GolfNow Rewards and Loyalty 2015 (What a difference a year makes!)

[Big C]

It's a business. Their job is not to merely survive. I have NO gripe with them making money. Even a lot of money. As a businessman, and formerly loyal customer, I'm simply disagreeing with their change in strategy in doing so.

I have no insight into Golfnow's financials or how they make the majority of their profit. What I do know is that in many cases - regardless of the industry - a company's most frequent customers are not always their most profitable ones.

Loyal Golfnow users such as yourself might have booked hundreds of rounds per year, but because of the free bookings and volume incentives you had (smartly) taken advantage of, Golfnow's profit per unit was a fraction of what it is for a guy that might use the site 7-8 times per year, but pays the booking fees every time.

Perhaps Golfnow made the decision that they were ambivalent about retaining your business because they simply weren't making enough money off of you. Of course they would never state that outright, but as they say, actions speak louder than words.

At first glance, I agree with you, there are many of other things they could have done that probably wouldn't driven you away and still made you a more profitable customer. They could have reduced the booking fee to a nominal amount (say $0.50) for high volume customers perhaps. At face value, their "all or nothing" strategy appears to be a bad one.

[Big C]

To make close to $30M to run a website is simply absurd!  I can see ~$1 per transaction (not per golfer) and still raking in a couple million to offset their cost of doing business and put some money in their pocket... but raking me over the coals to do so is bad business, and I (and many others) will simply stop using them to let them know.

You are welcome to take a stand on principle, but if Golf Now offers a cheaper rate (after factoring in their booking fee) for the same course and time, it seems you are shooting yourself in the foot by not utilizing that. Who cares how much they are making to run a website?

[David in FL]

To make close to $30M to run a website is simply absurd!  I can see ~$1 per transaction (not per golfer) and still raking in a couple million to offset their cost of doing business and put some money in their pocket... but raking me over the coals to do so is bad business, and I (and many others) will simply stop using them to let them know.

What's absurd?  Any Company should strive to make as much money as possible.   I have no problem with that, and can't understand people who do.

They're trying to dramatically increase the amount of revenue they earn from each customer, realizing that they're also losing customers as a result.  There's a sweet spot.  Only time will tell if they've hit it or missed it.  I suspect we'll get some insight next year when we see how their loyalty/rewards program is modified based on the results from this year.

In the meantime, as a customer, I'll go elsewhere....and take as many people with me as possible.  That's what the free market is all about.

[PooN]

In the meantime, as a customer, I'll go elsewhere....and take as many people with me as possible.  That's what the free market is all about.

My point exactly.

[Rick Martin]

.and take as many people with me as possible.  That's what the free market is all about.

I'm curious why you feel the need to take as many people with you as possible - do you have a grudge against the company? did they do you wrong? sounds like it - seem like you're trying to punish them for doing exactly what you'd expect a capitalistic company to do.......

[David in FL]

You are welcome to take a stand on principle, but if Golf Now offers a cheaper rate (after factoring in their booking fee) for the same course and time, it seems you are shooting yourself in the foot by not utilizing that. Who cares how much they are making to run a website?

Interestingly, a lot of people are willing to pay more for the very same product if they perceive an offsetting benefit. Whether that's better customer service, more convenience, a favorite loyalty program, or just a more pleasant environment/experience. It's not always just about price. [quote name="Rick Martin" url="/t/79237/golfnow-rewards-and-loyalty-what-a-difference-a-year-makes/54#post_1143726"]I'm curious why you feel the need to take as many people with you as possible - do you have a grudge against the company? did they do you wrong? sounds like it - seem like you're trying to punish them for doing exactly what you'd expect a capitalistic company to do....... [/quote] Yep. That's our contribution to the free market. The more people we can convince, the bigger the voice, and the more likely that any company will modify it's practices in response.

[PooN]

I'm curious why you feel the need to take as many people with you as possible - do you have a grudge against the company? did they do you wrong? sounds like it - seem like you're trying to punish them for doing exactly what you'd expect a capitalistic company to do.......

You know what's funny?  If GN just added the $2.49 to their price on every Hot Deal, and didn't have a fee, there would be no issue.  But since they tack a fee onto the discounted price it feels like they are trying to nickel and dime me.  They could've disguised their price hike better.  But perhaps (I am assuming) they do this because they have to pay a percentage of their price to the course, and the fee on top of that they don't have to give the course any cut.

Either way, I feel it is a bad business decision and as a consumer I will show my disdain by heading elsewhere to find a similar product with a lower price - and hopefully enough people do this to force them into reconsidering their pricing/fee structure.

[turtleback]

What's absurd?  Any Company should strive to make as much money as possible.   I have no problem with that, and can't understand people who do.

