New year, new course: making adjustments for convenience and speed

When we step back, take a look at the most familiar things in our lives, the world looks pretty much the same as it did in February of 2020. And although the sky remains blue, the grass green, people are not the same. The pandemic provided a deep, horrible look at life, with sickness and fear becoming the new normal for more than two years. Many people lost a family member or maybe more. Friends, too, may have lost the battle to COVID. It not only changed the world, it seems to have changed expectations. Of course, COVID is still around, but people have adjusted, no longer subservient to what once was a living nightmare. We remain diligent, with the great majority living life out loud once again.

As I stated above, people are not the same. The population has a sense of urgency they just did not own back in 2019. Today it has become evident people have two things high on their want list. They will spend their time and dollars with businesses that go out of their way to provide speed and convenience. Certainly a round of golf will still take hours to complete, depending on the players and the particular day. The food must still be cooked. There is, however, the need to change, to adjust your standards due to these new, urgent motivations. It feels like this is not going away anytime soon. Therefore, this post is suggesting a call to action to reset to what is important today in this new era. Although the images remain the same, your golfers, I believe, have expectations very different from the days prior to the pandemic. As you plan for spring golf, you may want to consider moving the team towards a new sense of urgency. Here are three ideas about adjusting for greater speed, greater convenience:

What gets managed gets done: The leadership team can create a plan and programs to tighten and adjust the speed of the day. You and your team may be able to cut minutes from service times. Although not huge, it certainly can be enough to keep the members moving through their days, creating the imprint that you absolutely have their interests front and center.

Adjust to make your property the easiest place to experience fun: Too many businesses today set up their service systems with the idea of making things work well for the operation, while not taking the time to consider the effects on their customers. Adjust to make the experience convenient, from booking a time to calling the shop to doing all the things golfers want to do. Cut out the aggravating time wasters and barriers that may serve only to tick off members and guests. Make speed an advantage for your club. In addition, talk through the KISS principle as an important service mindset in your staff meetings. Consistent reminding is training.

Enjoyment with freedom: The golf course is a sanctuary, the place where members and guests get away, enjoy the company of others, and challenge the scorecards of their past. Create a day that is easy to navigate, seamless, and restful on the mind. People post-COVID seem to want a more straightforward experience. When golfers have to wait over several shots, wait for the phone to be picked up, or having their clubs ready to go after the round, these cannot be high marks for loyalty or for membership renewal. With speed and convenience front and center in the 2023 discussion, why not begin to plant the seed with your leadership team now? From there, your group can develop ideas and programs to showcase and test before the first robin sings.

Jack Dillon writes the In My Opinion posts. Jack is an author, speaker and consultant. Jack is an expert on brand building, communications, service execution and the golf shop. Before you start your season, why not contact Jack to discuss ways he can help make improve your operation for this new age. You can contact Jack at jackd@careerdividends.com, or give him a call at 407-973-6136. Jack lives in Orlando.