him into staying - they have rules at the golf club, just like all such clubs have and they expect all members to follow these rules. He has resigned as he no longer wants to be a member which is fine, but instead of walking away and being treated like all other none members (which he knows will make him and his family considerably worse off) he is trying to force the club to give him preferential treatment.

            There are 3 options open to Jeff, as there would be for any of us who resign from any membership based club:

            1. Resign membership. Walk away and be treated like all other non members
            2. Rescind resignation and resume membership and follow the rules like all other members
            3. Resign and try to negotiate a new style of membership just for Jeff. He knows other players who have done this and knows their terms are never as good as being a full member and anything agreed must be approved by all other full members and Jeff surely must understand that he will never be able to get terms better than he would as a full paying member.

            No bullying from the club - if Jeff isn't happy with any compromise the club is offering, he can always listen to his family and jump off the cliff edge and become like all other non paying members. This choice is 100% his to make and the club can't stop him from doing this.

            if Jeff or his family feel bullied, that is simply in his own head and a consequence of him being petulant that the club won't change the way it works just for him. Maybe this is why they didn't want him to join in the first place.
            I am what I drink, and I'm a bitter man

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by motoukenin View Post
              Heard that some of jeff's family are pretty decent microservices developers do you mind if I pop over and nab a couple ?
              His wife is very accommodating, so I hear, especially when Jeff is out at the course having a round of golf Her day rate is quite high, but she provides a quality service!
              I am what I drink, and I'm a bitter man

              Comment


                #8
                This only works if Jeff has a family membership and the elderly family members are racist idiots whereas the younger members are smart and productive.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by northernladyuk View Post
                  This only works if Jeff has a family membership and the elderly family members are racist idiots whereas the younger members are smart and productive.
                  I am what I drink, and I'm a bitter man

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Whorty View Post
                    Jeff only wants to pay some of the subs and only wants to follow some of the rules. He doesn't want to follow the main committee rules and be bound by their decision making, he wants decisions to be bound by his own rule making and not the clubs. He wants the benefits of membership, for only the areas he is interested in, and doesn't want to pay for benefits he doesn't want. He wants a bespoke membership scheme specific to him and is complaining to anyone who will listen that it is the clubs fault that he can't get everything he wants.

                    Surely if he has resigned his membership as he isn't happy being in the club any more he should just leave and go find another club to play in. It's his choice to leave the club, therefore it is not up to the club to bend over backwards to appease Jeff.
                    As a day visitor Jeff doesn't pay subs, he pays admission. While on their course he is happy to follow any reasonable rules but the club have some of their own that prohibit Jeff playing at any other clubs, this seems unfair as the club receives more revenue from Jeff even if he leaves than most of the other members.

                    Every time Jeff walks in the bar committee members accuse him of cherry picking because he wants to specify which pint of beer he drinks from the drinks list and suggests he should pay the same as other day visitors.

                    Once Jeff leaves we expect the committee to dissolve into infighting and crying into their cheap Belgian lager as all the other members leave as none of the other members like the committee much and only stay because the rich members including Jeff buy all the rounds. They definitely aren't keen on the "four millstones" the Committee insist on.

                    Of course there are some people who believe the committee is right but as this is Norfolk / Strasbourg most of them are retarded because they are tragically interrelated and/or have webbed fingers, the rest of them make AssGuru, Spooter & Barmy look intelligent which is quite a feat.
                    Last edited by vetran; 18 March 2018, 19:21.
                    Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

                    Comment

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