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Private Club Radio Show
443: The Golf Cart Whisperer: Adventures in Extraordinary Member Service w/ Jeff Wilson
Jeff Wilson, veteran club pro and longtime GM, shares insights from decades in club leadership including extraordinary service moments, cultural development, and strategies for successful interim management.
• Once jumped into a pond to retrieve a member's submerged golf cart and purse
• Cleanliness is the first thing to check when walking into a new club – vents, picture frames, light bulbs
• Member expectations have risen as clubs are now viewed as second homes
• Boards must clearly define "who you want to be and what you want to be" before setting strategy
• Avoid agenda-driven board members focused on personal projects rather than strategic initiatives
• Involve team members in decision-making processes to gain better ideas and stronger buy-in
• Watch your language – eliminate negative phrases like "no," "can't," "don't" from communications
• Successful future clubs will create exceptional experiences for both members and employees
• Creative staff housing solutions help address ongoing hospitality workforce challenges
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Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs, from mastering leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, member engagement secrets, board governance and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light. Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place. I'm your host, denny Corby. Welcome to the show. In this episode I get to chat with Jeff Wilson, who is a veteran club pro, longtime GM and the kind of guy who doesn't just talk about service, he dives headfirst into it, literally. Jeff once jumped into a pond to retrieve a submerged golf cart but, more importantly, a member's purse and that story it's somehow not even the wildest thing that we talk about. In the episode, jeff shares what decades in club leadership have taught him about culture, expectations and little details that make a big difference. We get into the world of interim GM gigs how to walk into a new club, assess morale and build trust without stepping on toes. Also, why clean vents, working light bulbs and straight picture frames say everything about a club's standards. This episode is jam-packed with insights, laugh-out-loud moments and enough practical takeaways to last you for years.
Speaker 1:Before we dive into this episode, a quick shout out to some of our show partners Golf Life Navigators, kennes Member, vetting Members, first Concert Golf Partners and Club Capital. They are here to help support your club through calm, chaos and golf cart extractions. Also, myself, the Denny Corby Experience. There's excitement, there's mystery. Also there's magic, mind reading and comedy. And I made something special for you all, club professionals, even though my show is not straight stand-up comedy, I have experienced enough clubs and been in the business long enough to know what a good comedy night looks like. And I've seen and heard of too many horror stories of clubs having bad comedy nights. And even though it's not exactly what I do, it still reflects on the type of show that I do. So I came out with the ultimate comedy night blueprint and I want to give it to you for free. Head on over to dennycorbycom slash comedy guide. That's dennycorbycom slash comedy guide. Now it is time to dive in without goggles. Private Club Radio listeners. Let's welcome to the show, jeff Wilson.
Speaker 2:It rolled into the water on the ninth hole of the Blue Monster. It was completely submerged because all you could see is the bubbles. You know that's all you could see is the bubbles. You know, that's all you could see, and you know so. I mean, she was frantic, she had a purse in there and all that, and like it's a friday afternoon, almost dusk is right upon us, I said no one's getting this golf car out today. So I dove in uh three times and unlatched her golf bag and thank goodness her purse was in the golf bag.
Speaker 1:Was this a member or a guest?
Speaker 2:No, these were guests. They were all staying at the Jim McLean Learning Center and of course I joked with McLean later. I said, jim, you also got to teach him how to drive a golf cart, you know, besides hitting a golf ball. But yes, the couple that was playing with her, she was a graphic artist.
Speaker 1:So she put this picture together and sent it to me and, of course, I'm thinking marketing one-on-one.
Speaker 2:It's a home run, but we all know about marketing people If it's not their idea, it's never a good idea.
Speaker 1:That is hysterical. Now, did she get in the like? Was she in the water too, or did she fall out before she got to the water?
Speaker 2:No, no, no. She never hit her break, and so she walked away from a golf cart, and so it was way too late to grab it. Now, the good thing is there's no alligators there. We know that because that's a man-made pond. We know it's in there. There's some big fish in there, though, but I know there's no alligators.
Speaker 1:Otherwise I wouldn't have dove. There's no way Now. Did you have goggles or anything?
Speaker 2:Oh hell no. You were just no, it was real. I stood on top of the golf cart when I got to it and my head was just barely out of the water and I'm six two, so I figured that's five feet, you, you know. So it's probably nine feet down, eight feet down at the, you know, at the smallest.
