"High Handed Manner" Toward Members

This email chain came in from Harry Law, a loyal member:-

On 15 October (last week), he wrote in to the Club as follows:
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MS Amy Cheong & Mr Herbert Hofer,

Ref the memo issued by Ms Cheong dd 9-Oct to club members informing them of the impending renovations and to seek alternative gym arrangements for an unspecified period.

I am totally disappointed that the Club Mgmt has taken this stand to deprive the very members, which account for the existance of the club, of the use of a core facility, without equivalent replacement.

I joined the club primarily to make use of the gym as it had good equipment and located near to my office.

I have been reading plans by the Club Mgmt and Owners in the newspapers to convert part of the club to a hotel, and have not had ANY formal letters or meetings organised by the Club Mgmt to keep us better informed and take our queries.

This very high handed manner of TELLING the members does not do justice to the Club. My encounters with the Club staff have always been positive and I enjoy the excellent service, esp from those manning the gym, sauna and restaurants.

Your recommendation that members should seek alternate gym memberships and pay for their use, whilst the TLFC Club undergo renovation shows clearly your lack of good sense and fair play, and as much as I do not like to speak out, I am afraid that not doing anything is a worst option.

Rgds

HARRY LAW
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I think many of us feel this way. To me, the way that members have been treated is more like a principal speaking to a primary school student than a business talking to its loyal customers. If Singapore Airlines treated their PPS members like that, their reputation would be very different.

The reply to Harry from the Club is cold and canned, - if not an outright reprimand:
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Dear Mr Law,

We refer to your email dated 15 October 2008.

The Proprietor is very serious about the viability and survival of the Club, and is unable to run the Club and keep it alive if the usage is only 10% of its optimum occupancy. On top of that, in the past 5 years, members' spending has been very low. Despite this, the Proprietor has refrained from increasing subscriptions, or imposing minimum spending these past 5 years. The only way for the Club to survive is for it to make money using whatever resources it has. As members, the heritage building will still be yours to enjoy as the 1st floor will still house restaurants like before, and members will enjoy the hotel rooms as another added facility at exclusive member's rates. Special packages for members will be created that will include fun for the whole family.

We acknowledge that in such a major undertaking, we would not be able to please everyone, and we understand that there are some members who are not happy with the Club renovation. As mentioned at the Briefing, the Club is maintaining an open dialogue with members.

When we first took over the premises of the Club in November 2002, the first renovation took almost 18 months as we did the work in phases, keeping some parts of the Club open whilst renovating other parts. We received a lot of negative feedback on the noise, dust and general inconvenience to members. So learning from that experience we took the decision to close the Club, suspend subscriptions and offer alternative Gym facilities. If we were to keep the Club open during the renovation, we would have collected subscriptions, albeit at a reduced rate. Keeping the Club open would also expose members to possible accidents as they would be using facilities in what would essentially be a construction site.

We would like to remind you that when you joined the Club, you signed an undertaking to abide by the Club Rules and Regulations (a copy of which is on the website). Please note the following paragraphs in the Rules & Regulations:

5.4 Repairs
Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, if at any time it appears to the Proprietor that any of the Facilities is congested, in need of any repair, renovations, inspection, expansion or maintenance or required for the use of the Proprietor for any purpose as the Proprietor may decide, the Proprietor may at its discretion impose conditions on, restrict, suspend or otherwise limit the rights and privileges of the Members in respect of any one or more of such Facilities. The Proprietor shall not in any way be liable for any inconvenience or loss that may be suffered or sustained by any Member or any other person entitled or permitted to use and enjoy the Facilities resulting from such conditions, restrictions, suspension or limitation.

5.5 Alternative Facilities
The Proprietor shall be entitled to substitute any of the Facilities with any other facility that the Proprietor deems appropriate in the event that any such Facility cannot, for any reason whatsoever, be made available for the use and enjoyment of the Members. In the event that such alternative facility cannot be procured, the Proprietor shall have the absolute discretion to discontinue providing such Facility and the Proprietor shall not in any way be liable for any inconvenience or loss that may be suffered or sustained by any Member or any other person entitled or permitted to use and enjoy the Facilities resulting from the Proprietor not providing such Facility.

24.1 Powers vested in Proprietor
The powers of management and administration of the Club shall be vested solely in the Proprietor whose decision on any question or matter shall be conclusive, final and binding on the Members. The Proprietor may appoint such persons or bodies of persons as it may deem fit to carry out any part of the functions of the management and administration of the Club, subject to such terms and conditions as the Proprietor may impose. The Members will not in any manner be involved in the management of the Club. Further, the Proprietor shall have the full discretion to deal with or dispose of the Assets of the Club or any part thereof and to pledge the same for any purpose which includes, but is not limited to, borrowing money for any business ventures or investments, whether related to the Club or not, as the Proprietor may determine from time to time provided that the Proprietor shall not create any security interests over the Club's assets except in relation to any indebtedness incurred in respect of the operations, renovations, upgrading and other matter in connection with, or resulting from the Proprietor's ownership and operation of the Club.

27. Dispute Settlement
Any dispute or difference which may arise as to the meaning or interpretation of these Rules and the Bye-laws or as to the powers of the officers or the Proprietor, or the validity of any proceedings of the Proprietor and/or the Club shall be determined by the Proprietor, whose decision shall be final and binding upon all the Members of the Club.

While the Proprietor may consider feedback from Members, as a private club (as opposed to a members' club), the final decision is legally the sole prerogative of the Proprietor. The most constructive form of engagement is for members to address their concerns to the club directly.

As for communication with the members on the renovation, members were notified of the decision to revamp the Club in the four issues of the Club newsletter from January 2008. On 25 September, a letter was sent to all members informing them of the date for the Club closure and inviting them to the Members' Briefing on 6 October 08. The same letter was blown up to A3 size and posted on the Club notice boards at the Gym and the Lobby.

We hope that this has made the Club's stand clearer to you.
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From my perspective, Harry made a very valid complaint to the Management and Owner and was shot back with a letter written by a lawyer. If he had wanted a lawyer's reply, he would have gotten a lawyer to write in on his behalf.

Harry had a great reply to the email from the Club above. I will put that in the next posting.