Resource 2022 NMFC Membership thread - Final Tally: 50,191

[tazaa]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

 

[Ligma]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

Great post

 

[Roosurgence]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

Love the post and totally understand where you are coming from, but the club also needs to understand that members are the lifeblood of the club.

Don’t treat your members well and reap what you sow. As members we don’t need the bells and whistles, we just need the basics done well and up to standard.

 

[Sillygit]

Love the post and totally understand where you are coming from, but the club also needs to understand that members are the lifeblood of the club.

Don’t treat your members well and reap what you sow. As members we don’t need the bells and whistles, we just need the basics done well and up to standard.

"rewards" that some seem to be referring to sounds like bells and whistles to me.

 

[Roogal]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

I'm glad that my annual "Box On" campaign donation is being spent somewhere now that our debts are paid down. I am happy to change the name of "Box On Campaign" to "Sponsor a Membership Department Newbie" (I'm sure that we can be more creative in the title than that)

 

[Roosurgence]

"rewards" that some seem to be referring to sounds like bells and whistles to me.

The only people that seem
To be getting rewards are those that wait until the last minute to sign up again.

I have no problem rewarding first time members, if that gets more involved, but why should someone that waits until the last minute be treated better with a discounted membership over someone who does the right thing and joins on time or early?

Cut the rewards full stop and invest the money in a Membership Department that can service the members properly.

Every year it’s the same. Late getting out information to members and making things like booking seats difficult.

 

[Sillygit]

The only people that seem
To be getting rewards are those that wait until the last minute to sign up again.

I have no problem rewarding first time members, if that gets more involved, but why should someone that waits until the last minute be treated better with a discounted membership over someone who does the right thing and joins on time or early?

Cut the rewards full stop and invest the money in a Membership Department that can service the members properly.

Every year it’s the same. Late getting out information to members and making things like booking seats difficult.

I've never had any trouble with bookings, either going to the men's or women's games, so I can't really comment on that. All my communications with the membership department have been promptly responded to in the most helpful way when needed, which has been rare.

My reward for giving my money to my club is that they continue to be my club. If I want to pay less I can easily predict this annual day of discounts, or downgrade my membership. But that's on me. Personally, since I am comfortable with how much I'm paying, I don't do that. I don't view it as someone else being treated better, just doing different thing with their money that I could do if I wanted to. And if they were in a similar financial position to me and chose to "get the best deal" out of the club anyway, well I would have more personal views on their financial tendencies that aren't as polite.

 

[Roosurgence]

I've never had any trouble with bookings, either going to the men's or women's games, so I can't really comment on that. All my communications with the membership department have been promptly responded to in the most helpful way when needed, which has been rare.

My reward for giving my money to my club is that they continue to be my club. If I want to pay less I can easily predict this annual day of discounts, or downgrade my membership. But that's on me. Personally, since I am comfortable with how much I'm paying, I don't do that. I don't view it as someone else being treated better, just doing different thing with their money that I could do if I wanted to. And if they were in a similar financial position to me and chose to "get the best deal" out of the club anyway, well I would have more personal views on their financial tendencies that aren't as polite.

The problem is that they are treating members differently, by saying you don’t have to pay the same because you waited until the last minute.

I too auto renew my membership and don’t worry about waiting until they have a promo for people joining late, which you are correct is my choice.

My personal opinion is that cost of a membership should be the same, regardless of if you auto renew or join just before the season.

I would rather the club run promotions to get on board new first time members. I would have no issue with them offering a nice discount to bring a new member into the club.

How would you feel if you went to the local mechanic to have your car serviced and he charged you a basic service fee of $200 and then someone came in after and he only charged them $150 for the same service because they brought their car in an hour later? I’m sure you would be thinking this bloke is taking the piss and taking advantage of me and would most likely not go back.

The club knows the rusted on supporters will still join up regardless and I guess that is my point is that I feel the club is taking them for granted a bit by even offering discounts for late members.

 

[tazaa]

Love the post and totally understand where you are coming from, but the club also needs to understand that members are the lifeblood of the club.

Don’t treat your members well and reap what you sow. As members we don’t need the bells and whistles, we just need the basics done well and up to standard.