Speaker 1:yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah based on the size of the golf cart so would you say that's one of like, your biggest like, wait what moments in your, in your club management history?
Speaker 2:no, that was. That was very early, early in the beginning, you know. Yeah, that was when I did some other crazy stuff, like playing a marathon golf round, 280 holes in one day, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you get a Guinness World Record for that or no?
Speaker 2:No, no, no, Just at that particular time it was the most that anyone had done in the South Florida PGA and all that happy stuff. I played like 45 minutes every round. It was kind of cool.
Speaker 1:That's impressive.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I could do it anymore. The funny thing is, the next day the golf club felt like it was a sledgehammer because I had to go give a lesson. But your butt is the one that is the source, because you don't realize your buttocks, you know the golf swing, or your core, those glutes, and that's why a lot of tour players are always working hard on their glutes and so forth to streak through that area. Yeah, there you go, that's exactly right.
Speaker 1:You've been in the business since the 80s. What's changed? More club operations or the way members express their opinions to management?
Speaker 2:I think it's both. Yeah, that's a double-edged sword. Yeah, they both have a side to them. I mean, the operations have obviously changed a lot. You know a lot more technology, obviously. You know, when I started, we were still whipping clubs and you know drivers and so forth and had to learn how to do that as well. That was part of your apprenticeship process. I don't even think they do that anymore, but, yeah, it was a completely different concept because you know, you had business school one, one, business school two, and then you were done. You had to, you know, give some kind of presentation and there you go and you became a PJ member.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and of course now it's, it's self-taught and so forth, you know. So there's there's pros and cons of both sides of it, yeah, and then, as far as the the member vocal, it's it's more, I think, their expectations. You know I'm in this day and age. You know everyone, regardless of your income, every dollar you spend, you want to justify that dollar spent. You know, do I go to McDonald's or do I go to Poor Boys? You know it's really about. You know what kind of experience you want, and so when you get, from a membership perspective, this is your second home, so they want to, you know, feel like you know it is their second home and so, you know, their expectations, I think, are higher. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's just, you know, can you give that support mechanism in order to initiate all those things that all the?
Speaker 1:members want yeah, yeah Now when we were talking in florida. You mentioned you've done a lot of interim gm work. Um, yeah, what's the first thing that you check when walking into a new club? Is it financials, employee morale or you know? Is it how the guests treat the carts?
Speaker 2:no, it's the first thing I look at. I look, I really I look at cleanliness. You know, that's what I look for at first. You know, front of the house, back of the house.
Speaker 1:You are speaking to the choir, that is. I actually did two episodes on. One was on, just they were like my only like solo episodes. I've done very few solo episodes where me just talking to to the audience or to the people here, just me just talking, there were no guests.
Speaker 1:Uh, one was on cleaning your vents, because I walk it. So I uh, short story long, I come from like a facilities background, sort of it's like a family business, so I it's just I don't know if it's from like working for like my dad for years and having to go to, like you know, do like quotes and bids, and it do quotes and bids. You'd count the vents. I always look at the vents In some of the clubs. They're so filthy. The one episode was clean your vents because A, it's just gross B. And then the other one was nose blindness. There's a lot of clubs I've walked in. I'm like does no one else smell this? Is this? Is it just me? You guys have to. A lot of clubs I've walked in. I'm like does no one else smell this Like? Is this like? Is it just me? Like you? You guys have to smell this.
Speaker 2:Uh yeah.
Speaker 1:So this is you're speaking my language of just having a clean facility.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean cause that. You know that's the low line fruit aspect, because it doesn't cost anything. All it does is just have an eyesight and, you know, look around. I always tell the people that work with me I said there's only one question I'm ever going to ask you. That's it, only one, and that's all you got to remember. Always ask yourself what's wrong with the picture, find something wrong. Is the picture not straightened?
Speaker 1:I've seen that many times before it drives me crazy.
Speaker 2:It's the little attention to detail things, that that that I. I think it's kind of lost a lot. You know, um call that old school because of old school. You know, we, we had to, we had to, I. I was even told here's a funny one at lost tree.
