Balancing Reality Versus Expectations

Communication and member education are more important than ever as club chefs and managers balance their ambition with the realities of the industry.

By Scott Craig, CEC, CCA, WCMC, Executive Chef, Cullasaja Club

THE RULES FOR COVID were relatively straightforward and usually spelled out by our state and local governments, but clubs are finding that the path back to “normal” is far more nebulous.

During the lockdown, masking and occupancy restriction phases, clubs were able to quickly rethink their food and beverage business models to remain relevant. They offered curbside takeout, grocery pickups, virtual wine dinners and cooking classes. Members were gracious and understanding. They were were grateful for our efforts.

“Our members were effusive with their praise and appreciation in our ability to still offer memorable and remarkable experiences during the 2020 and 2021 seasons,” says Chris Conner, CCM, CCE, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Cullasaja Club in Highlands, N.C. “There was a sense of safety congregating with members they knew, rather than dining in restaurants in town. They were kind to one another and to the staff, too. They worked with us through mask policies and spaced-out seating arrangements.”

But 12 months of masking, shifting restrictions and everchanging rules took its toll.

Mark Bado, MCM, CCE, General Manager/COO of Houston (Texas) Country Club and former chairman of the Club Management Association of America, was in Charlotte, N.C. at Myers Park Country Club during the early days of COVID.

“Many members who stayed home for most of COVID are frustrated now—they’re ready for the world to fully return to normal,” he says.

But club operators and quarantined club members experienced the COVID era differently.

“Many of us in the club world didn’t stop working during COVID,” says Bado. “We were essential employees, and we attacked the challenges of the pandemic to remain relevant to our memberships and preserve the cultures we had worked so hard to build within our institutions.”

When the engine of the world slowly began to turn again, there was no shortage of challenges awaiting clubs. Cost of goods increases and labor shortages continue to pose extraordinary challenges. Those factors and the resulting member behaviors are posing new challenges for clubs as we inches toward a post-pandemic era.

“Supply chain issues” has become an all-too-common phrase with products becoming scarce or unavailable due to COVID outbreaks, droughts and short growing seasons.

According to Michael Matarazzo, CEC, Executive Chef of Farmington Country Club (Charlottesville, Va.), beef prices for cuts that the club relies heavily upon for special events have increased as much as 99% compared to 2019.

“Our Thanksgiving turkeys are up 144% from last year, and chicken has seen a 60% increase,” he says. “At one point this summer, chicken breasts were more expensive than baby back ribs—that’s unprecedented in my 27plus years in this industry.”

Club members seem to have taken these price increases in stride.

Paul Bovenzi, CCM, General Manager of The Berkshire Club in Reading, Pa., describes their membership as understanding as it relates to rising costs.

“Many realize within their businesses that they must pass along cost increases to their clients to maintain budgeted profit margins,” he says.

Cullasaja’s Conner agrees.

“[Members] generally understand,” he says. “They still want to see betterthan-market menu pricing, but they understand that prices have increased over the past year.”

While cost increases generally get a pass, the impact on member services due to labor shortages has proven less acceptable.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate as of June 2022 has returned to the pre-COVID levels of January 2020. However, participation in the hospitality industry has dropped by 7%. Hourly employees are now demanding 19% more per hour.

Employees who left the hospitality industry simply aren’t returning. Businesses, including private clubs, are now offering more than ever in an attempt to entice them.

For private club members, labor shortages equate to fewer or limited services, even with a higher dues payment or dining room tab.

“The biggest battle we face with member expectations is maintaining service standards while actively recruiting and facing retention difficulties,” says Bovenzi. “Our region was hit hard with labor shortages, and we are now competing with national and international corporations for employees, except we cannot compete with the wages they offer.”

The private club industry, long considered a haven of civility, is now experiencing some of the same customer behavior that has become common in private restaurants and airlines, though with less frequency.

Frustrations are being expressed in increasingly uncivil and unacceptable ways.

“There is a difference between members understanding that there are shortages in staffing and accepting how those factors impact how the club operates,” says Bovenzi.

Conner has noted a similar trend. “There has been an increase in disciplinary issues with members showing lower tolerance for our team,” he says. “Additionally, the level of happiness seems to have leveled off with expectations rising drastically.”

Just as clubs navigated COVID, we must overcome these new challenges. And the most important tool we have, according to Bado, is education and communication.

“We must spend the time and effort to educate our memberships so they understand the challenges we face and how that impacts the services we offer,” he says. “As an industry, it’s time to stop focusing on what each other has. Instead, we must focus on what each of us can become.

“As a society that has become so divisive, we don’t have to act like we’re not different, but we can choose to focus on those things that unite us instead of those which divide us,” he adds. “It’s time to get back to ‘normal’ and do it with positive energy.”

Bovenzi agrees.

“We need to help members understand that employee burnout is real,” says Bovenzi. “We need to support our greatest asset—our people. If we can’t provide balance and quality of life for our employees, we will lose them to an employer that can. Members must understand their role in that equation.”

To remain relevant and competitive, Bovenzi says clubs must erase the mentality of ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ and begin to rewrite operations manuals.

“We often get in our own way by being fearful to challenge the status quo; we worry we will upset a small subset of the membership,” Bovenzi says. “We must honor and celebrate our traditions—but not allow them to stunt our potential.” C+RC