Pro shop service

[Val]

Bottom line is the pro doesn't deal this way and the OP doesn't like it.

Pro has his reasons and the OP has his right to do whatever he like with his cash and equipment, I'd be almost certain the club management are aware the pro won't take in second hand kit and have no issues with it.

As for the pro not offering the right service to members because he doesn't take second hand trade ins, I find this thought process absurd. Selling kit is not what a club pro is all about.

Alex1975, your last comment is ignorant, if you think your pro only works in the shop you should go and have a chat with him and educate yourself.

 

[GreiginFife]

Been watching this thread and how it's deteriorated.
As a specialist in business improvement I see that there is merit in most of the arguments. However, there is not enough initial information for anyone to make a fully enlightened comment.
Firstly, the OP says this is about the pro not giving quality service to the members of the club. "Quality of Service" is an extremely subjective issue, quality is not universal. How many members does the club have? Is this a representative majority opinion that he isn't giving quality?
Secondly, every business will have a model and a plan and I'm pretty sure that any club worth it's salt will have been through the new pro's plan in detail so will understand that this is his stance and will have agreed with that from the outset. The business of dealing in second hand equipment may or may not be healthy enough to justify any effort in selling (space is required to display, this may take up new stock space etc).
We are also not in full receipt of the pro#s reasons or strategy to make a decision on how quality the service is.
How long the pro has been there is another matter, if he's really new then there is the prospect that he is still cleaning up the last guy's mess (if he was that bad).
As you can see, there are many factors that need detailed just to make a valid call on whether or not the guy is a tw@t!

 

[Matty]

As I see it this distils right down to the OP feeling that by not trading in second hand clubs on behalf of the members he/she is not offering good service.

Clearly then by doing this he/she would be partially offering good service - but what else does he/she need to do?

Lessons, tee bookings, new kit, club fitting, liaise between club members and green staff, car park attendant, shoe and club cleaning, car valet.

What exactly are the expectations on this person? Was that made clear when they were appointed? If not then the members can't really gripe about the service if the expectations were not made clear from the outset.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

At last, this is finally turning into a debate about QUALITY OF SERVICE. I thought I made it pretty clear that it's not an issue about being offered a paltry trade in value from Golfbidder, the money aspect doesn't come into it at all but a lot of people have jumped onto this thread and starting having a go thinking I'm whinging about being offered a rubbish trade in price.

 

[GreiginFife]

At last, this is finally turning into a debate about QUALITY OF SERVICE. I thought I made it pretty clear that it's not an issue about being offered a paltry trade in value from Golfbidder, the money aspect doesn't come into it at all but a lot of people have jumped onto this thread and starting having a go thinking I'm whinging about being offered a rubbish trade in price.

Personally I took the whole thread as being such. However, I revert back to my comment stating that QUALITY is subjective. The quality of the service (however subjective) also has to fit in with the short term tactical and the long term strategic planning of the business.
There may be other members at your club that deride the selling of second hand gear, therefore if he does accede to your request the quality of service drops in someone else's opinion.
Working in the service industry and trying to apply Lean Six Sigma to it has demonstrated to me that there is no such thing as quality in service as a universal measure.

 

[shivas irons]

Right, I'm going to put this into plain English for those that have made comments without reading back through previous posts.

At this moment in time, I have all the golf equipment that I need/want. In other words, I'm not looking to spend any money on golf equipment right now. I have a MINT condition Scotty Newport 2 putter, one of the most sought after putters on the market that I'm not using.

Now, I took it into my pro shop and asked him to stick it in the 2nd hand rack and whatever he sells it for, add that money into my shop account (bear in mind the above comment that I'm not looking to buy any golf equipment at the moment). So, someone spots it and buys it for a bargain price, I'm not looking for silly money for it (I'm hoping to get £100, Golfbidder are asking £145 for them). Let's say he sells it for £100 (no real effort required on his part, not asking him to spend any time/money on it for me), I then have £100 to spend in his shop that I wouldn't have spent otherwise. So, for little/no effort, he gets £100 of sales in his shop that he wouldn't normally get because I use up the money for the sake of it.

Alternatively, I sell it privately and spend the cash somewhere else and he gets no business out of it at all. I don't lose out, in fact I gain because I'm not restricted to spending the money in his shop. I have attempted to support him so my conscience is clear. He has lost £100 worth of sales.

I totally agree with you,if somebody turned up with £100 to spend in the shop would the pro turn them away? obviously not,so whats the difference with the pro selling the putter for £100 and then in affect having a guarantee of £100 sales in he`s shop! If a trader does not do that you would have to question their business sense.As for the putter taking up room in the shop... pleeeeze!

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Greig

what you say is absolutely true, I've also worked for many years in customer facing roles where customer sat is key and as you pointed out, one man's meat is another man's poison etc.

What you have pointed out is a clear and concise counterview to mine and it is exactly the type of reply I was hoping to get when I started this thread. Not a load of people accusing me of whinging over a few quid because that is NOT the issue.

Am I right, am I wrong? There is no right and wrong, as you say it is subjective. In my view, the pro has made the wrong decision, it appears there are people on here who agree with me and also those that don't. That is what a sensible debate is all about.

