1 March 2023
BEWARE THE ABANONDED
CHAPTER 16
ANDREW BROWN
The golf pro was tall, lean and athletic. John thought he looked to be in his early forties. His tight, black golf shirt, with the club’s crest on it, showed off his well-defined biceps. He exuded confidence and had an almost cocky condescension. John greeted him with, “Andrew, you’re a long way from home.”
“Was it my accent that tipped you off?” He smiled, revealing uneven teeth, yellowed from smoking.
“That and the unmistakable attitude of an Englishman slumming in the colonies. Where did you go to school?
“Rugby.”
“Did you go on to university?”
“No, I went into a British army officer’s training program. From what I have seen, I got a far better education from Rugby and the army, than any of the university graduates I’ve met over here.”
“You’re probably right. Where’s the golfing come from?”
“My father was a keen golfer. He owned a large Renault car dealership in Manchester. When I was quite young, he bought a house that backed onto a golf course. Whenever, I was home from school, I would hit hundreds of golf balls every day and play as many rounds of golf as I could. I came to America to join the tour and ended up here. I had had enough of trying to make a go of it on the pro circuit.”
“Were you aware that you are the highest-paid employee in this club?”
“No, but I suspected that I was. It doesn’t surprise me. Golf clubs do not pay employees well.”
“Why is your operation not making a profit?
John saw that this had brought Andrew down to earth. The pleasantries were over. Unclear how much John knew about his operation; Andrew took his time in answering. He was trying to construct, the answer, he thought John might expect and one that would justify his high income. That John, might even be thinking of firing him, had also occurred to him. It would be a quick way to bring down the club’s overhead.
Andrew responded, “Our problem is a loss of revenue. With a shrinking membership, we can no longer offset our fixed costs. A significant number of members died in the last three years. The other challenge is the increased competition in equipment sales. I’ve had our member take out their mobile phones and check our prices, right in front of me. They can buy the best clubs, online, cheaper than what I pay for them from the wholesaler. The same goes for balls, gloves, shoes, shirts, and pants. They even get next day delivery. As well, to match the prices at other clubs and to get tournaments, we’ve even had to reduce charges on green fees, golf carts and buckets of balls for the driving range.”
John had suspected as much. He quietly said, “We can’t do much about the cut rate prices the manufacturers are selling in bulk to internet retailers. Some of these, on-line golf shops, are buying ten thousand clubs at a time. However, my plans will increase membership and take business away from other golf courses. These plans, require your retail space on the first floor. Any objections?”
“Well, I do get a percentage of every sale in the pro shop. How do I get compensated for giving up this revenue stream?”
“Nothing, but you will make it up on increased revenues from golf lessons, cart rentals, green fees and other things that you get a piece of. Which as you mentioned is an ever-shrinking source of revenue. You’ll also get to keep your job and save me the time and expense of finding a replacement. I intend to be very busy building up traffic to this club.”
Andrew smiled as he said, “I didn’t come to this country to be a bloody shop keeper. It has been an area of frustration for me. I won't miss it. But we need somewhere to sell the basics that members always need at the last minute, like balls, gloves and tees.”
“I agree. That wide hallway connecting the locker rooms and the gym is a good place to set up a small retail space. We can reduce the clothing down to hats and golf shirts with the club’s logo on them. It will also allow you to make easier contact with members who come to golf. The store upstairs is too far away from the change rooms.”
“Yeah, that could work.”
“Good, can you give me a plan for the new space? We’ll get contractors in as quickly as possible. How many employees can we remove from the store upstairs? Also, I need your ideas on how we can get the best price for unloading in bulk all that golf merchandise on the first floor.”
“We’ll be able to let go two employees. We will still need two downstairs to handle the two shifts. I will get some bids on buying the inventory.”
“I also noticed that there seems to be six locker room attendants on staff. For a club this size, four would be more in line.”
“I suppose two on each shift could work, especially if we could contract out the cleaning at night and remove our existing cleaner. An outside cleaning crew could do that job in two hours.”
