I would like to welcome Mallory Mitchell to our management team as Membership Director. I have no doubt she will be a great asset to our membership and myself moving forward. She will assist me with various member events and activities throughout the year when she is not actively working on member retention and new member recruitment. We are in the process of working on a revised Member Event Calendar that has more activities for couples, families and friends. More to come on that later.
I have been actively hiring lifeguards and servers over the past few weeks and we have had some great luck. If you see a few new friendly faces in the crowd, please take the time to welcome them to our team. I encourage you to be patient with them as they learn the ropes of serving at MCC. So far, they have been a pleasure to work with and all have great personalities that compliment our current staff.
Also in the news. You know that pesky "admin fee" on your tickets in Club XIX you didn't want to pay for in the first place? That will soon go away pending approval from the board. It has been a point of contention since its inception, from my understanding, and can make dining with us appear less affordable.
We want Manhattan Country Club to be our members first choice in dining whether formal or casual. Part of the reason our members join is to alleviate the waiting lines found elsewhere. It is our hope that this change will positively influence the perceptions of our product and its value. Once this change takes effect, a formal letter will be sent out to members letting them know of the change and appropriate action going forward.
With the launch of our new website this April, communication will become more consistent, accurate and informative. With the current technology in place, we have not been able to enjoy a unified voice with happenings of the club. I am very anxious to get all of these changes off the ground and see the affect it has on our volume and membership. If you have any questions or comments about these updates, please let me know.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
New Club XIX Menu
As you may or may not have heard, Club XIX is getting a new menu in the coming days. I can imagine that this practice is getting a little old by now with several menu changes in the past year prior to the arrival of myself and Landscapes Golf Group.
Our members have voiced their feelings about the current offerings and it is apparent that a menu change is necessary. The current menu, while simple and easy to read, has no real visual appeal to set the tone for what's next. We all know how disappointing it was to be handed the current notebook of a menu only to open it and find a single page menu with options on the front and back. The immediate reaction is "that's it?" First impressions are everything.
Some of our members dissatisfaction with the menu, in my opinion, can be attributed to the menu itself more so than poor food experiences. The menu surprisingly has quite a few options in comparison to other menus around town. One of the standards across the industry is that a menu be comprised of between 30 and 40 items depending on kitchen size and capacities.
On that note, it's obvious that the kitchen has had their fair share of inconsistencies in the past year. One of the things we have been working on in the creation of the new menu is finding menu items that are both repeatable and consistently good tasting. If any of you have cooked, you know how difficult it can be to recreate certain items time after time. You also know that some recipes are home runs every time. We are swinging for those home runs. We want a product mix that can offer members a great deal of variety without having to bring in 100 different single use items that are only used in one dish.
Pricing is another point of contention and certainly one we are addressing with caution. While our current menu is adequately priced for what folks are getting, the "admin fee" and tax thrown on top of the base price makes a once reasonable menu item look like an expensive sandwich or salad. Do the same thing to a steak or main entrée and it looks even worse. While I am not sure at the moment if the "admin fee" will disappear entirely, our friends at Landscapes are evaluating the numbers with a fine toothed comb to come up with a solution for this problem.
I certainly hope there is some excitement building amongst our membership and Club XIX. I know our staff is chomping at the bit to begin circulating the new menus and getting feedback. Once we start the new menu, it is our hope that the membership will start spreading the word of our improvements. Word of mouth marketing is our greatest opportunity to build our business and without member support of the club, we do not exist.
I invite you to come up for a visit in the coming weeks. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the changes we are making. While nothing is perfect at the moment, know that it is getting better all the time and will be fun to watch. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. At the very least, I enjoy getting to know more and more members.
Our members have voiced their feelings about the current offerings and it is apparent that a menu change is necessary. The current menu, while simple and easy to read, has no real visual appeal to set the tone for what's next. We all know how disappointing it was to be handed the current notebook of a menu only to open it and find a single page menu with options on the front and back. The immediate reaction is "that's it?" First impressions are everything.
Some of our members dissatisfaction with the menu, in my opinion, can be attributed to the menu itself more so than poor food experiences. The menu surprisingly has quite a few options in comparison to other menus around town. One of the standards across the industry is that a menu be comprised of between 30 and 40 items depending on kitchen size and capacities.
