The same Club, just better...
Comments
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True, they haven't actually promised anything, but it a great opportunity now to actually be pro active and improve the club.
Having watched the video though now, I'am not very impressed. Have to agree not everyone uses their van to make use of the great outdoors!
I hope they now put more effort into getting the website sorted and supporting the CL 's that have had and still have problems with the website and search.
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In my ten years of membership I had a caravan for nine years, and now a motor home for one. I have not felt discriminated against at all in either category. On my first ever trip at Bladon Chains due to a wet summer hard standings were being saved for heavy motor homes, and so I had to go on grass, but that was a logical requirement at that time to prevent bogging down of heavy vehicles.
I try whenever possible to have a hard standing pitch. It would be interesting to know what proportion of members would only choose a grass pitch. I would be happy if all pitches were made hard standings.
What would I like for the future?
Wifi on all club sites without exception
All wifi to be full speed (unlike what I am suffering here at Ferry Meadows!)
All pitches hard standings on all sites (and no grass strips to cross like at Cherry Hinton!)
All sites with toilet/shower blocks (members who prefer to use their own wouldn't have to use them!)
Negotiations with mobile phone networks to sort out the problems of sites with no signal reception (eg Ferry Meadows with zero signal for Three and Virgin (unless you take a walk into Nene Park!)
Making associate sites meet the standard CMC requirements (no allocation of pitches, no making cars park away from their caravans, no open washbasin areas instead of cubicles, etc)
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Thanks for the kind words MichaelT,
We're very much excited to see what the next generation of campers will bring to the table
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Hi Moulsey,
Members are not able to pre-book a specific pitch, but Site Staff will allocate a specific for an outfit if necessary.
Hope this clears things up
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At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what it is called but it does matter that there has been a justification made to do it that I don't believe exists in any meaningful way.
As for the mission statement or whatever you want to call it. It is no more than empty marketing drivel.
You want a mission statement here is my suggestion.
We exist in order to support and facilitate our members pursuit and enjoyment of touring caravanning.
End of. If someone wants to include the words motor caravan or whatever then fine.
But all this talk of adventure and pioneering absolute rubbish. It is nothing to do with anyone if I use my caravan as a base for other activities or I simply want to sit inside it and twitch my curtains and tut disapprovingly makes no difference.
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I refer to the old "ditty" - "It's not what you do but the way that you do it, that gets results"!
This has been a complete PR disaster on behalf of the Caravan & Motorhome Club. I was always under the impression that the founding principles of the club were based on egalitarianism - perhaps I've been wrong all these years? This has been presented to it's members "fait accompli". I have no problems personally with the name change nor indeed the logo, but seriously, you have treated your members with utter contempt and in a condescending manor. With all the forms of modern communications - not one word, either in the Magazine or indeed at the AGM. What were you frightened of? The diversity aspect pure PR gobbledegook political rhetoric. How many of the people you wish to attract could even afford a motorhome in the present financial climate. I suspect that J. Harris Stone would turn in his grave at way this has been handled.
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Lots of amusing and cutting comments from members here. Sadly, many of them have more than a ring of truth. But that's the club for you; on this occasion, window dressing appears to have taken precedence over improving service to members ( a user-friendly website would help keep my blood pressure in check). That said, rebranding was long overdue and on balance I prefer the new logo, such as it is.
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They may suggest that it would be nice to be able to choose pitch surface at point of booking.
I'm not one of the older members and statistics would suggest you could get another 20-25 years from me. Pitch type booking, stop promoting sites for redevelopment, replace lost sites, sort out the website and take pity on the poor CL owners who are losing bookings and their own money and you may get another year
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I'm 46, no longer a spring chicken, but still feel much younger than most of my fellow campers when on a CMC site. If the club doesn't change, modernize, change it's way, yep, even re-brand, it's going to die.
I don't even think of myself as a member of a club, I'm paying a business for the services it provides; the occasional stay on a CS, van insurance and Red Pennant. Similar to a Go Outdoors membership card for example.
Without the van insurance and my yearly trip to France, for which Red Pennant provides me with some comfort, I probably wouldn't join. Why not? Well, there are plenty, more than plenty, of independent sites that offer my family much, much more, for a very similar cost. Fully serviced pitches, decent play areas, a field to play ball games in, maybe a table tennis table, a boules sandpit, free wi-fi, other families rather than majority retired couples, no strict pitching rules - just common sense, maybe the odd indoor swimming pool, booking a certain pitch that we've enjoyed before, there's probably a lot more.
So many moaners on here, people don't like change. But without change, there's no future in the club (business) as it currently runs.
As for the additional services the club offers me, superb. Cheaper and better insurance for my individual circumstances, and a travel insurance package that gives us great comfort when we go abroad.
Hopefully the re-brand will just be the start of things to come. Modernization has to come, and with some luck, this re-brand will be just the start.
Well done CMC, you have to entice the future membership, and hopefully this will just be the start of many things to come.
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In a couple of years there will be a further re-brand to reflect us baby boomers love of the sixties. The Caravan Motorhome and Campervan Club has a certain ring about it and the new logo can them incorporate the famous (infamous?) VW logo. At present the new logo looks like the cheeks of a rather large bottom !!!