Speaker 2:You know, when I worked at lost tree when I was an, that was my second job and I got paid $30 a day when I worked for the pro, which means I was in the bag room for two days I was a low man on the totem pole so I was a swing man, and the other two days when I worked for the club, or the other four days, I got paid $35 a day. I was a starter. And then I also would bring up on the weekends all the golf carts because you had them, they were three wheelers and you put a hitch on them and you pull about six or eight of them up at a time and away you go. But you know I'll never forget one day it was kind of just kind of a you know, misty, rainy kind of day and so forth and the head pro, joe Cannon, comes in. He always had this high-pitched voice and he also always wore a white shirt every single day, every single workday, always a white shirt. Never saw him in anything else. And he looks at me and he says, jeff, this is a day where we find things to do like dusting the bag room. And he went ahead and took his fingers across an area of the bag room storage and he pulled up dust. So I dusted the bag room.
Speaker 2:So you know, you don't see that. So that's that attention to detail that I think is so low lying fruit for staff. It just always has yourself. How would you perceive it If you were walking in? Don't, don't be the, you'd be the guest. Now you know. So what do you see? What's the first thing you see? The straight is a clean, simple hold on, do you?
Speaker 1:at least say you know, good morning, good afternoon and I forget who I was chatting with. The one, uh one, gm, and we were, uh, like the first thing he does so. Like a similar thing is he finds every light bulb that is off or what, and we were, uh, like the first thing he does. So, like a similar thing is he finds every light bulb that is off or what and just changes because, like that's like a very visual thing that people think, oh, it looks brighter in here, like it's always like little things that like people have meet because, like, when you come in, you know that has to be tough. Coming into, you know an existing club, especially when you know you're not going to be there for a super extended period of time, that has to be tough for the staff and the people because it's like you know, we have to listen to this guy. You know what I mean? I don't know. That could be a little bit tough sometimes.
Speaker 2:I think it's how you approach it from a leadership perspective and you say it right up front hey guys, here, I'm here to help you. You know forever however long I'm going to be here. I'm here to help things and get things going in whatever direction we're going to go. But that's what I'm here for. And I think then it's not so much like oh, you have to do this or you have to do that. You're there for support more than anything. You know, and trying to maybe, you know, bring that management team together, even though they realize there's someone else coming in, but at least give them a sense of purpose, because there's so many times where that management piece for them previously wasn't even there. So there was a lot of times where you would see managers where they never done their own budget, their own department budget, that type of thing. So from there it's really just a guidance and assistance more than anything.
Speaker 1:And, if I remember correctly, you also saw a lot of clubs transition between management groups, correct. What mistakes do you see there? What are the mistakes that you see clubs make when changing that sort of leadership? What are the mistakes that you?
Speaker 2:see clubs make when changing that sort of leadership. Well, I think the big challenge for clubs is to really realize you know what is their function. I mean, you know. First of all, I tell any board that says I only have two questions for you who do you want to be and what do you want to be? If you can't define those two things, then you know you really haven't defined what your club is or what kind of culture you want to have attached to the name of this club. And so that's the first thing I think they have to understand and what are their role. And the big challenge is you do get some board members that have been on there for 12, 13, 15 years Believe it or not, I've seen that model and they get so blindsided because they become very agenda driven and not so much strategic. And so that's the big challenge too, I think, when it comes to management companies, and that board has to either let them do it you hired them, let them do their job, and it's still hard, I think, for some boards.
Speaker 1:So how do you get that board aligned? And actually, maybe first, what did you mean by agenda?
Speaker 2:Um, it could be something like you know, the GM pissed me off three years ago and so now I'm going to go get on the board and I'm going to go after the GM. I've seen that that happened, or it could be. You know the person has a real affinity for, you know, something outside of the norm when it comes to golf, and so you know that person has wants to implement that, or he wants to build more pickleball courts, or, you know, or handball courts. Now, whatever it may be, you know, instead of being strategic, what is really benefit for the entire membership still reinvesting into your facility? But you know, do it strategically, not based on what your own personal opinion is.
Speaker 1:So then, how do you get the board aligned when everyone has maybe a different agenda or a different vision, or how do you get some of those old people off, or how do you maybe try to transition them out, if that's even a thing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that it's the same thing that you're doing with the people that work with you. You're you're educating and training them, so you're doing the same thing, for that, I mean, you have to educate them as well. I mean, you're the guy who's in the insider. We've got all these connections from a CMAA standpoint and all these resources from a written material aspect, from a video aspect as well, that can educate them. And I think it's important that every year, you know you do have a board retreat you bring in someone from the outside too to do their assessment from a third party set of view, whether it be a KKW or a McMahon group or whatever you know, a group, a GSI, whoever it may be, that offers, you know, those kinds of services.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you have to have that you know, from an outside perspective at least once, you least once every two years, and then that way you keep the board still in line and you educate them constantly, give them all the material information you can.