I agree. Without us the club doesn’t exist. For too long they have taken for granted the generosity of the paying member but at the end of the day most members would rather see us turn a profit then take on a loss and would cop the lack of membership governance as a result.
It’s up to Sonja to finally adresss it and fix it as it has been neglected for far too long and is usually the first department that gets shredded when cuts need to be made.

Like if it was between having a gun fitness staff member or gun membership manager we’d all take the fitness staff member because we might win a game because of his input.
The onfield will always trump the admin side of things but if we want 50,000 members then the club can’t continue to ignore the problem.

 

[Forever North]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

Membership dept is complete shite nowdays. I despise this auto renew garbage that we’ve been forced to accept, the cumbersome and I hope it works on the day digital membership card, no membership supporter pack and this bullshit ‘we’re saving the environment by cutting waste/plastic’ excuse we’re meant to swallow, the constant website crashes when there’s a bit of a rush on getting tickets, reserved seating for what used to be GA.…The AFL industry generally treats members and fans as idiots and takes advantage of our emotional attachment to our clubs. It just sucks. I’ve been an ongoing member for around 40 years now and it really is disappointing at how we have slowly morphed into ‘customers’ rather than loyal members. Used to attend events, donate, buy raffle tickets etc, but not anymore.

 

[Sillygit]

The problem is that they are treating members differently, by saying you don’t have to pay the same because you waited until the last minute.

I too auto renew my membership and don’t worry about waiting until they have a promo for people joining late, which you are correct is my choice.

My personal opinion is that cost of a membership should be the same, regardless of if you auto renew or join just before the season.

I would rather the club run promotions to get on board new first time members. I would have no issue with them offering a nice discount to bring a new member into the club.

How would you feel if you went to the local mechanic to have your car serviced and he charged you a basic service fee of $200 and then someone came in after and he only charged them $150 for the same service because they brought their car in an hour later? I’m sure you would be thinking this bloke is taking the piss and taking advantage of me and would most likely not go back.

The club knows the rusted on supporters will still join up regardless and I guess that is my point is that I feel the club is taking them for granted a bit by even offering discounts for late members.

oh man, i have some STRONG views on my local mechanic right now. Did a roadworthy like 3 weeks ago on this hylux we were buying off a friends uncle, soon as we get it all bought, insured and take it out for a trip and the diff goes 15 minutes out of town. Had to get it towed back.

The point of difference I see is that the membership discount is predictable, not some out of nowhere thing. Seems it ain't happening this year, granted, but even if I had waited for it I would then just buy a membership and still be in the same boat as the renewal I have it on.

The theory as I see it, is they are trying to convince members who aren't going to sign up this year to do so by offering discounts. This close to season starting, or once the season has already started, trying to get those past members back in. Unlike us, they haven't been convinced to that point. I'd be hard pressed to figure out a way to appeal to those types of members other than hip pocket.

I can see your point, I'm not trying to say it's wrong or anything, it's just not the perpsective I take from it. And I completely agree with discounts for totally new members.

 

[hotchilli]

Where the heck do you go to find the member partner offers these days?

 

[Gasometer]

I had major issues last year and the year before with my account. Nothing the club tried did much of anything and I finally managed some kind of weird workaround that didn't make any sense. So yeah, I don't have much faith that the same problem won't occur and that this time it will be a major issue. As an example when using their platform:

• Can't change my email address at all (just generates an error)
• Can't see my membership details when logged in - generates failed url errors and redirects me to a page telling me to sign up

This is all via their app so can't be my browser causing the issues... I have close to zero faith in their ability to sort it out given they were not capable of doing so last year or the year before. The fact that they can't even send me an email for the replacement games doesn't exactly fill me with any further confidence.

Same

Arse Clowns

 

[Gasometer]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

Oh please

This has been going on for months if not years

Never miss taking the $$$ in October but **** the other 11 months

 

[Lomas]

As someone who has been frustrated, angered and a vocal critic for years about our membership department and its lack of service, I need to point out one thing.

We all need to understand that the club runs a tight ship.
Really tight.
To the point that hiring and retaining talent is almost impossible for us.
If you want us to keep hitting that $150,000 yearly profit then expect more of the same as to what we’ve received for the past 15 years.
It is what it is.

