news release
Nine out of 10 golf
professionals feel more could be done to improve customer service levels at
golf clubs.
That staggering assessment
of the state of the industry followed an audience vote during a seminar at the
Golf Show 2013, in Harrogate, by 59Club, Europe’s leading golf-specific mystery
shopper service.
In
an interactive seminar attended by more than 70 PGA professionals, 59Club
directors, Simon Wordsworth and Matt Roberts, shared key customer service
trends and insights into best practice at Europe’s leading golf trade show and
educational event.
The presentation was packed
with around 25 key trends, particularly identifying the experience of visiting
golfers, either as an initial group enquiry or through to an actual visit.
Highlights included:
·
Eight
per cent of golf venues offer added value services on an initial enquiry. The
very best do this 75 per cent of the time.
·
13
per cent of venues offer to provisionally reserve space when an initial enquiry
is made. The best clubs do this 75 per cent of the time.
·
One in 20
golf clubs will stay in touch with a prospective client following an initial
enquiry. The
best do this on four out of five occasions.
·
When
using the clubhouse facilities, a staff member offered to upsell a food and
beverage item (i.e. coffee, dessert or extra drink) 15 per cent of the time.
The best do this 31 per cent of the time.
·
Where
applicable, 12 per cent of clubs ask if a visitor would like to hire a buggy or
electric trolley. The best offer this 75 per cent of the time.
·
A
member of staff will try to upsell the visitor a small item such as course
guides, pack of tees, sleeve of balls or similar during one of every 10
customer interactions in the shop. The best do so on two out
of every five occasions.
The 59Club service, a PGA Official Supplier, is fast
becoming the industry standard for measuring and comparing customer-service
levels and analysing all key revenue streams for golf venues and is committed
to the on-going development of club managers and PGA professionals.
The unique benchmarking and training service has already
benefited hundreds of PGA members and golf course operators, who utilise the
company’s performance analysis tools to enable managers to compare their
standards of customer service and facility offerings to those perceived as
their main competitors.
Simon Wordsworth, chief executive at 59Club and a fellow
of the PGA, said: “Just in the few areas we identified in the seminar, the
average golf venue could be losing more than £2,000 worth of revenue per week. These statistics
are based, not on our opinions, but on the experiences of real golfers, and
give a very clear picture of what is happening at golf clubs across the UK.
“Key
personnel within the club, including PGA Professionals have the ability and
knowledge to treat this level of information, with the respect it deserves and
use it to drive positive change and improve service levels and profits both in
their business or for their employing club.”
Run by an experienced team of golf and leisure operators,
the 59Club system allows for useful results comparisons to be made against a
venue’s chosen competitors and the industry standard.
59Club boasts an impressive
client list in the UK and Middle East, including Wentworth, Stoke Park, Celtic
Manor, Goodwood, Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek as well as golf groups such
as DeVere and Marriott.
The core service includes a
series of mystery shopper recorded enquiry calls and live visits, followed up
with regular analysis and training to ensure venues can identify trends and
improve, or maintain, service standards.
Written and distributed on behalf of the
59Club Limited by The Azalea Group.
Labels: GOLF NEWS