Resource 2022 NMFC Membership thread - Final Tally: 50,191

[jimandphilbadge]

I feel pretty distant from the club right now.

In fact I will go as far to say that the club is out of step with what members want, the very core of the why of be a member. To belong. Well I don't feel like I belong, I feel like the club is consistently putting barriers of their own design between myself and my family feeling like it is our club.

end of 2018 I downgraded from home and away games to just home games, as we sell 4 games get 4 replacements so costs goes up annually and the value I feel goes down, so we become home members only.

In 2019 they f***ed up the ordering of the social club medallions, which is no big deal except it took them all of the season to fix. I count myself pretty lucky TBH because I actually got a couple in the last round by asking the dude selling raffle tickets in the social club where there was any and he gave me one for each membership we have.

There was the last minute putting together of a dinner for our 150th year. because it was an after thought that members may actually want to celebrate something. I mean come on. Clubs should pay more respect to their members than that. Port do. You know how I know? Their events people were on our table looking for ideas on how to do their 150th celebration stuff. It is a direct comparison and honestly we lost.

Last year we paid our family membership all year. and yet were asked to cover the cost of postage of our membership packs to us. one month membership payment covered the cost of posting it tenfold. For the club to have covered the cost of members who were still paying their memberships would be considered goodwill and an indication that there is some sort of reciprocal relationship between us. They did not cover it and it was a missed opportunity for there to generate this. I mean I consider myself rusted on, but f*** we could watch games, I still contribute membership and box on (how in the f*** is this still a thing?) and you could just mail me and my kids their stuff? In fact if they had done that and then asked for donations to help the club recover from outlays of hubbing it up. I'd have put my hand in my pocket. you know why? because I would feel it was a reciprocal thing. Missed opportunity.

So my son turns 18, is a concession member, same as he was last year, but now he is considered an adult. Because of this he cannot be part of my family membership. So rather than being able to keep him in my family membership I was presented with options:
1. retain the family membership add an additional seat and the cost of a concession membership (which equals additional cost)
2. go to single memberships of our existing level (which foregoes any discounting for families and increases the amount of seats we have)
3. down grade and go to single memberships (which keeps the cost about the same)

Now it may seem petty but I went option 3. I cannot fathom how a concession membership last year and a concession membership this year cannot be included in a family membership. There is no cost difference between his level of membership. But there seemed like no options to accommodate this. Surely my family is not the first family to go through this, but you would have thought this was the most bizarre complex thing they had ever encountered when I was sorting it out.

A mate of mine who I influenced to get memberships with mine also downgraded, in part because through Covid his contracts have become inconsistent. While on the phone explaining this, the membership dude was still trying to get him to commit to the same level membership.

Digital membership fiasco. Not all clubs have moved digital. we have, I feel like this is a change forced upon my that I haven't opted for and had no voice to say what I wanted. Which is to say, in the relationship I have with the club they don't give a f*** what I want they are doing what they want.

At the heart of why I pissed off, is the the club not meeting my need to feel I belong. I love nothing more than standing in a crowd of Blue and White. My people. IDGAF who you are, where you are from, what you think, if you're a roo I want to stand beside you and watch our team. I want to feel like the club want me there too. The above is death of 1000 cuts. it is not a single thing, it is consistently under delivery on the most basic of reasons I buy my membership. But they keep taking that money.

The club is in desperate need of a membership experience department. one where the core ideal is not to get members to pay their memberships, but to strengthen the relationship individual members feel they have with the club. Right now the above for me paints a picture of a club that is tone deaf and not doing some really basic things right. a club that puts right now in front of the long game.

Reading this really hits a chord with me. What may be considered the little things matter.

Your point about the social club medal is spot on. They're something I've been collecting since the 90s and I've got dad's old ones dating back 40ish years. 2019 is a gap due to the absolute cluster * that was the medallion process. Trying to get one was the real life version of talking to a bank on the phone - I got passed around from tent to desk to tent at the stadium and still don't have one. Little things, but it left me feeling very pissed off.

I've been paying my own membership (dad started making it come out of my own pocket as a teenager so it'll be longer) for 27? 28? years, but I don't know for sure because I don't have a plastic card anymore. I don't I think I'm any more or less important than a 50 year or 1 member, but I clearly don't have "Personal Membership Consultant" email or whatever they call them. Chances are I probably wouldn't bother emailing, but hey, it would be nice to get one.

As a few others have said the digital membership is going to be disaster for some older members. I was around at dad's place last week setting up his phone after he called me a bit anxious because he was a bit confused after reading the email explaining it. I set it up for him on his phone and showed him how to use it, bit unless someone is there at the turnstile he'll be that guy at the gate holding everyone up (he's the dude at the Myki barrier holding you up on game day. Say hi if you see him). And it's not because he's dim or difficult, technology isn't his bag. The lanyard is great because he can stick it around his neck and not piss mum off that he can't find the card. Throw in his cheap pensioner phone plan, and I can see the lack of network connectivity causing more issues on the day.