On that note, it's obvious that the kitchen has had their fair share of inconsistencies in the past year. One of the things we have been working on in the creation of the new menu is finding menu items that are both repeatable and consistently good tasting. If any of you have cooked, you know how difficult it can be to recreate certain items time after time. You also know that some recipes are home runs every time. We are swinging for those home runs. We want a product mix that can offer members a great deal of variety without having to bring in 100 different single use items that are only used in one dish.
Pricing is another point of contention and certainly one we are addressing with caution. While our current menu is adequately priced for what folks are getting, the "admin fee" and tax thrown on top of the base price makes a once reasonable menu item look like an expensive sandwich or salad. Do the same thing to a steak or main entrée and it looks even worse. While I am not sure at the moment if the "admin fee" will disappear entirely, our friends at Landscapes are evaluating the numbers with a fine toothed comb to come up with a solution for this problem.
I certainly hope there is some excitement building amongst our membership and Club XIX. I know our staff is chomping at the bit to begin circulating the new menus and getting feedback. Once we start the new menu, it is our hope that the membership will start spreading the word of our improvements. Word of mouth marketing is our greatest opportunity to build our business and without member support of the club, we do not exist.
I invite you to come up for a visit in the coming weeks. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the changes we are making. While nothing is perfect at the moment, know that it is getting better all the time and will be fun to watch. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. At the very least, I enjoy getting to know more and more members.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
How to Manage Complaints
Complaints: We all have them, but not all of us vocalize them. On the other side of that, many do not have any issue sharing their thoughts and opinions about various situations and ideas. I have heard my fair share of complaints about the club since my arrival in early January and while I enjoy getting feedback, it isn't always well communicated.
What do I mean by that? I mean that there isn't always enough information that is helping us derive the heart of the issue. Often times, I will get food sent back or comments about the food that are very general. For instance someone might say "the meal I had yesterday was terrible."
While this is good to know, it doesn't explain what was terrible. Was it the flavor? Was it the size? Was it drastically different from the last time I ordered this item? If yes, then how so? Inconsistency is another word I hear thrown around a lot. What was inconsistent?
Obviously, we all have different opinions of different dishes and, most likely, we all have a favorite. One persons idea of a spicy dish may be another persons bland or salty. It is important to recognize that one persons opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the other 600 members. If the dish is, in fact, too spicy then how do we determine the common theme? The answer: Documentation
The next time you are at the club and are not enjoying a dish for whatever reason, please let your server know. They will be documenting any and all issues in detail for our management staff and cooks. If you don't like it or it is different than the last time you ate, please tell us why or how exactly it is different.
Please know that we are attempting to confront the issue of poor food head-on. Our service staff and managers will go through menu items prior to lunch/dinner shifts and actually taste what will be coming out. It is our job, then, to give feedback to Chef and cooks before the same meal hits the plate for our members. Not only will this hold us accountable for good food, it will teach our staff more about the menu and its preparation.
I hope everyone will begin to find that documenting complaints and food tastings is a mutually beneficial practice. Please let me know if you have further comments on this topic. I'd like to get your input. Until next time...
What do I mean by that? I mean that there isn't always enough information that is helping us derive the heart of the issue. Often times, I will get food sent back or comments about the food that are very general. For instance someone might say "the meal I had yesterday was terrible."
While this is good to know, it doesn't explain what was terrible. Was it the flavor? Was it the size? Was it drastically different from the last time I ordered this item? If yes, then how so? Inconsistency is another word I hear thrown around a lot. What was inconsistent?
Obviously, we all have different opinions of different dishes and, most likely, we all have a favorite. One persons idea of a spicy dish may be another persons bland or salty. It is important to recognize that one persons opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the other 600 members. If the dish is, in fact, too spicy then how do we determine the common theme? The answer: Documentation
The next time you are at the club and are not enjoying a dish for whatever reason, please let your server know. They will be documenting any and all issues in detail for our management staff and cooks. If you don't like it or it is different than the last time you ate, please tell us why or how exactly it is different.
Please know that we are attempting to confront the issue of poor food head-on. Our service staff and managers will go through menu items prior to lunch/dinner shifts and actually taste what will be coming out. It is our job, then, to give feedback to Chef and cooks before the same meal hits the plate for our members. Not only will this hold us accountable for good food, it will teach our staff more about the menu and its preparation.