Speaker 1:Where do you get that material, sorry?
Speaker 2:Where do you get that material from? Just common sense, really. I mean life experiences, you know, from what I've seen. You know it's just, it's really. It comes down to common sense. I mean, you know, how does everyone want to be treated with just kindness and respect? I mean, you know, and that goes both ways, it can't be just one way. And that's the whole idea too, in creating that culture where you know people really do enjoy coming to work. You know how many people can say that. Not everyone can say that, and so it's also finding, you know, that group of individuals to help facilitate the whole member experience. You know I remember Jim James.
Speaker 2:You know we were doing a seminar on the West Coast one year and we broke out into small groups and it was all about. You know, how do you, how do you motivate the generations? But it's the same thing from a board perspective too. You know you're still, you know, massaging them and just like in teaching golf, if you had five people I would know their personality in five, ten minutes and I would teach them accordingly. So it's the same thing when you're board relations also, that each individual is going to be a little bit different. One's going to need a little bit more coaching. One's going to be a little bit more analytical. One's going to be a numbers person.
Speaker 2:So you have to bend and modify just the same as teaching golf five different ways, with the end result being the same. I mean, that's how I approach it taught you.
Speaker 1:Did you pick that up where? Where did that come?
Speaker 2:yeah it just it just came from. You know my own experiences. You know seeing things. You know and working for a lot of different people working for gms, head pros when I was earlier in my career, seeing it from a different lens, from their perspective. And then you know picking. You know a lot of different people working for GMs, head pros when I was earlier in my career, seeing it from a different lens, from their perspective, and then you know picking, you know a little piece of that person and keeping that. Oh, let me store that, let me remember that. And the oh, I don't want to remember that Now, let's keep, let's not do that area. And you know, you just kind of pick and choose and you know who your resources are, and your resources are always your life experiences.
Speaker 2:I mean, you can read as much as you want in a book, but you know it's only going to get you so far. It'll get you a ticket into the ballgame, but you still haven't got up to the plate yet, you know. And so it's the same concept there. You know you have to experience it. You know, and then see things differently. I mean, how many times, denny, have you ever gone to a hotel? Okay, two things. One how many times does the staff acknowledge you? Within 10 feet, eye contact and within five, a good morning or good afternoon, sir. How many hotels do that Okay? Number one doesn't. How many hotels do that Okay? Number one, doesn't cost anything, doesn't cost anything. Number two how many times do you ever wake up in the morning and you still see food trays in the hallway at 830 in the morning from the night before, or nine o'clock, 10 o'clock, those?
Speaker 1:are those little things?
Speaker 2:And that goes back to attention to detail. You know I remember Lee Cockrell talked about that. You know it would drive him crazy and he was from the Disney concept. It would drive him crazy seeing those food trays. So what do you do? He had the night auditor at 530 in the morning. When they're getting ready to punch out the last half hour, they go and do a sweep, get rid of all those and it's just again. It goes back to those little things.
Speaker 1:I will say I think through some of my travel, some of the best hotels experiences I've had are like the little you know, residence inns in like the middle of nowhere. Like they've had the best customer service and customer then like the most major top, you know granted, like ritz, like that's what they're trained for, that's what they're, that's what they're doing, but I've had some of the best experiences of the nicest people in like the most random middle of nowhere hotels oh yeah, absolutely, and you're exactly right.
Speaker 2:And those are, those are those fun. You know you got to stop with those because again, again, like you said, it's a little bit more homely. You know, I mean that experience in that environment. They're there to really help you. You can see it. I mean they're really excited to you know. So I remember once interviewing for a job in Wilmington, north Carolina, many years ago. I'll never forget the president telling me a story that when he went to Augusta the play at Augusta he got invited. So he's all excited, he's all pumped, he's never played there. So he's telling me the story. So he gets there. He says you know, what mystified me, jeff, was the fact that I was so excited to be there to play there. But they made me feel they were so excited to have me there as a guest. And I said and so this president said that's the kind of experience I want here at this club. You know, of course the guest is a little bit different, but it's the same concept. They can do things that no one else can do.
Speaker 1:Does that boil down to training Like where, where does that? Where does that come from? Because any, anybody can do it.