I love North. House is covered in blue and white, I'm a sucker for the car raffle and cheer squad raffle in the social club. These are my people. Don't lose them NMFC.

 

[gokangas]

Still no text. What time does the game start?

 

[JohnRhys]

33,425 means we are 6,575 more people off 40,000 members, which is the minium we need imo.

 

[SMaturin]

I never got a text. I got an email, which I checked last night. But then the video of the match wouldn’t work.

 

[giantroo]

33,425 means we are 6,575 more people off 40,000 members, which is the minium we need imo.

600 behind on the same time last year.

 

[Tas]

I feel pretty distant from the club right now.

...

At the heart of why I pissed off, is the the club not meeting my need to feel I belong.

Club has definitely changed and some of the things are a result of the economic realities, but I'd rather have a club and suffer these inconveniences than not have a club at all. If everyone downgrades and pulls support are we going to get closer to having a club 100% in Melbourne or further away? I don't think it helps us.

When we went through this during JB'a DBH speech he made it pretty clear it would not be an easy path out of the hole we were in. We have definitely made significant steps forward but our pressing issue is that we do not have access to the resources that other clubs have, we have a lot fewer people come to our home games. Being s**t on-field hasn't helped, but our position on-field has also been a reflection of a lack of resources for a long time.

I think the club is trying to address things. Sure, i think some things like the 150th event was a complete ballsup that they could have handled better, but honestly, it is a first world problem. it is like dying of thirst in the desert and being upset that we have been offered tap water instead of Perrier.

When I see some of the complaints and think back to where we were not long ago, I think everyone would have stuck their hand up and said we would gladly be in the position we are today rather than the chasm we were avoiding back then. It seems some people are less thankful that we have managed to survive, it feels odd. I think people have changed as much or more than the club itself.

 

[JohnRhys]

600 behind on the same time last year.

Thats a worry

 

[year of the roo]

Thats a worry

Nah not really. We're not far off the time when people just stopped buying memberships last year. However, if we can maintain a sense of 'normality' this year, people will keep buying memberships in drips and drabs until about June-July like always. If we can somehow muster a decent start to the season, we might even get a few fairweather types onboard and then who knows...

 

[shinboner magic]

Wouldn’t want to be one of the players this year when they have member call up night.
they might get an earful from a few disgruntled people.

 

[The Y Factor]

Reading this really hits a chord with me. What may be considered the little things matter.

Your point about the social club medal is spot on. They're something I've been collecting since the 90s and I've got dad's old ones dating back 40ish years. 2019 is a gap due to the absolute cluster fu** that was the medallion process. Trying to get one was the real life version of talking to a bank on the phone - I got passed around from tent to desk to tent at the stadium and still don't have one. Little things, but it left me feeling very pissed off.

I've been paying my own membership (dad started making it come out of my own pocket as a teenager so it'll be longer) for 27? 28? years, but I don't know for sure because I don't have a plastic card anymore. I don't I think I'm any more or less important than a 50 year or 1 member, but I clearly don't have "Personal Membership Consultant" email or whatever they call them. Chances are I probably wouldn't bother emailing, but hey, it would be nice to get one.

As a few others have said the digital membership is going to be disaster for some older members. I was around at dad's place last week setting up his phone after he called me a bit anxious because he was a bit confused after reading the email explaining it. I set it up for him on his phone and showed him how to use it, bit unless someone is there at the turnstile he'll be that guy at the gate holding everyone up (he's the dude at the Myki barrier holding you up on game day. Say hi if you see him). And it's not because he's dim or difficult, technology isn't his bag. The lanyard is great because he can stick it around his neck and not piss mum off that he can't find the card. Throw in his cheap pensioner phone plan, and I can see the lack of network connectivity causing more issues on the day.

I love North. House is covered in blue and white, I'm a sucker for the car raffle and cheer squad raffle in the social club. These are my people. Don't lose them NMFC.

Good post mate

for what it’s worth - * all - I was told everyone has a personal membership ‘lead’ or whatever.

Chris Hibbert seems to be mine

I am a 15-20 year member , 18 consecutive I think , nowhere near the history of your family but am pretty deep into the club.

I've advocated for the club to stop sending me crap over the years but the current state is well beyond even my low maintenance needs.
Medallions, cards - those basic member elements are a line in the sand for me so far as they start to impact my experience.

some good simple ideas thrown around in here snd so hope it settles back to a ‘proper’ balance

 

[Elroo]

You know what, for the group that provides the major source of income to the club, us members, I would have thought keeping us engaged and happy would have been the #1 priority.

 

[Orange Peanut]

I got a text at 10:47 with log on details

I got an email at 12.37. Luckily giantroo posted a link to the gameday thread.
Still waiting for the text.