“Why didn’t you propose this before?”
“I did but the club owner and the cleaner were close.”
“Your assistant. Is he necessary?”
“Yes, when I am out giving lessons, someone has to be in charge here, to help members and keep an eye on things.”
“Couldn’t an employee in the new pro shop take that job on?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well let’s try it. It will be temporary, until we get things rolling, but we need to cut now until it hurts.”
Brown couldn’t argue with that, so he kept silent. John waited and then continued, “Any questions? What else should I know?”
“Yes, I watched you playing a few holes on Friday. Where did you learn to play like that?”
“At a small business college. They believed that a well-rounded executive needed to play golf well. Like you, I spent most of my spare time, as a young teenager on a golf course.”
“I look forward to playing a round with you?”
“Yeah, I’d like that too, but first let’s get this club back on its feet. I look forward to seeing how you want the new retail area laid out.”
Brown shifted his long, lanky frame out of his chair and headed out of John’s apartment.
CHAPTER 17
DWAYNE DIX
As soon as Andrew Brown had left, John picked up the phone and asked Dwayne Dix, the Golf Course Superintendent to join him. A half hour later, he heard a loud knock on his apartment door. He got up and opened it. Dwayne stood there, shifting from one foot to the other. He was a giant of a man, about forty-five years old, at least six feet, five inches tall and close to three hundred pounds. Dressed in his khaki-colored work clothes, he looked like a displaced army tent. John ushered him in. Dwayne stepped in and waited to follow John.
Seated in front of the desk, Dwayne stared at John, who asked, “Remind me, how many people you’ve got working for you?”
“Twenty-one.”
“How many can you lay off?”
“This is the quiet time of the year. I suppose I could get along with two fewer greens keepers. It’s all related to how much wear and tear there is on the greens. I’m reluctant to let anyone go. We’ve spent years training them in fairway maintenance and on the green mowers. It’s hard to find reliable people willing to get here by six in the morning. They aren’t making a fortune.”
“Do any of them have a driver’s license that would let them drive a bus?”
“That’s a strange question but I know at least one of them does. Why do you ask?”
“I want you to buy two buses that can hold twenty people and their golf equipment.”
“What are we going to do with the buses?”
“I’ve got a plan to work out a relationship with the five largest hotels in the Benji Beach area. Our buses will do a circuit of these hotels, every half hour, to pick up and drop off golfers. This locks the hotel guests into our club and gives the hotels something extra to offer their guests. The golfers won’t have to worry about drinking and driving. The second bus will be a backup. I need you to get me some prices on what two buses would cost and how quickly we can get delivery.”
“New or used?”
“A good used one would be fine if you can find one. Any idea where we can find someone to paint them? They will be our mobile billboard. Every visitor to Benji Beach will know of our presence every single day that they are here.”
“A special advertising paint job would probably have to get done in D.C. I’ll do the research.”
“I’m planning on turning the snack bar into a baby-sitting area so we can make the club more attractive to women. Water attracts kids. I’m worried about some kid drowning in that pool. Does anyone swim in it?”
“A few hot days in the summer, you will see some someone in it. The old people don’t use it. It costs a fortune to heat that thing in the colder months.”
"How long would it take to bury the pool and cover it with sod?"
“Jeez, the old people will not like that being done to their junior, Olympic size, swimming pool.”
“I thought you said they didn’t use it?”
“They don’t but it looks impressive. They like to show it off to visitors.”
“It’s a hazard waiting for a lawsuit. Let’s get rid of the threat. When could you have, it buried?”
“Next Friday.”
“Good, do it. What do you think makes this course exceptional?”
“The five sets of tees to accommodate any level of player and the layout of the water hazards on the sixteenth and eighteenth holes.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, that’s about it.”
“Are you getting any complaints about the course?”
“I am not really getting any complaints.”