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I received a later just now from the Club announcing a change in club name and branding
cant recall reading anything about this in the last members mag
I do not use the forum on a regular basis but I was under the impression that this was a " members only club " and that all changes must be the subject of discussion / vote at AGM level and therefore against the clubs constitution ??
The new logo is poor , it resembles the Walls ice cream branding !
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall's_(ice_cream)
The "old " logo was good enough to last 110 years and was easily identifiable as The Caravan Club and surely that could have been adapted to encompass the motor home section ?
The cost of re branding everything on the club will be no doubt astronomical and will ultimately be borne by members.
sorry Chairman / presidents but I think you have got it wrong ......
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I'm 46, no longer a spring chicken, but still feel much younger than most of my fellow campers when on a CMC site.
I am a similar age Alphonso. Just reverse the digits, 64, Do I feel older than you? Not really. Just remember that the eyes looking in are often no younger in outlook than the eyes looking out.
As for: Fully serviced pitches, decent play areas, a field to play ball games in, maybe a table tennis table, a boules sandpit, free wi-fi, other families rather than majority retired couples, no strict pitching rules - just common sense, maybe the odd indoor swimming pool, booking a certain pitch that we've enjoyed before, there's probably a lot more.
That has been available for many years but some prefer to generally select a no frills site.
As an aside those that you appear to see as Old Farts and DInosaurs (my words - not yours) bring a lot to this club by often using the sites and putting cash into the coffers at times when sites might otherwise be very quiet. Do not discount our value to the club too readily, there's a good chap!
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I tend to agree. Perhaps part of the rebranding should have been to remove the word "Club" ?
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How very, very sad that the club I joined over thirty years ago has now become a club with another name.
It was bad enough having to be parked next to a glorified camper van as large as my bungalow, blocking out the light. Now I am told I am a member of the, Caravan and Motorhome Club. I don't think so.
My membership will not be renewed this year.
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Great Idea.. and MUCH cheaper!
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Oh deep joy. The post has brought me a new sticker. But still no bloody handbook!
Can no one at HQ spell "p r I o r I t I s e"?
I have however worked out the twisted logic between the envelope with the old logo and the new branded stuff inside. Two fold:
1. Had something arrived in our household (most households?) with the new virtually meaningless logo on the front it would have been filed in "bin" unopened.
2. It uses up a vast quantity of now defunct stationary, no doubt someone has decreed in a legitimate manner. Thereby a cost saving exercise, that will win the support of members.
I would have been happy having mine sent out with my so far mythical handbook! (But it comes from another place, bleats HQ)
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For more than fifty years we’ve been the Caravan and Motorhome Club in everything but name. This is not about favouring one group over another, it’s about embracing our inclusiveness and making sure we better reflect the diversity of our Club. That way, we can better meet the needs of all our members.
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what a waste of money... But hey we get a lovely new Motorhome on the front page of the site book.. Welcome to the motorhome club !!
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You really will absolutely have to move with the times and absolutely accept that the children who literally run and populate marketing departments these days are literally excited about this but literally cannot write in proper English instead you get a kind of txt spk with really really long sentences (not custodial types) and no punctuation anywhere at all
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Personally I don't have too much of a problem with the new name, in the same way I didn't have a problem (years ago) when the Camping Club, as it was then known, became the Camping and Caravanning Club to refect the growing numbers of caravans on their sites.
However, the logo is another matter. It is drab and anonymous and in no way shouts to the world that this club is about caravanning/motorhoming/trailer-tenting/tenting. As such it fails in its purpose.
On the other hand, the muddy brown colour does remind me of some of the rubbish muddy (grass?) pitches we have been offered in the past, so not a complete failure then
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I doubt that many members are too worked up by the name change - needless as many may see it. It is more the way that the operation was carried out. Nowt too new there then. Existing members made to wait for a new bi-annual handbook so that the CC (as was) can announce the wondrous change at a time to suit its publicists whilst leaving rank and file members completely in the dark (nowt new there then - again).
The buzz words with no framework, let alone meat does probably P off many members it would seem (again - nowt new).
Any chance on advising the Membership that is so highly valued as to what the score is with Mildenhall??
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How very, very sad to learn that the club I joined over thirty years ago has a new name.
It was bad enough having to be parked on site next to a glorified camper van as big as my bungalow blocking out the light. Now I am told I am a member of the Caravan and Motorhome Club. I don't think so.
I shall not be renewing my membership this year.
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I think the club should be praised for being brave and biting the bullet to enable the club to move with the times and stay fresh.
Whimpy didn't change and where are they now?
Some members are posting threads asking why they were not consulted in this process?
The name change is neither here nor there but the quality of what you get on site visits is far more important IMO.
So, the simple answer to get what you need is to complete the surveys emailed to you after visiting sites, this is your opportunity to have your say ! If you do not complete the surveys then how can you complain?
You will find that these surveys will become more comprehensive and the relevant sites will be given the results, this will enable the site to develop and enhance our visits....
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It looks like the walls ice cream logo
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