 

[wolvesRoos]

I wonder how North are going to split up the tickets, home ones we should be ok, some source are quoting 5000 away tickets for all games, meaning we could get into some of the bigger games away. Maybe I should change to home and away the membership, wonder how many of those we have?

 

[grimface_87]

I wonder how North are going to split up the tickets, home ones we should be ok, some source are quoting 5000 away tickets for all games, meaning we could get into some of the bigger games away. Maybe I should change to home and away the membership, wonder how many of those we have?

* posted this article on how it will work for their games, assume we will have something similar soon: https://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/868944/member-faqs-access-to-mcg-and-marvel-stadium

Away teams will have a limited allocation of tickets available and members with away reserved seats will be given priority access.

 

[wolvesRoos]

Interesting, maybe I should change to home & away membership instead of having expensive Premierships one which will only get me into 7 games. Dont normally bother as don't think it's worth it as our replacement games usually get us into 4 meaning we only have to pay for the odd game. Doesn't look like Essendon have any tiered priority for members other than away members, maybe they have so many away members they don't think it will ever come to normal members

 

[wolvesRoos]

Do we even have away membership this year, I really dont like our membership website this year, cant find an option for it

 

[Zondor]

I just got the text. Looking forward to watching the game. :stern look

 

[JohnRhys]

Nah not really. We're not far off the time when people just stopped buying memberships last year. However, if we can maintain a sense of 'normality' this year, people will keep buying memberships in drips and drabs until about June-July like always. If we can somehow muster a decent start to the season, we might even get a few fairweather types onboard and then who knows...

That settles the nerves for me a bit , thanks year of the roo.

I’ve been looking at our tally ( its always slowly updated ) and been very nervous.

 

[gokangas]

No Cookies | Herald Sun

No Cookies

www.heraldsun.com.au

Our turn next?

 

[wolvesRoos]

Most likely, where are these dam barcodes, why oh why would they wait until the morning they go on sale to send them out.

 

[giantroo]

Tune in for interviews with North Melbourne's star players, coaches and administrators on SEN this Tuesday.

The day will feature chats with Aidan Corr

4

Aidan Corr

Age

29

Ht

195cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.2

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

1.9

4star

MG

291.0

4star

D

13.9

3star

K

11.1

4star

HB

2.7

2star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.1

2star

MG

291.0

4star

D

7.2

2star

K

2.8

1star

HB

4.4

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.6

4star

, Jack Ziebell

7

Jack Ziebell

Age

33

Ht

188cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.1

5star

K

12.8

5star

HB

6.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

4.6

5star

MG

369.5

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.0

2star

M

3.2

3star

T

1.6

3star

MG

125.8

2star

D

16.2

4star

K

11.4

4star

HB

4.8

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

3.0

5star

and Emma Kearney, as well as chairman Ben Buckley, AFL senior coach David Noble and senior assistant coach John Blakey.

And of course, there will be some very special membership offers for our AFL and AFLW teams.

It's a North Melbourne takeover like no other!

 

[hilly]

Tune in for interviews with North Melbourne's star players, coaches and administrators on SEN this Tuesday.

The day will feature chats with Aidan Corr

4

Aidan Corr

Age

29

Ht

195cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.2

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

1.9

4star

MG

291.0

4star

D

13.9

3star

K

11.1

4star

HB

2.7

2star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.1

2star

MG

291.0

4star

D

7.2

2star

K

2.8

1star

HB

4.4

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.6

4star

, Jack Ziebell

7

Jack Ziebell

Age

33

Ht

188cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.1

5star

K

12.8

5star

HB

6.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

4.6

5star

MG

369.5

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.0

2star

M

3.2

3star

T

1.6

3star

MG

125.8

2star

D

16.2

4star

K

11.4

4star

HB

4.8

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

3.0

5star

and Emma Kearney, as well as chairman Ben Buckley, AFL senior coach David Noble and senior assistant coach John Blakey.

And of course, there will be some very special membership offers for our AFL and AFLW teams.

It's a North Melbourne takeover like no other!

Oh good, another day of cheap memberships

On SM-G950F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The Warlord]

Tune in for interviews with North Melbourne's star players, coaches and administrators on SEN this Tuesday.

The day will feature chats with Aidan Corr, Jack Ziebell and Emma Kearney, as well as chairman Ben Buckley, AFL senior coach David Noble and senior assistant coach John Blakey.

And of course, there will be some very special membership offers for our AFL and AFLW teams.

It's a North Melbourne takeover like no other!

We all know at least one person from this board signing up today.

 

[Passmore]

Oh good, another day of cheap memberships

On SM-G950F using BigFooty.com mobile app

Shut up and buy 4.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk

 

[Sillygit]

Oh good, another day of cheap memberships

On SM-G950F using BigFooty.com mobile app

That they do every year, on the same radio station, around the same time, advertised in advance.