What would keep you in a club?

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ChevronX

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#105294 1-Jul-2012 13:16

Howdy, the local "Workingmens Club" is having issues with not enough people. So wondering, what would keep you going and staying (ie spending good old fashioned money) at your local club?

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johnr

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#649032 1-Jul-2012 13:38

Where is local?

gehenna

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#649049 1-Jul-2012 14:01

I guess the problem is its not 1980 and people don't care about workingman clubs anymore since there is an abundance of other options out there?

MikeSkyrme

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#649053 1-Jul-2012 14:07

Good food, good drinks, somewhere for the kids to play, decent decor (not a dodgy 80's theme)...

A working wens club will never compete with a 'nightclub', so make it about the family.

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DrCheese

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#649065 1-Jul-2012 14:35

This is a problem with many clubs and societies, particularly professional organizations. Some are closing down due to lack of interest. When you find out the reason, let me know. Maybe people are just too busy nowadays.

David.

shrub

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#649066 1-Jul-2012 14:39

The reason clubs are dying is the cost of the piss.
Why would i spend $10-$13 on a jug when i can goto supermarket and get a doz and I can smoke where I drink. When I can sink 3-4 jugs in an evening it soon adds up. 1 night at the local is the same as drinking 2x a week for a month at home.

Working clubs should be known for cheap piss and good food not the same slop i can get at a buffet from the 1970s.

gzt

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#649198 1-Jul-2012 19:29

Imho not a lot of people know they exist and what services they provide. Go after some new members with that in mind.

SteveON

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#649242 1-Jul-2012 21:08

shrub: The reason clubs are dying is the cost of the piss.
Why would i spend $10-$13 on a jug when i can goto supermarket and get a doz and I can smoke where I drink. When I can sink 3-4 jugs in an evening it soon adds up. 1 night at the local is the same as drinking 2x a week for a month at home.

Working clubs should be known for cheap piss and good food not the same slop i can get at a buffet from the 1970s.

This world is getting less social, $12 for a jug is a bargain.

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gzt

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#649432 2-Jul-2012 11:03

SteveON:
shrub: The reason clubs are dying is the cost of the piss.
Why would i spend $10-$13 on a jug when i can goto supermarket and get a doz and I can smoke where I drink. When I can sink 3-4 jugs in an evening it soon adds up. 1 night at the local is the same as drinking 2x a week for a month at home.

Working clubs should be known for cheap piss and good food not the same slop i can get at a buffet from the 1970s.

This world is getting less social, $12 for a jug is a bargain.

If a jug is a litre that does not sound like a bargain at all.

BlueShift

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#649463 2-Jul-2012 11:46

ChevronX: Howdy, the local "Workingmens Club" is having issues with not enough people. So wondering, what would keep you going and staying (ie spending good old fashioned money) at your local club?

Here in Hamilton the Workingmen's Club is very popular, and Cossie club and RSA are fading away thru lack of members. To a degree there's a critical mass of members needed for a club like that, if x% of your members pop in during any given week, then you need y members to maintain say 200 folks through over a week - solve for x and y.
The Workers here has a couple or three courtesy vans on the road picking people up and dropping them off. They have a cheap buffet plus a short-order kitchen. Reasonable drink prices, lots of raffles and prize draws. Lots of pokie machines (can't stand them myself, but they bring in money and punters).
You could try taking a field-trip to some successful clubs, but it can be quite a mystery why some thrive and others don't. The Cossie club here should be more popular than it is, but the Workers gets the punters.

I'm not a member of the Hamilton Workingmen's club, but my mum is, so I've been there a reasonable number of times. I'm a member of a smaller chartered club close to my work (which has a better beer selection).

ChevronX

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#649465 2-Jul-2012 11:51

Thanks, for your input!

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crackrdbycracku

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#649503 2-Jul-2012 12:38

I think clubs are a great idea because they provide a meeting place of adults.

I think there are three main issues to manage; beer, transport, family.

Here is what I would do if I started or wanted to keep a club going.

Beer - It costs money. Why not pool resources and brew yourselves? Craft beer is is growing so why not cut costs and make it part of the club experience.

Transport - Nobody wants to drink and drive, good thing that. So either put the club somewhere suburban so people can walk or put on a shuttle or use the fact that you have member engagement to sort out a solution?

Family - It's a club, not a place where 18 to 25s go to score. Make it somewhere you can take the family and feel that everybody is going to be safe, sure we are selling alcohol but drunken louts are not tolerated. Games for everybody like pool, darts and xbox/ps3 for kids and grown ups too.

Food should sort itself out, if the RSA can run a buffet no reason another club can't.

Basically leverage the fact you have members who are engaged to make something that isn't just another pub.

If such a place existed and was accessible I'd be there 3 times a week.

Hope you do it.

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ChevronX

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#649516 2-Jul-2012 12:59

crackrdbycracku: I think clubs are a great idea because they provide a meeting place of adults.

I think there are three main issues to manage; beer, transport, family.

Here is what I would do if I started or wanted to keep a club going.

Beer - It costs money. Why not pool resources and brew yourselves? Craft beer is is growing so why not cut costs and make it part of the club experience.

Transport - Nobody wants to drink and drive, good thing that. So either put the club somewhere suburban so people can walk or put on a shuttle or use the fact that you have member engagement to sort out a solution?

Family - It's a club, not a place where 18 to 25s go to score. Make it somewhere you can take the family and feel that everybody is going to be safe, sure we are selling alcohol but drunken louts are not tolerated. Games for everybody like pool, darts and xbox/ps3 for kids and grown ups too.

Food should sort itself out, if the RSA can run a buffet no reason another club can't.

Basically leverage the fact you have members who are engaged to make something that isn't just another pub.

If such a place existed and was accessible I'd be there 3 times a week.

Hope you do it.

Cheers, crackrdbycracku!

Thanks guys for your inputs, you guy's have pretty much come up with the same thoughts that I have had but it is good to have other inputs. Thanks for your ideas/comments.

"The Atlantis base, brings greetings from the pegasus galaxy, you may cut power to the gate!."- Dr Weir (Rising) New Zealand · Luke.Geek.NZ

zaptor

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#649572 2-Jul-2012 13:54

ChevronX: Howdy, the local "Workingmens Club" is having issues with not enough people. So wondering, what would keep you going and staying (ie spending good old fashioned money) at your local club?

I would hazard a guess they are the same issues that plague a lot of "clubs".

These days you have to really "sell" things - not (necessarily) in a cheap/gimmicky sort of way. There will be good reasons why people don't attend the club anymore. They'll be intangible, little things. Reasons that are typically glossed over (I'm guessing) in committee meetings.

If you really want people coming back, you need to be brutally honest about what really needs "fixing".

Just my 2c :)