They're trying to dramatically increase the amount of revenue they earn from each customer, realizing that they're also losing customers as a result.  There's a sweet spot.  Only time will tell if they've hit it or missed it.  I suspect we'll get some insight next year when we see how their loyalty/rewards program is modified based on the results from this year.

In the meantime, as a customer, I'll go elsewhere....and take as many people with me as possible.  That's what the free market is all about.

Funny how people complain when a company tries to make more money.  Like they are turning down raises when they are offered in their job?

I'm curious why you feel the need to take as many people with you as possible - do you have a grudge against the company? did they do you wrong? sounds like it - seem like you're trying to punish them for doing exactly what you'd expect a capitalistic company to do.......

No, he brought a lot of people t them and this is just part of the dynamic of a business decision.  If you tick off a top customer enough to make them want to influence their people, then you have to deal with the consequences.  What he is doing is try to show them that they missed the sweet spot.

[upndown21]

You are welcome to take a stand on principle, but if Golf Now offers a cheaper rate (after factoring in their booking fee) for the same course and time, it seems you are shooting yourself in the foot by not utilizing that. Who cares how much they are making to run a website?

I agree. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

[jlbos83]

I've pretty much stopped using them, as well, after booking something between 80 and 100 round per year for the past several years.  The Hot Deal rewards are almost useless, so few available, and not when and where I want to play, and as far as the other rewards, it's not much of a reward if I have to buy something I didn't want anyway!

I can usually get the same or sometimes even a better rate elsewhere.  Also, I have been able to book rounds at courses before they have opened for the day (twice, on different courses), or even at a course that said they were no longer using Golf Now.  I am not interested in paying more than $200 in booking fees in a year, that's 20 summer rounds in Tucson!

[Rick Martin]

Funny how people complain when a company tries to make more money.  Like they are turning down raises when they are offered in their job?

No, he brought a lot of people t them and this is just part of the dynamic of a business decision.  If you tick off a top customer enough to make them want to influence their people, then you have to deal with the consequences.  What he is doing is try to show them that they missed the sweet spot.

Didn't they give him a lot of benefits for that? And now the well is dry?

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turtleback

Funny how people complain when a company tries to make more money.  Like they are turning down raises when they are offered in their job?

No, he brought a lot of people t them and this is just part of the dynamic of a business decision.  If you tick off a top customer enough to make them want to influence their people, then you have to deal with the consequences.  What he is doing is try to show them that they missed the sweet spot.

Didn't they give him a lot of benefits for that? And now the well is dry?

The point is that he was using their service in part for those benefits, and removing the perks, removed most of the incentive for using the service.

[Rick Martin]

The point is that he was using their service in part for those benefits, and removing the perks, removed most of the incentive for using the service.

A round of golf with Graeme McDowell sounds like more than a perk and a nice reward that goes well beyond what any customer could expect. Anyway, I'm sure GN will survive without the business of Sand Trap Forum customers.  I'll use it again if/when i return to golf.

[Abu3baid]

A round of golf with Graeme McDowell sounds like more than a perk and a nice reward that goes well beyond what any customer could expect. Anyway, I'm sure GN will survive without the business of Sand Trap Forum customers.  I'll use it again if/when i return to golf.

That's very true a round of golf with GM is something that no one would have ever expected, plus it should buy a lot of good will. I wonder if the other 2 who played with GM are taking the same stance against GN?

[David in FL]

That's very true a round of golf with GM is something that no one would have ever expected, plus it should buy a lot of good will . I wonder if the other 2 who played with GM are taking the same stance against GN?

Agree, and it did. All you have to do is read my "holy crap" thread to see that. But, just because a company (or person) treated you well in the past, doesn't mean that there aren't consequences to treating you poorly going forward. I was a huge proponent of GN long before the McDowell round.because I found their service convenient and fairly priced. I now find that paying $10 simply for the "privilege" of using their site, when there are other options in the marketplace to do the same thing, to be a poor value. That's all there is to it. The free market at work.

[mcanadiens]

It's nothing personal. It's business. I'm a rational consumer. I'll assume GN is a rational company. If they made a mistake, they'll probably fix it.

[David in FL]

It's nothing personal. It's business. I'm a rational consumer. I'll assume GN is a rational company. If they made a mistake, they'll probably fix it.

Exactly right. It's also entirely possible that it will turn out to have been a good decision for them too. If they can make more money using a relatively high fee per transaction/lower transaction volume model, good for them! If not, they will likely react and try something else.

[turtleback]

Didn't they give him a lot of benefits for that? And now the well is dry?

If you got a Christmas bonus last year, but now your boss stops paying you, are you going to keep working for them?  Or are you going to quit working for them.  And when you quit would you consider it a fair criticism for someone to say you just quit because  the well is dry?

In what world are people expected to not respond to incentives and disincentives?