“Well, I have a few. I noticed a few things when I played the course. There was no hole-by-hole map on the scorecards and no hole layouts at each tee box or GPS co-ordinates posted, so that golfers could get an aerial view of the holes on their iPhones. Now, they guess how to play each hole. What can you do about it?”
“That is something for the golf pro. I’ll see him about it.”
“I also saw lots of divots not replaced and too many unrepaired ball marks.”
“It could have been an off day. I’ll make sure the greenkeepers get on top of it. You won’t see it on your next round.”
“I know you’ve got a tough job. It’s ten hours a day, seven days a week, maintaining what is a small city. You’re responsible for all the equipment, irrigation, cart paths, mowing, weeding, fertilizing, plumbing, and trimming. Without you and your staff’s dedication, we would have nothing to sell. If you do your job well, no one even notices your existence. Listen, I’m not about to tell you how to do your job. All I want is for you to make this the best damn course in Delaware.”
“Ray, all I can do is my best. I’ll get busy on finding those buses.”
Dwayne Dix left, feeling that he could work with John and that John was no fool.
CHAPTER 18
NORMAN BOOSHARD
Norman Booshard, the office manager, was the next one invited to John’s office. He had to knock twice on the apartment door before John heard him.
Born and raised in Benji Beach, he was short, bald, and thin with a comb over. The job was his life and his identity. The thought of the golf course failing, and being out of a job, was something he feared to even contemplate.
He had started at the golf club as an accounting clerk shortly after finishing high school. When Cecil Smith, the office manager, had left, for greener fields ten years ago, they had promoted Norm, as the most senior clerk in the accounting department, to office manager. Since then, the only change to the accounting system was to automate the monthly membership billings.
John was an unknown quantity. This made Norm feel insecure. When John said, “The accounting clerks seem to be doing tasks that we could automate.”
Norm could only answer, “The computer system we installed ten years ago, seems to work just fine.”
"It will not be able to handle the changes,"
Norm nervously asked, "What changes?"
"I want to change the golf club from a membership club to a pay-as-you-use club. Portable, high speed, credit card and debit card processing will be essential.”
“Our accounting system can't handle those kinds of transactions. It would be expensive to buy a system that can handle them.”
“I also want to give golfers internet access, so they can book their own tee times and pay us in advance. Instead of billing them for their purchases at the end of each month, I want everything charged to credit cards. That way we will get paid faster and remove the possibility of any bad debts. From what I could see it now takes almost two months to get paid for something a member purchased at the beginning of a month.”
Norm nodded his head in agreement because what John had said was true but it had always been that way. He waited for John to finish.
"Food, beverage, gasoline, fertilizer and seed inventories also need to be tracked for statistical purposes. From time to time, I also want to be able to email special promotions to everyone who has ever played our course."
"Do you know who supplies these systems?"
“No, it is a system that you, not me, know you can work with. You need to ask around, do some internet searches, check out any references with other golf courses already using such software. A supplier who can give us good customer support and training is essential. When you find one that you think can provide what we want, let’s meet with them.”
“How much should I budget for this new accounting software?”
“More important than the cost, is will the system do, what we want? The right system will allow us to reduce accounting staff and receivable cost which translates into big, long term, savings.”
“When do we need it?”
“As soon as possible. Within a month would be good. It’ll take time to get it installed, get all the bugs worked out and for your people to get up to speed on it. Do you think that is possible?”
“As soon as I leave here, I will start researching what is available.”
“OK, keep me posted on how things are developing. Let’s sit down and review your progress in five days.”
Norm was up and heading for the door with more of a spring in his step than when he had entered. He felt important. The future success of the golf club was now, as much in his hands, as any of the other managers. His terror of not having a job at the golf club had evaporated.
CHAPTER 19
SUCCESS
Over the next six months, everything fell into place. The new member’s private dining room became the most elegant eating spot within sixty miles. Its separate entrance, with a discreet brass plate on the door, stating, “For Member’s Only” provided an air of exclusiveness. This appealed to the insecure and the social climbers. The club sold dozens of new memberships because of it. Excellent steaks, fish and lobster had the members wanting to eat there several times every month.