Speaker 2:It does come from training and it does come from, I think, some people. Obviously and you've seen this, denny. You know some people are better traders than others. You know, not everyone has that gift of gab number. Not everyone has that. That that you know. They have the leadership skills. That's fine, but maybe they can't verbally communicate it, you know, openly, or you know, in a fashion that really gathers everyone. But you know, that's, I think, a trait that either you have or you don't. I don't think you'll learn that in a textbook. You know, I mean, you're going to get it right and wrong. You know, like you know, the michael jordan's of the world and the kobe bryant's would say I've missed more shots than I made. And that's the same thing in life, you know, and the same thing in this business. You're, you're going to make some mistakes and you gotta, you know, just bone up to it and the way you go and move forward, how you can fix it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think the hard part too sometimes is you don't know what's going to stick more, that big win or that big mistake, because sometimes you can have one mistake bigger it doesn't matter and a bunch of wins, but people still just attach to that one negative thing. Or it's total opposite you have all these loses or all these losses or all these failures, but people stick to the one win and sometimes you just don't know what's going to stick either. So it's tough to be vulnerable sometimes and to go up to bat, so to speak, so many times when you don't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I saw it once at Indian Creek. You know the infamous Indian Creek. You know Coach Shula lived there and so forth. And I'll never forget. I was there for a function. I'm talking to the executive chef and I said man, you guys got to be really busy because he brings in these chefs from France and stuff for the winter season. It's like ridiculous. But he says I can have 100 people wedding and if one meal's wrong, if one meal's wrong, we didn't have success. So that's how high those expectations are. One meal out of 100, wrong. Yeah, that's pretty strong.
Speaker 1:You've worked with a lot of teams. You've worked with a lot of managers. You've experienced a lot. What's one mistake maybe you've seen managers make when trying to implement something new? Because that's what a lot of this kind of I don't want to say failure can come from, but you're trying new things. So what's that biggest mistake you think some managers or just club professionals make when trying to implement that new thing?
Speaker 2:I think the first thing is they don't involve the rest of the team members. I mean, that's the whole concept when you talk about a team. That's what a team does. The team leader facilitates that. Hey guys, what do you think about this? Let's throw this up on the chalkboard. What do you guys think? Pros and cons? Let's talk about it. Now, you're getting that buy-in, so now those people?
Speaker 2:say yeah it felt good. You know we were part of the solution. Or you know, or we helped, or now I see a different perspective. So now you know, now they're part of that process. Now you still may not go in the direction that they're all recommending, but that's okay you know, because, being an empathetic leader, you want to solicit that input.
Speaker 2:You know because, being an empathetic leader, you want to solicit that input. You know, because that's how that person learns. You know, it's like if I were to show you how to build a car, you know I would show you piece by piece and why we were doing it, you know. So, in other words, that learning process is going to stick with you. You know immediately. And it all goes back, Denny, to life experiences. You know, I think, from a manager's perspective, to the employees that work with you, and I always get. It irks me when I do hear some managers say I want to thank my staff. Well, yes, yes, nothing, not your staff, you don't own them, Just like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. Just say I want to thank the team, you know. I mean, you know it's like if you're a quarterback and I was a quarterback as a kid you know, when we won a game, I didn't say, oh, I want to thank my team, yeah, this is my team. I didn't win, the team won, yeah. And then sometimes I think that gets lost.
Speaker 1:And if you get them involved in the process, man, I think there's just so much more you get. You bring that group together, yeah. Yeah, the wording of stuff is important or can be important. I think sometimes people will say certain words or phrases like like staff, where, like they genuinely mean team and they mean different. But uh, those, those words can make a big, big, big difference.
Speaker 2:Yes, I learned that from a seminar from Bill McFarlane and he wrote a book, avoid Pink Elephants, and he showed a lot of different audio scenarios, politicians and so forth, of just pointing out these words that you're not supposed to say and basically you never say the word no, can't, don't, won't. And then when, like he said let me give you an example and he said one day I'm on the plane and you know, and also the pilot says we'll be hopefully landing safely soon, he says no, there's no, hopefully landing safely soon, we'll be landing.
Speaker 2:You know I mean so it's the word associated in how you say it and verbalize it, and like one person may hear it a different way, the other person might perceive it slightly different. So you have to kind of, you know, connect all the dots with your verbiage and sometimes you're going to get it right. Sometimes, oh no, I didn't really mean it that way, but this is what I just thought we're going to do it. And oh no, I didn't really mean it that way, but this is what I thought we're going to do it and it's probably one of those.
