Membership Prices

[AussieAnge]

And one last thing (goes to competence again). After failing to renew after ten years, we did not get an email, a phone call, or anything to see why we didn't renew. 8 long term seats lost to the club and not a peep from them to cajole us back or find out why. The Vic clubs usually have the players get together for a night to call their lapsed members trying to win them back! I can safely say if one of our boys had put us on the spot over the phone, we may have weakened and signed up again!

It surprises me that the club aren't following up the lapsed members and finding out why they haven't renewed. The calls don't have to be by a player but given that there seems to have been a mass exodus then it might have to be them.

I remember a (good) few years ago a friend was a bit slack in renewing and he got a call from a player (think it was Magic) asking him if he was going to renew. Said friend initially didn't believe it was Magic on the 'phone.

As SF'72 says if the players did ring the lapsed members it may well entice them to think again.

AA

[SwansFan1972]

Our beef was mostly with the hike in costs, but clearly the membership department is failing/has failed on a range of fronts - is there anyone out there who can report a positive experience??

Only a huge mea culpa by the club in post season 2009 will have any hope of turning this all around. It will need to include an acknowledgement of mistakes made and a hefty discount on 2010 memberships (return pricing to 2008 levels - apart from the handful of categories that fell a bit in 09?) to try and turn things around. Even then it may not be enough - with the depth of anger out there, and the perfect storm of a sliding economy and declining personal wealth, the swans could not have picked a worse time to unleash the turmoil the membership restructure has created.

[liz]

I asked the membership guy about this very issue and when asking about reports in the paper that we have lost 5,000 members. His response was it was too much to expect of the players to ring lapsed members.

Whoever the current membership manager is does seem to have lost the plot a bit. With the reduction in membership numbers, shouldn't it be easier to administer those they still have? My experiences this season aren't as bad as many, though one of my two memberships didn't turn up until 3 weeks into the season. The one time I tried to call the club to speak to them about something, I was on hold for about half an hour though.

As to getting players to ring, it used to happen regularly in the late 90s, early naughties. I remember getting a call once at work from Leo Barry - can't remember what it was about because I've always renewed my membership by the December deadline. It must have been before mid-2000 (when I left the company I was at when I got that call). And in early 2002 I was at the clubs admin offices one early evening, back when they were in the shack in the members' carpark, and as I was leaving the tiny foyer area was packed by around a dozen of the players perched anywhere they could find a spot, all diligently ringing members about lapsed memberships.

[Mike_B]

Whoever the current membership manager is does seem to have lost the plot a bit. With the reduction in membership numbers, shouldn't it be easier to administer those they still have?

Maybe they think that because the clib has got the highest revenue in the league from sponsorship (I heard this talked about coming out of the financial review of all the clubs last week or week before) they think they can get away with forgetting about the life blood of the club which is the members. Who knows, but it really has been a balls up this year...

[liz]

Maybe they think that because the clib has got the highest revenue in the league from sponsorship (I heard this talked about coming out of the financial review of all the clubs last week or week before) they think they can get away with forgetting about the life blood of the club which is the members. Who knows, but it really has been a balls up this year...

I very much doubt that is the case and I don't think there is anything in what the club has said that indicates it doesn't believe membership is important. But actions speak louder than words and the execution of a whole range of membership matters does seem to have gone very awry this year.

[Hilly]

Iam over the price of it, Just send me my bloody membership!!! Honestly, how hard is it!?

[AnnieH]

Iam over the price of it, Just send me my bloody membership!!! Honestly, how hard is it!?

Haven't you got your membership yet?

I think we should all put a call into the club and complain on your behalf.

[howler]

I heard that they did have some really talented Membership Staff working there. Unfortunately because they were doing so well, they were offered jobs elsewhere in the industry and I don't know how much the Club did to retain these staff.

It's a bit of a shame really.

[fanciful]

I heard that they did have some really talented Membership Staff working there. Unfortunately because they were doing so well, they were offered jobs elsewhere in the industry and I don't know how much the Club did to retain these staff.

It's a bit of a shame really.

Its amazing that a club who spends so much on its football department and hires jerks like that marketing guy cant be bothered paying experienced staff enough to keep them.

Thats why this whole thing has happened. I bet they would have known not to put the prices up so much.

[untilblack]

Long time lurker but first time poster. I had to after reading what youve said

Ive got a good mate who worked at Swans- left sometime last year. Ive got to protect his/her identity, but s/he didn't have a kind word to say about the way the place in run. S/he said it was top heavy and that that new bloke had no idea about members. Said the place wanted to market membership as a boutique product.

S/he said the management types had lots of power and were respected but the ones who actually talked to members every day were ignored and underpaid.

[Wardy]

Long time lurker but first time poster. I had to after reading what youve said

Ive got a good mate who worked at Swans- left sometime last year. Ive got to protect his/her identity, but s/he didn't have a kind word to say about the way the place in run. S/he said it was top heavy and that that new bloke had no idea about members. Said the place wanted to market membership as a boutique product.

S/he said the management types had lots of power and were respected but the ones who actually talked to members every day were ignored and underpaid.

Yes I had heard that too and he wanted to market it to "his type of people" - what ever that means. But now that it has gone pear shaped he blames "the market" - all care and no responsibility with this chap.

[howler]

Yes I had heard that too and he wanted to market it to "his type of people" - what ever that means. But now that it has gone pear shaped he blames "the market" - all care and no responsibility with this chap.

[pinkemu]

Long time lurker but first time poster. I had to after reading what youve said

Ive got a good mate who worked at Swans- left sometime last year. Ive got to protect his/her identity, but s/he didn't have a kind word to say about the way the place in run. S/he said it was top heavy and that that new bloke had no idea about members. Said the place wanted to market membership as a boutique product.

S/he said the management types had lots of power and were respected but the ones who actually talked to members every day were ignored and underpaid.

And unfortunately they were the ones to face the anger as usual.

Your mates description of this guy was spot on. Does anyone remember his name? He deserves his own thread. Saying that, He would have had the backing and desires of the Top Heavies.

[howler]

The staff are listed here:


People

Chief Marketing Officer: Anthony Laver

[Damien]

I sent a complaint to Myles regarding my membership (i.e continual different stories, still no membership) and Anthony, The Marketing Manager, called me and had a chat to me regarding it and was pretty professional and open.

As long as he comes through with the agreed resolution in the timeframe promised, I will be reasonably happy.

I just hope the Swans have really learnt from the mess they created this year. They lost 5500 members this year and they may go into next year without a finals appearance to help them out, could be disaster if they get it wrong..again.