Capital Spend Ideas

Steve B advised that as we were fairly limited with time he would start by running through each department in the club and then cover the minutes from the previous meeting.

Steve B asked if anyone had any areas they felt warranted capital spend as a priority.

Diana asked if it was possible to have a permanent lane rope in place of the present temporary one that is used.

Steve B advised that he would ask the instructors about the suitability of the present lane rope and investigate whether it was necessary to replace this.

DB explained that the main area for focus was the outdoor tennis courts which were in need of floodlighting and resurfacing.

Steve B advised that this was his number one priority within the club and he is awaiting news as to if and when this will happen. Steve B agreed that floodlighting was a priority and this would enable the outdoor courts to be used more efficiently.

DB also asked if it would be possible to have a screen rather than a net between the Badminton Courts and Tennis Court 4. He explained that it can be off putting when playing tennis to be distracted by the Badminton players.

SB believed that this was not essential and that other areas in the club may be more of a priority. Steve B agreed.

Diana asked if it would be possible to have proper lighting around the outdoor swimming pool as it can often appear very dark out there.

IB advised that this was also the case with the underwater lights and they were not always on. CC advised that there is lighting already there and it was a possibility that this was not always being put on. CC to look in to.

IB also asked if there was a possibility of glass screen round the outdoor pool area, to stop drafts and also stop tennis balls going in the pool.

Steve B to investigate.

SB asked if it was possible to get some more benches for the Badminton Courts as they are currently down to one.

Steve B and JO to find out a price.

Diana asked for a new clock in the gym.

Steve B to action

JA asked if there had been any development with a new telephone answering system within the club. Steve B advised that he had spoken to our IT department and it is a company issue as it would need replacing throughout the estate.

Diana asked that in the event of an evacuation, would there be towels available for members who are using the swimming pool.

Steve B advised that there are now foil blankets for swimmers to use if they need to be evacuated.

Steve B advised the forum of the membership figures for the last year and advised that the club are currently 17 members behind our head office target.

Steve B advised that the leaving and joining figures for members in November were very positive and that we had less leavers than we were budgeted for.

JF asked if we logged the reasons that members left the club.

Steve B advised that we do this and that we try and contact all leavers. The main reasons for members leaving was low/ non usage.

Steve B advised that we are targeting this now with our gym team who are currently focusing on all low usage members and contacting them so that we can encourage them to use the club more frequently.

JA requested that we have an Action section in the Forum Minutes as we used to as this makes the minutes easier to follow.

Jane Luty to continue this.

Diana advised that in general she had heard some excellent comments on the improvements in the club.

JA advised that he had written to Stuart Creed regarding the ongoing issues within the F&B department. He reiterated that the main problems were the increase in prices since the takeover by Compass and also a definite need for staff training.

JA felt that the general standard of staff had dropped in the F&B department recently and this should be addressed.

AB to investigate

AB advised that he is currently training all staff in the importance of prioritising their tasks and this is presently an ongoing thing.

Steve B advised that members will always be the first priority and they are now trying to instill this in to the staff.

JF advised that she believes the issue with the staff may have something to do with errors in payroll and this could be demotivating for the staff. AB to address.

WB explained that demotivated staff was not the only issue, as he has asked for food and often been told the kitchen are out of stock of basic items. AB advised that the head chef is on leave at the moment and this may be part of the reason for this, he did take the comments on board and will investigate why this has happened.

Diana advised that she had been charged £1.60 for a small bottle of water and believed this was an extortionate price. AB advised that water should be £1.00 and apologised that this must have been an error. AB to investigate.

Steve B advised the forum that he was aware of the issues within the F&B department and agreed that it did let the club down at the moment. Steve B was confident that this will improve in the new year with the return of social events and themed nights. Steve B advised that he was aware what an important part of the membership the social side can be and that this will be focused on in the new year.

JA advised that there are no longer any special offers, happy hours or any other promotions in the Brasserie and many members would welcome the return of these. AB to look in to.