Speaker 1:for 90% of people it doesn't make a difference, but it's those like 5%, 10%, what do you mean? There was a comedian, nate Bargatze. He had a thing like one of his bits was the pilot gets on and he's like you know, this is my last flight ever. You know blah blah blah. And he's like you know, this is my last flight ever. You know, blah blah blah. And he's like you don't have to tell us that now.
Speaker 1:Like you could have told us that after we landed, Like we didn't need to know this was your last flight. Like, what does that even mean? Like, is this for everybody? It's like all of our last, it's a whole bit. It was so funny.
Speaker 2:It's funny you mention it, because I did. I had a friend of mine who I went on his last flight to Mexico. I had never been to Mexico, so I just flew there for like 28 hours and flew back. It's kind of crazy.
Speaker 1:I've done what they're called mileage runs, back when flying meant you got loyalty for actually flying and not how much you spend on their credit cards. But the one time, the one year, was like a thousand miles off, it was something like so small. So and people do they're called mileage runs where basically you just fly somewhere in the morning, eat breakfast, lunch or dinner or whatever, and then just like fly back home, just to like maintain your status.
Speaker 2:So wow, wow. So you were.
Speaker 1:You weren't like mark cuban, where you spend 175 000 and you get the flight free the rest of your life 250 000 and they took it away from them. Oh, did they. It was either him or somebody else, because he like they he gave it to his father did he? Yeah, I think he had given it to his dad, I think I think, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that was, that was probably expensive, but the deal of the century.
Speaker 1:I think he had given it to his dad, I think. I think I don't know, that was probably expensive, but the deal of the century, oh yeah, for sure. Now, people would kill for that.
Speaker 2:It's still an interesting concept.
Speaker 1:And for those people listening, it is Don't Drop or Drop the Pink Elephant. Yeah, bill McFarlane. Yeah, no, I was just Googling it and just added it to my Amazon cart, to the ever-growing list of books that I need and want to read.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's a great book because as soon as you read it you know and it resonates to you now. So I'm very careful about those words no, can't, don't, won't, even my signage. You ever seen like a sign that says no parking? Does that bother you? It bothers me, the word no. So what would you say instead? Parking unavailable Softer tone, parking prohibited. Stronger tone tone versus no parking. It's like you're telling you to do something, like when you were a kid and your parents would tell you not to do something. You went ahead and did it anyway. But when you take out those no's, when you see signs everywhere no smoking, no, just put that circle with the cross on it with the smoking, and then that just shows the sign. So when you start thinking about that and then you start realizing, well, let's make sure I don't type no, don't, can't, won't, you know. So it's really interesting because it really grabbed and resonated to me when I read that book or actually saw him, you know, in person.
Speaker 1:And probably more for the club space also. Like that, phrasing and wording is very important, whereas maybe something and I'm just playing devil's advocate a little bit, you know where it's like no parking this net sometimes, or maybe, like you know, city public places, you have to be that more abrupt and blunt and honest and just kind of like no part because people are nuts, so no, but you know. So I think, especially for the club space, where the work people, I think, appreciate things like that more, or they take notice and mention of things like that, of how things are worded, worded, phrased and expressed oh, yeah, I mean, you got to cover all your bases.
Speaker 2:well, would someone interpret it this way? Yeah, oops, well, they would interpret it that way. So you've got to blend it all in to make sure you're dotting your i's, you know, cross your t's because someone well, what does that mean, you know? Is that the time it starts, or is that the time we're supposed to be there, you know? Or or is that the price including tax and tip, or is it not including tax and tip? So you got to make sure that information that you send out answers everyone's checks, everyone's box for questions and hopefully, sometimes someone will still stump you, because that's what they look for. They look to find something wrong. And if they find something wrong, look what I found and they get to brag about it. So it happens.
Speaker 1:As we're getting into 2025, you know, 2026, just looking forward into the club space or just into the world. What do you think the more successful clubs of the next decade or so will do differently?
Speaker 2:Well, I think the ones that can obviously do it when it comes to help, I mean, that's still, you know the hospitality business, or industry in general, you know, still has taken a big you know gank from COVID days and so we haven't seen that whole you know shift of everyone staying in the hospitality business or jumping around ship is what we see now and what few there are.
Speaker 2:So I think, in general, you know some of these clubs, you know they're doing some kind of creative things because they have they can financially is they're buying like old motels and turn them into you know living quarters for staff, and I think that's a real key initiative.