We would have one of the highest turnover of staff, not just in the competition but in workplaces generally due to the fact we don’t pay well at all.

I had a personal membership manager last year leave without an email or final contact or even an acknowledgment and it’s basically due to the process thst the club gets quality people in and hires them only for these ace recruits to stick fat till they get poached elsewhere because it’s not worth sticking around.
Meanwhile us members are all sitting here expecting the basics such as membership packages arriving on time, hats and scarves bearing easy to collect, simple access to barcodes when needed and sending out of membership cards so we can just go to bloody games.
Now when you consider the fact the employees charged with this task are most likely young, new to the role, learning on the job and relatively inexperienced it could be quite a stressful time dealing with irate and angry members who need their detials on a time critical basis.

I’m sure the club knows this and I’m sure the club wants to invest in the membership department. And I reckon they do until the chief financial officer comes knocking and says we need to make cuts to make budget for the year and all of a sudden we let go a gun account manager who the members loved and was on a decent salary.
It’s as simple as that.

Don’t blame membership staff if you have any issues going forward. They would be overworked and under the pump. Blame the board who continuously under finances and under prioritizes this essential service.

Sonya’s first role is fixing this area to make it workable and sustainable. It’s been a joke for too long.

They need to invest in this area quickly, or they will lose a lot of non rusted on supporters, including kids.
We have memberships for adults and kids in both the AFL and AFLW, and have received a single empty envelope . My partner, not from a footy supporting background, used to recruit a lot of her new in town colleagues to NMFC due to our positive points of difference to other clubs. Now she bemoans the lack of engagement from the club with families and kids in particular. They are letting down rusted ons and new supporters alike.
I receive four calls about buying raffle tickets for every one request for about requests for information on kids/family events (i find it hard to get through to anyone most of the year now).

 

[tazaa]

Oh please

This has been going on for months if not years

Never miss taking the $$$ in October but fu** the other 11 months

Mate I literally said it’s been poor for 15 years

 

[shinboner magic]

Have we hit 40k yet

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

Imagine working in customer service at a football club. I can understand why it might be hard to retain staff.

 

[SpiderBurton22]

So Gil mentioned today that if club members want a traditional membership card with a bar code on it, their club will provide one for them.

Get to it technophobes.

 

[Lomas]

So Gil mentioned today that if club members want a traditional membership card with a bar code on it, their club will provide one for them.

Get to it technophobes.

I prefer luddite.

 

[Johnny99]

I am a bit confused with the ticketing situation this year.

The other day, I got an email with a code, so I got 4 tickets to see the first game at the G. vs Hawks

But do I need to get tickets for the next 4 games as well ?

ie vs WCE, not going to Bris or Syd game and the Good Friday game vs WB ?

We have reserved seats. Do I still need to get tickets ?

Can anyone help ?

 

[the big lebowski]

I am a bit confused with the ticketing situation this year.

The other day, I got an email with a code, so I got 4 tickets to see the first game at the G. vs Hawks

But do I need to get tickets for the next 4 games as well ?

ie vs WCE, not going to Bris or Syd game and the Good Friday game vs WB ?

We have reserved seats. Do I still need to get tickets ?

Can anyone help ?

No, you don’t need to do anything re home games. You can just scan in using your phone and walk straight to your reserved seats and using your legs and hips, lower you’re body down into said seats.

 

[Sillygit]

I am a bit confused with the ticketing situation this year.

The other day, I got an email with a code, so I got 4 tickets to see the first game at the G. vs Hawks

But do I need to get tickets for the next 4 games as well ?

ie vs WCE, not going to Bris or Syd game and the Good Friday game vs WB ?

We have reserved seats. Do I still need to get tickets ?

Can anyone help ?

You know how this first game is at the g, and it isnt our home game? That's the big clue right there.

 

[sagitox]

I was supposed to get my ticket for hawks game today at 2 but I never received my code. Anyone else get theirs?

 

[motlopfan]

I was supposed to get my ticket for hawks game today at 2 but I never received my code. Anyone else get theirs?

Not yet.