Steve B advised that Stuart Creed will be meeting with Restaurant Associates to try and arrange a social calendar for next year and this will be an obvious improvement to look forward to.

JF advised that although this is good news, the basic issues need to be addressed with regard to the service and standards within the department. These will not improve until the staff are motivated.

AB took these comments on board and will continue training the staff.

WB asked if the opening times of the bar had changed recently. Steve B advised that at weekends the opening hours had changed to 9.00am from 8.00am. This was because there were no members wishing to use the bar before 9.00am.

SB advised that all afore mentioned issues aside, he felt the main problem with lack of use was because it was not a pleasant cosy environment and that members prefer a more ambient and comfortable atmosphere. SB felt that the only comfortable and cosy part of the brasserie was the smoking area.

Steve B ran through the minutes of the previous meeting with regard to F&B.

DB felt that the price of crisps was far too expensive at 45p a packet.

Steve B advised that although he had received comments about the new furniture in the adults lounge not being very comfortable, he believed the fact that it was all new was a positive step for the club and that it gave a good impression to the members. Steve B also advised that all the tables in F&B had been resurfaced and this was also an improvement.

JA asked if there were going to be extra staff in the gym as they seemed extremely short staffed at present.

Steve B advised that there would be new staff recruited in the new year and he has already recruited another 16hours. Steve B advised that it was essential that this was done as it was a health and safety issue and a lack of staff could be a potential problem in the event of having to evacuate the club.

Steve B advised that Stuart Creed is also looking in to the possibility of having full time poolside supervision in the new year and is waiting to hear about this.

JA asked if the studio cycling would be moving to a different location as previously intended.

Steve B advised that at the moment the Studio Cycling would not be moving but something will be done to address the noise issue for people in the adults lounge.

JA and JS asked if the circuits class on a Friday evening before Yoga can be moved. This was because the floor is covered in sweat and the room is very unpleasant to do a yoga class in.

Sam B advised that the timetable will be changing from January and this will be addressed.

WB advised that there is still some equipment in the gym that is still out of order and has been for months. Steve B apologised for this and said he would look in to this immediately.

WR asked if it would be possible to put a sign in the studios asking that members do not bring their mobile phones with them whilst doing classes. Sam B to organise.

WR also asked why the dance class held the previous Saturday was open to non members. She explained that these non members were also using the showers and that this seemed a little unfair on the paying members. Sam B advised that it was out of her control as the class was booked via the instructors who had hired the studio for the day. She apologised if it seemed unfair to members but did advise that the club was privileged to have such an event held here. Sam B explained that had it been only open to club members it may not have run due to lack of support.

JA asked if there was anyway that members could receive a discount on these kind of events.

Steve B agreed that this was a good idea and said that in the future he will see if he can get a 10% discount on these events if possible.

He advised it may prove to be difficult as the person organising the event, hires the room and is then able to charge what they want to people attending the class.

WB advised that although the Cardio theatre seemed to be working now there were still a couple that seemed to crackle. Steve B advised that it was important all members know how to use the Cardio theatre properly as sometimes people think it is not working purely because they do not know how to use it.

Steve B ran through the previous minutes and advised that the new free weights had now arrived.

The Studio cycling music was now set a bit quieter but it still could appear loud depending on who was doing the class.

Steve B advised that when the Christmas Events were over they would continue to advertise the self defence classes on the large glass frame.

Steve B asked the forum if they felt that cleaning was an issue in the club.

JS advised that the Yoga studio floor always seemed quite dirty.

WR advised that the centrefeeds in the gym and spinning studio often appeared to be empty.

JA asked that gym staff request people to clean the machinery and weights when it has been used as it is often covered in sweat.

IB asked if the bottles used for cleaning the spin bikes could be kept out of sight . This was for health & safety reasons as children could pick up the bottles and drink from them.

