The Demise of a Sports Club

The Demise of a Sports Club

Disclaimer:

This is just a story. The writer holds no responsibility for any resemblance of this story with any real life occurrence.

The Foothill Sports Club changed its management last December. It was bought over by a cash-rich building developer. The members of the club were worried that with the demise of the club, the fate of the club and its members were in the hands of the new management. Members were worried that the club would not survive long as there was a rumour that the developer intended to build a condominium on the present premises of the club and the club would either be dissolved in premature death or it would be relocated elsewhere. The members were helpless because the by-laws of the club were formulated in a biased manner in favour of the management of the club. The members were like  mincemeat on the chopping block.( 砧板上的肉 ,Zhen Ban Shang De Rou)

 

 They could not do anything but to abide by the decision of the new management to increase their monthly subscription by 50% beginning from the month of July this year. The drastic hike of the subscription did not reflect the corresponding upgrading of the club facilities since the new management holds the fort. In fact most of the members were complaining that the swimming pool of the club was poorly maintained. The bottom of the pool was always mucky and the chlorine content in the pool water was higher than the permissible standard.

The members in general felt that the fee increase was too high as compared to other similar clubs in the region.

Mr Henry Ng, an outspoken member of the club, took the initiative to get the members to sign a petition urging the management to reduce the quantum of increase in the monthly subscription, a portion of the petition reads:

“We wish to express our concern about the inflated rate of the monthly subscription of club members, from RM 63.60 to RM95.40, an increase of 50%.  We are well aware that with the increase in monthly subscription, our club members would be paying the highest monthly sum in this region, as compared to RM50 in the Safira Club of Seberang Jaya and RM 20 in the Kulim Chinese Recreation Club.

The inflated hike of the monthly subscription of the club is certainly not commensurate with the current facilities provided by the management as compared with other similar clubs in the region. Moreover, most of the members only join the club to use the swimming facilities. They seldom make use of other facilities of the club.

Of course, we do not object to the increase of the monthly subscription as we understand that no enterprise would involve in a business that is losing money. What we do not accede to is the quantum of increase as proposed by the management unless the management can convince the members that with such an increase of the monthly fee the members would enjoy value added facilities both in terms of quality and quantity.”

Other individuals also wrote in separate letters of appeal to the management; a typical one has this to say:

“I disagree with  your increase of 50% in subscription. Any justifiable increase should be 10 - 15% only.

I hope you would consider my appeal favourably as the drastic increase by you may cause many members to terminate payment of their subscription or even discontinue their membership…...”

But, unfortunately, all the complaints and letters of appeal had fallen upon deaf ears as the management took an indifferent attitude to all the feedback as it was holding the trump card as entitled by the agreement and the by-laws of the club. The management had no worries at all about the retention quota of the club members. It would be only too happy to see that all the members quit the club, the sooner the better, so that the club would be closed immediately without having to compensate its members a single cent. Once the club is closed, a condominium will be constructed on its premises which would help the developer to generate a more lucrative income.

This story vividly illustrates that: ‘Money dictates terms and conditions.’