Speaker 2:And you know you see some clubs that you know set the bar for, you know, for foreign assistance, and you know they treat them like, you know, just like every human being should be treated, I mean, and they come back and they create this sense of culture that man, it's almost like you're learning I get to stay there, I get to save some money, send it back home, you know. So I think in general, I think the more clubs can still do for employees, that and what's going to make them unique, you know, what is that employee experience going to be why this club versus the club down the road? Is that employee experience going to be why this club versus the club down the road? What's going to make our club or this club unique with that employee experience? And I think that's when you start answering those questions, like Augusta, you start checking all the boxes, man.
Speaker 1:You know, success is a lot easier.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now, you brought up, you know how they treat, you know the foreign staff, the H2 beast I mean I love, because you have some of these people coming over who are hungry, hungry for success, and they are killing it and just see the opportunity at hand, more than the people who you know are here and are just kind of like you know diddly, daddling, you know whatever, through through it and they're getting surpassed. I mean, I was, uh, I've had uh Kyle, uh Hill house on here, who came over through the H2B visa and is now I think he's at Boca woods now and he's killing it, uh, uh. I just chatted with Linnell and I'm blanking on his last name, but he, he's the GM now at Monticello motor club and I'm actually going to be. He invited me. We're going to be recording in person, like there, I think, I think either driving in a car or just like in a car.
Speaker 1:But he came over like 14 years ago and is now GM, like he was, like it's a total flip and just like came over it. Like he was like it's a total flip and just like came over, was hungry, knew what he wanted, and like it was a great personality and just like killed it and just worked his way. Worked his way, one thing led to another and now, you know, less than 15 years, he's running a amazing, you know, in in very unique club. Uh, so it's, it's uh, yeah. And I think a lot of them are seeing like, hey, if you treat these people, I mean as you should but should, but treat them well, give them good accommodation, you know, treat it as an experience and you know just, the fruits of that are huge, tremendous.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and that's become a nice little new industry world in itself is providing those services. New industry world in itself is providing those services. And I got a friend of mine that I see all the time at conference because he and I went to BMI school together and he's in that business where he provides those services. And that's like you said, if you can provide their transportation because, remember, they come in groups of friends and so forth for the most part and they don't have any transportation, their transportation because, remember, they come in groups of friends and so forth for the most part and, uh, you know, they don't have any transportation, so if you could provide that to work and provide a bed for them, man, you get a lot of loyalty there. Oh, they want to come back the following year Huge, Um yeah, huge, huge, huge.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think really that's the big challenge in 2025. And I think it's going to continue. It's still finding you know enough, because if you look at some of the job bulletins, for you know daily staff in any of the golf management companies oh my God, the list is forever Whether it be a dishwasher or a server or a bartender. I mean, there's so many of those positions that they haven't been able to fill, and so when you look from a human capital standpoint, you're still short-handed. So you're still trying to offer all these great services, but you're still not fully staffed and that makes it even harder for the rest of the team. So you've got to work through that as well.
Speaker 1:You've had a really incredible career in club management and still do. When you look back what's been the most rewarding part of it all?
Speaker 2:The most rewarding part was actually having a student. He was a part-time worker up in Wisconsin and he was a banquet server and he was a rising senior and I was only supposed to be there for 60 days and I ended up being there for five months helping this club, overseeing like 40 weddings in four or five months. It was ridiculous, yeah, it was crazy. In four or five months, it was ridiculous, yeah, it was crazy. And so this young gentleman came to me about two days before I was leaving the kitchen. He says Jeff, I talked about you today at school. Why would you do that? He said well, we all had to get up in class and tell us about someone who's made an impact in our thoughts and our philosophy, and I chose you.
Speaker 2:Now I'm floored. I'm like you know, jesus. I mean I forget any awards. I've gotten Throw those out the window, throw them in the garbage. This is a life experience. And I said well, I'm curious, you know what did you say? And he said well, I told him. You know how many times you put on the apron. You're the dishwasher, which I like doing because you know the dishes. Don't talk back to you. You helped us, you know bus tables and did all the things that we do.
Speaker 1:Hope you all enjoyed that episode. I know I did. If you're interested in getting the Comedy Night blueprint, head on over to DennyCorbycom slash comedy guide. That's DennyCorbycom slash comedy guide. I know you're going to enjoy it and get something out of it, hopefully an amazing comedy night. That's this episode. I'm your host, denny Corby. Until next time, catch y'all on the flippity flip.