I appreciate your comments, thank you :thup:

 

[GreiginFife]

Greig

what you say is absolutely true, I've also worked for many years in customer facing roles where customer sat is key and as you pointed out, one man's meat is another man's poison etc.

What you have pointed out is a clear and concise counterview to mine and it is exactly the type of reply I was hoping to get when I started this thread. Not a load of people accusing me of whinging over a few quid because that is NOT the issue.

Am I right, am I wrong? There is no right and wrong, as you say it is subjective. In my view, the pro has made the wrong decision, it appears there are people on here who agree with me and also those that don't. That is what a sensible debate is all about.

I appreciate your comments, thank you :thup:

No problem, my advice would be the same as many who maybe didn't convey it in the same way. Speak to the pro and get an insight in to his thinking. Shivas is right that he would be crazy to turn away money, however the process involved in getting to that final £100 (or whatever it would be) is maybe not in-keeping with his long-term planning. There is also the propensity that he hasn't fully thought through the prospect of dealing second hand and maybe just needs some measured opinion to help with his thought process.

 

[In_The_Rough]

The thing is if he does it for yourself then he could soon end up with a shed load of gear laying around in his shop if word gets round. However I take your point why would he turn £100 worth of sales down which he is going to be guaranteed. How big is the shop in question anyway? Go and speak to him Man to Man and discuss it and his reasoning behind it. Pointless falling out over it and getting the hump on and taking all your business elsewhere. I have found every club pro more than appraochable in the past about various issues. If he is still acting the goat after this then he is obviously a total tool!!

 

[thecraw]

The thing is if he does it for yourself then he could soon end up with a shed load of gear laying around in his shop if word gets round. However I take your point why would he turn £100 worth of sales down which he is going to be guaranteed. How big is the shop in question anyway? Go and speak to him Man to Man and discuss it and his reasoning behind it. Pointless falling out over it and getting the hump on and taking all your business elsewhere. I have found every club pro more than appraochable in the past about various issues. If he is still acting the goat after this then he is obviously a total tool!!

That's the point though. It's not guaranteed though is it! There is no guarantee that the putter will sell. It may sell or 8 months down the line the pro is having to reduce it to £80 to try and shift it.

I don't know the pro or the course but have you considered that the pro may have a contract in place with Ping, Rife, TM etc which stops him from having other brands of putters on the rack beside what he stocks.

The pro is entitled to chose. It's his business.

 

[Region3]

That's the point though. It's not guaranteed though is it! There is no guarantee that the putter will sell. It may sell or 8 months down the line the pro is having to reduce it to £80 to try and shift it.

The sale isn't guaranteed but the OP isn't asking for his credit straight away, only if it does sell.

The pro cannot lose if it doesn't sell, he just gives the putter back with a couple of months worth of dust on it.

Agree it's 100% his choice though.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

The pro is entitled to chose. It's his business.

Craw

we are not talking about a high street shop here, we are talking about a pro in a private club. Yes it is his business but the purpose of him being there is to provide a service to the members?

 

[In_The_Rough]

It is his choice yes 100% nobody can dispute that. It is his shop if he wants to fill it with whatever brand he wants he can be it new or used. Would like to hear he reasoning why he wont do it though thats all as it does seem to me he is turning £100 of trade away.

 

[thecraw]

Craw

we are not talking about a high street shop here, we are talking about a pro in a private club. Yes it is his business but the purpose of him being there is to provide a service to the members?

Provide a service at detriment to his livelihood? Deluded argument.

 

[Val]

At last, this is finally turning into a debate about QUALITY OF SERVICE. I thought I made it pretty clear that it's not an issue about being offered a paltry trade in value from Golfbidder, the money aspect doesn't come into it at all but a lot of people have jumped onto this thread and starting having a go thinking I'm whinging about being offered a rubbish trade in price.

Your moaning because the Pro is doing what he feels is right for his business and it doesn't suit you. You cannot say because of this one thing the pro is offering bad service to the members? Have you ever thought that the management of your club MAY have asked the pro not to sell second hand gear for members?

Have you listed this putter for sale yet that you've moaned about for 2 days?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Provide a service at detriment to his livelihood? Deluded argument.

That's rubbish and you know it. A pro at a private club has limited footfall through his shop, if he doesn't keep the members happy he may as well pack up and go home as he'll never make a decent living.

 

[Val]

That's rubbish and you know it. A pro at a private club has limited footfall through his shop, if he doesn't keep the members happy he may as well pack up and go home as he'll never make a decent living.

How many members at your club?

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Pro's shops are like the village shop/pub everyone wants them for convienience but very few really support them.
The 'loyal' club members tend to only spend when they have sufficient vouchers.
Dumfries and Galloway is a vast area that only has four Pro shops.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Have you listed this putter for sale yet that you've moaned about for 2 days?

Nope...because it's not about the money (I've tried explaining that several times but you don't seem to get it) In fact, if you drive to Bournemouth, I will GIVE you the putter for FREE!

 

[Val]

Nope...because it's not about the money (I've tried explaining that several times but you don't seem to get it) In fact, if you drive to Bournemouth, I will GIVE you the putter for FREE!

You my friend are mixed up, if it's not about money then stick via golf bidder or keep it.

Of course it's about money, if it wasn't you wouldn't have tried to shift your putter via the pro.