I hope everyone will begin to find that documenting complaints and food tastings is a mutually beneficial practice. Please let me know if you have further comments on this topic. I'd like to get your input. Until next time...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Gourmet Gala Wine Dinner
A few photos from the February Gourmet Gala French Wine Dinner in a fun movie format. A fun event for both members and staff to enjoy and great way to showcase our Chef's abilities.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Famed Salad Bar
The salad bar has been a bit of a mystery since I first arrived at MCC. It has a variety of uses including servicing both Club XIX dining and banquet dining. It is my understanding that many of our members love the salad bar and primarily use it when they come up for lunch service at the club. That being said, now is the time to give our membership a little perspective on the salad bar and why it will be discontinued in March.
Our partners from Landscapes Golf Group, Chef Brian and myself are all in agreement that the lunch buffet is not a sustainable offering going forward. The amount of food that goes to waste every time it is put out is simply too much to justify continuing the set up and take down. While I understand discontinuing this service may become a point of contention, please understand where we are coming from as a business and service provider.
Having banquet groups eat off of the buffet in Club XIX hinders the flow of traffic as well as slows down the process of doing business. For those of you who have been at or hosted groups of more than 30-40, you are well aware that attendees are forced to stand in lines out the doorway of Club XIX and run into one another as they leave to go back to their banquet room.
So where do we go from here? While there is not a perfect solution, the one that is most feasible for us will be to offer individual buffets to banquet groups of more than 20 individuals. These will be placed in the room with the group making the process much smoother and food quantities more accurate, thus reducing the amount of food waste and time spent waiting in line for food to be refilled.
For those individuals who eat Salad Bar during the week in the Club for casual dining, we invite you to try some of our other menu items. There are a ton of great salads and sandwiches being offered and our staff would be happy to take care of you during your duration at the club. Obviously, time is of the essence for many of you and it is our intent to speed up the pace of service to get you in and out in a timely manner.
I certainly hope that our membership is understanding of these changes and why they must be made. If you have further comment on this topic, my door is always open. I'd also be happy to direct questions to our professionals at Landscapes Golf Group concerning the discontinuation of our Salad Bar.
Our partners from Landscapes Golf Group, Chef Brian and myself are all in agreement that the lunch buffet is not a sustainable offering going forward. The amount of food that goes to waste every time it is put out is simply too much to justify continuing the set up and take down. While I understand discontinuing this service may become a point of contention, please understand where we are coming from as a business and service provider.
Having banquet groups eat off of the buffet in Club XIX hinders the flow of traffic as well as slows down the process of doing business. For those of you who have been at or hosted groups of more than 30-40, you are well aware that attendees are forced to stand in lines out the doorway of Club XIX and run into one another as they leave to go back to their banquet room.
So where do we go from here? While there is not a perfect solution, the one that is most feasible for us will be to offer individual buffets to banquet groups of more than 20 individuals. These will be placed in the room with the group making the process much smoother and food quantities more accurate, thus reducing the amount of food waste and time spent waiting in line for food to be refilled.
For those individuals who eat Salad Bar during the week in the Club for casual dining, we invite you to try some of our other menu items. There are a ton of great salads and sandwiches being offered and our staff would be happy to take care of you during your duration at the club. Obviously, time is of the essence for many of you and it is our intent to speed up the pace of service to get you in and out in a timely manner.
I certainly hope that our membership is understanding of these changes and why they must be made. If you have further comment on this topic, my door is always open. I'd also be happy to direct questions to our professionals at Landscapes Golf Group concerning the discontinuation of our Salad Bar.
Monday, January 31, 2011
New Offerings at MCC
In a matter of days, MCC will be getting some new offerings in the form of coffee and sweet tea. I am very excited about this because I believe having a quality coffee is paramount to our success. There are a lot of options when it comes to getting coffee these days and with more and more people drinking coffee, we need to provide a product that satisfies a variety of pallets. We will have several options available to our members including a high quality house blend as well as gourmet offerings available for just a few dollars more.
Also in the mix will be sweet tea. Tea is a favorite beverage for many and often preferred to coffee. As spring grows near, people are typically looking for something refreshing. Having worked in Texas, I know how addicting sweet tea can be and I think it will be a nice addition to our offerings for the membership.
Once we are up and running with these new beverages, our service staff will be sure to let you know. Complimentary tastings will also be offered from time to time so make sure you are at the club often. Please let me know your thoughts and feedback as we transition into these new products. I am optimistic and anxious to see how they are received. As always, let me know if you have any questions or ideas.
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