When everything at the club was functioning as John had imagined it would, he visited the owners of the four largest hotels in Benji Beach. They were told about the new bus service that, every half hour, would take their guests back and forth to the golf club. To cement his working relationship with the hotel managers, he lay a free golf club membership down in front of each of them. The hotel owners not only became his new best friends but their hotel guests could now be classified as guests of a club member. This would entitle them full access to all three restaurants and to special club discounts. This symbiotic relationship would now enrich both the golf course and the four hotels.
Benji Beach became accustomed to seeing the brightly colored buses promoting the golf course and its Italian restaurant. For political and motivational reasons, John had decided to call the restaurant “Matteo’s”. It was busy from when it opened at eleven in the morning until it closed at eight o’clock in the evening. The customers raved about the excellent quality of the Italian food and the low prices.
The low prices at Matteo’s were deceiving. To get them in the restaurant, they had priced many entrees at what the locals paid elsewhere for a hamburger. However, once the customers added a delicious soup, a healthy salad, a slice of pizza, a cappuccino and a homemade gelato; they were lucky to leave for less than twenty dollars. No one complained. They recognized that they were getting good value for their money.
Shrinking the pro shop, to a token presence, gave the club twice the banquet space. Larger weddings, golf tournaments and company meetings now filled the banquet room almost seven days a week. Many of these new bookings arose from a customer having first visited the club to eat at Matteo’s. They liked the food, the location and the ambiance.
Many of the weddings were destination weddings for clients who lived in the Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia areas. Benji Beach was just far enough away from those cities to make the location a special event. The hotels that had memberships in the golf club were quick to give discounts on rooms to guests attending a wedding at the golf club.
The golf course never looked better. Dwayne Dix had risen to the challenge. Complaints about hole maps, unraked bunkers, torn up courses and missing beer carts ceased.
The club was now so automated that there was little waiting to check in, or for tee offs. Their new website displayed each hole’s statistics with hints and configurations. Golfers could study the course, days before they played it, or even on their cell phones as they were playing it.
If there were open tee times during the day, Andrew could email a special reduced price offer to golfers who lived in the area. Now the course was always busy.
In the seventh month, when John received the financial results for the previous month, he asked Norm if there had been a mistake. They were showing an operating profit of just over $300,000. Although John had said that they would have respectable profits within six months, he had had doubts about such an aggressive target. Norm showed off his knowledge of the new accounting system by detailing where all the sales gains and cost savings had come from. John shook his head in amazement. He booked a dinner, for the following night in the member’s dining room, and invited the four managers and their wives to join him.
At the dinner, he told them how proud he was at what they had achieved. He then presented each of them with a check of $5,000 as token of his appreciation. Much fine wine was downed with their steaks. Every time they reached a new operating profit record, John repeated these celebratory dinners.
The next morning after that dinner, John went to the bank and took out 15% of the $300,000 in cash. He inserted the $45,000 into a padded envelope. Since mailing it at the post office in Benji Beach was too public. He drove north to Dover, Delaware to mail it.
The envelope was addressed to Winston Hawkins at the college in Taos, New Mexico. Once again, John put the return address of FICA, 41 Boulevard Rochechouart, Paris, France on the envelope.
For John to hide his location from The Sanctuary, was unnecessary. The day he had first walked into the bank in Benji Beach, Winston’s monitoring system had picked him up. It now recorded all his frequent trips to the bank.
Winston had been wondering when payments to The Sanctuary would begin but he had never lost faith that they would begin. When the $45,000 arrived, it came as no great surprise to him. It was John's role in life to generate revenue for The Sanctuary. He had already proven that he was an outstanding revenue producer.
When John left the post office, he had a smile on his face. Once again, he could start payments that would save children from dying a miserable death on the mean streets.
END