New Site Booking System
Comments
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We tried and tried Steve, throughout the day. When I mentioned it to staff, they confirmed that they weren’t taking calls🤷♀️ It was September, so a very busy period.
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Morning
During busy times last year we didn't take calls at all, but if you listen through that long answer phone message it offers alternative lines of communication, then at the end of it it mentions something like if you need to speak to the site staff leave your name, number and a short message and we'll call back. Bit strange if you left a message at Marazion and they didn't call back?
JK
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It wasn’t Marazion JK. I will admit that I didn’t want to listen to a long, long message, especially as phoning while in transit with a signal coming and going, and in our old MH that doesn’t have the phone technology of the Jeep. But it became apparent that the phone wasn’t going to be picked up. In the end, the staff phoned us, so it got resolved amicably. It might be better this year, both staff and customers getting used to operational issues.
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I will agree that it is quite difficult with the longwinded answer phone messages on club sites to keep contact with the site at times ,with some mobiles coverage,we tend to find a decent signal if using our mobiles
Have you tried the 111 number ,recently I had to use it for OH yesterday
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Okay JV, thanks.
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JV, I didn’t post to stevals. I just thanked you for your reply🤷🏻♂️
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So it's 20 days until your booking starts, you'd like to cancel but if you do you'll lose the deposit. Exactly the same as if you are cancelling on the first day of the booking (or just not turning up to the site).
But if you cancel you'll also lose the (however unlikely) opportunity to use the booking, which you've now paid at least £25 for.
i.e. there is now a significant disincentive to cancelling early once inside the 21 day window, as you are realising a potential loss, for no benefit in return.
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Good point. Some may wonder whether to bother cancelling at all once within the 21 day band. Thus, the pitch may not go back on sale at all.
It's another detail the club needs to consider.
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+1
No shows may go up again for more availability in booking? That's a good deal?
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Yes, the club said no shows went down when they previously dropped deposits. We shall see.
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Wishful thinking? Not on my part, David!
Who has said, or even suggested that, speculative booking will continue at the same rate as before?
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For anyone that has a spare few hundred quid (£1300) will still speculatively book every weekend but the majority will now cancel giving 21 days notice instead of 3. I didn't mind 3 days notice, I often pick up late cancellations. Sadly, a large number will now not bother to cancel if it is not in their interest to so, so the rationale of freeing up pitches falls away.
This new system is counter productive. It benefits no one in the long run. How much has the new system cost? How much each year is the Club contracted to pay to the software supplier? What cost in internal administration on this heavily reliant system, on a permanent yearly basis? All of this out of our subscriptions.
Then, the C&CC now no longer need to make their offer more attractive than the C&MC in order to compete. An equal playing field between the CCC, the C&MC and all commercial sites is now planned. So prices go up across the sector. Who looses? You and me. The one thing, *one thing*, that set the C&CC apart and gave it it's USP was the current booking system. An USP. Selling the USP on some accountant's recommendation as an easy way to raise a free loan is the worst decision this Club has made (since the change in logo IMO).
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I think it should be the default position that the balance should be taken automatically, either on the day of arrival or the day before. Anyone who became a no show would pay for the full stay. They would then have to argue that out with the Club if they wanted any sort of refund. It would certainly discourage people from not showing up which might be the case if they only lost the deposit. The situation now is very different now from when the Club last took deposits. I also think that the Club will monitor deposit refunds as they will be easier to trace and I am sure if they notice some members with a high incidence of deposit refunds I am sure they will be having a word.
David
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I can't see that happening unless it is stated somewhere? If the rules states deposits are refundable if before 21 days then that is it, the club has to abide by that and any 'remedial' action could be taken unless stated. And have a word and say what? One or more refunds and...
I guess we will have to see what is written in the T&C.