IB expressed his concern that the plant room door on poolside is often wedged open and children can freely wander in. Chris to investigate this and resolve.

Steve B advised that the sauna is going to be refurbished but it will not be any bigger.

WB advised that the bulb is out in the steam room and also the light appears to be coming away from the wall. CC to look in to this.

The handle on the sauna door also appears to be broken. CC to put a temporary handle on.

Diana asked that there be instructions on the poolside shower showing how to use it as many people are not showering before using the pool.

Steve B advised that he was going to put a notice up explaining the reasons why members should shower before using the pool but thought it may appear a bit too patronising.

JA advised that the best way to police this would be to have poolside supervision as previously discussed.

WB asked if there was any chance of having shelves in the showers to put keys and shampoo on. CC to investigate cost of plastic shelving.

Steve B referred to the previous minutes and advised that it was unfeasible to add extra lane notices at the children’s end of the pool.

Steve B advised that the pool temperature display is currently on order.

WB advised that other members had told him that ladies were leaving clothes in the changing cubicles whilst they use the facilities. Steve B advised he would organise a sign.

Health & Beauty

JS advised that she thought the increase in prices in the Tranquillity Spa were unsatisfactory. Steve B admitted that the prices had had a dramatic effect on business and that this was currently being looked in to.

Tennis

JA advised that the league prices were too high.

JO advised that this was all part of the budget he had been set from Head Office but in the future he will be charging round by round rather than for the fully year in advance.

Steve B advised that any complaints regarding these charges should probably be referred to our Head Office. Also the fact that the Full membership prices were not increasing was partly to allow for these charges.

SB felt that it was unreasonable to expect Junior members to pay £5.00 to enter the junior leagues and then expect them to play at limited times.

JO advised that once the outdoor courts have been improved there will be plenty of court availability for the junior members.

JO advised that the new Tennis Nets have arrived but unfortunately they are the wrong size. The new nets will be arriving by Monday.

SB advised that a lot of the lights on the badminton and tennis courts appear to be out. Steve B to look in to this.

JO showed the new Tennis special events programme to the forum. He asked for any member feedback and any additions and advised that the Badminton events guide would follow soon.

DB asked if we could organise a free tennis assessment for all new members. This would enable new members to know which courses to book on to when they look at the timetable. JO advised that we already offer this for every new Tennis member.

JO advised that the new company director is very pro tennis and that there may be some improvements for the Tennis members in the new year.

Steve B advised that he would like the Forum to meet Stuart Creed when he next visited the club and said he would try to organise this.

JA asked about the clubs No Show procedure. JO and Steve B advised that this was something that was being looked in to with regards to all activities in the club.

The Zone

No issues, everyone pleased with The Zone.

Reception

No issues. DB felt the girls on Reception did a very good job and were very helpful.

JA advised that the car park lights are not coming on when it is dark but instead at 5pm. Chris to look in to this.

IB advised that he had heard that corporate members were now getting a vastly reduced rate. Steve B advised that this was categorically untrue. If they were paying less for their membership, the company they worked for were obviously subsidising this.

Diana asked why there were still free trial offers to use the club. Steve B had advised in the previous meeting that these were to stop, yet Diana has seen free trails advertised in shops in Poole. Steve B to look in to this.

Diana asked if it was possible for Gold card members to receive guest passes. Steve B said that he would look in to doing this every six months.

Diana asked if we were able to order swimming costumes through the shop. Steve B said that this would be happening in the future.

Steve advised that the new fixings on the plastic bag holders were still an issue. CC to organise this.

IB asked if the staff shortage would soon be sorted as he was aware that when FB is duty manager she is also often helping out in F&B and also working in the gym. Steve B to look in to this.

WR expressed concern about the lack of pay increase for Step Instructors. Steve B advised that the step instructors should take this issue up with the club directly rather than complaining to members.

Steve B thanked everyone for their time once again and advised that he would be meeting individually with each member of the forum to discuss the Forum structure for next year.