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Evening
So, back in the day the club took I think a fiver deposit and gained lots of fivers due to people not bothering to cancel. We now move forward to the digital age. There's been mention of not bothering to cancel within the planned 21 days. That's all good if you can afford to lose 20% of your booking, fair play to the well heeled vanner of the 2020's. But do people think that behaviour won't be monitored? Someone above mentioned costs of software etc, I'm sure there maybe something in place in that expensive software to address those inconsiderate few.
. Just saying.JK
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I'm nor saying there shouldn't be any monitored, far from it, but surely it would have to be stated somewhere that three. four... whatever refunds in whatever order will trigger a 'word'?
20% might come to a lot for two weeks but for a weekend a max of £25 (wasn't it?) for perhaps a weekend isn't really that much to lose? (Obviously I'm too well heeled
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I think there is a difference between monitoring and actual T&C's. The process might be that the Club monitor the numbers and then adjust T&C's to help mitigate misuse? Having said that I would have thought it perfectly reasonable to contact those with high cancellation rates (assuming there are people that do) even if it was just to ask why. I can't imagine what will be introduced in April (?) will be the final form as it will no doubt be adjusted, or in Club speak, "improved" as we move forward.
David
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Systems certainly evolve...whether the changes are improvements or not is often debatable...how many times do Apple move the toolbar or other icons?
however, even many years ago it wasn't too difficult to get reports (daily/weekly) about all sorts of activity by customers (what they ordered, what day of the week, what they sent back, what reasons etc...)
with todays interactive 'reporting', interrogating the database for something simple like breaching a cancellation threashold is straightforward enough and something that 'management' would get as part of their daily (perhaps weekly) 'pack'.
when folk book, by month/week or in relation to arrival date, similarly when they cancel with what level of notice. This will feed into what geographical area (weather) or what specific sites (in relation to available pitch types there) or whether customers rarely cancel HS/SP and the majority cancel grass etc, etc.
all this and much more will be at the sites teams fingertips, so monitoring is easy.
it's what happens (actions) as a result of this plethora of info that we don't yet know.
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Morning
Your last sentence BB is what I was alluding to. Someone upthread mentioned about not bothering to cancel at all within 21 days. I understand that but to me that's not in the spirit of the club and I personally hope that that selfish behaviour gets suitably addressed moving forward.
JK
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The cancellation system has already been tweaked. I cancelled a Site last week and there’s already a much longer list of “reasons for cancellation” than I have ever seen before. Didn’t entirely cover our reason for cancelling, but you choose the most appropriate. I presume at some point, when the Club thinks it best, they will decide which reasons will trigger a deposit refund (inside the 21 days) and which won’t.
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I fully agree. There’s bound to be a “rogue” element out there, there always is where any kind of effort and thought for others is concerned, and the only way of seriously tackling it is to be consistently firm.
The Club could drive the point home another way and actually give out monthly figures of “no shows”, (much like Doctor’s surgeries do) to keep Members aware that they are monitoring. It would nip in the bud all the speculation about “no shows” as well. Nothing personal, just a figure. If it was me in charge, I would include a figure for those whose Membership has been frozen/cancelled as well. Those who follow rules, abide by terms and conditions, like to know that those who don’t aren’t getting away with it. Again, just a number. If you are monitoring something, you might as well make the numbers work for you.4 -
Not if the deposit is only £25. Not many sites where you can get a night at that price.
I do think automatically taking the balance the day before the booking commences is a good idea. It would certainly sort out the "no shows".
Whether the "speculators" would defer cancelling until the last minute rains to be seen. If last minute cancellations previously were weather dependant then we may see a continuation of "close to arrival" cancellations with a lost deposit seen as collateral damage. Is gambling on the weather worth the price of the deposit? Who knows. Instead of a flurry of late availability at three days we may end up with late availability at only one day's notice. The system needs to be configured to discourage this.
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If the Club gave out the information I suggested, it would dispel any Membership speculation about what is happening, which is possibly partly why all these changes are going to happen. Lots of folks seem to think this deposit scheme is going to be wonderful in terms of getting a pitch. Reality often has a way of coming back and biting one in the posterior, so it’s wait and see😉
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