Social Activities

This is a clear leader in terms of dissatisfaction with no fewer than 31% disagreeing with the choice of entertainment. There is also a disappointing level of non-participation in the social scene. It is fair to comment that since the results of this survey have become know substantial efforts have been made to improve this area.

	Good	Sat	Poor	N/A
Choice of Entertainment	9%	39%	31%	21%
Number of Entertainment Events	11%	49%	17%	23%
Number and Variety of Special Dining Functions	11%	54%	14%	21%

 

Council’s response to Survey Findings

Council seeks to deal with many of the complaints raised by gradually changing the structure of  the Social Programme by introducing new types of event that appeal to a broad range of interests.

The Chorale traditionally held just before Christmas on a Saturday night has been held over the last 2 years on a Thursday night and has enjoyed overwhelming success since the relatively quieter atmosphere of a non-party night allows for much better appreciation of the performances. The addition of guest appearances by local choirs and soloists has also raised the bar in terms of overall enjoyment  of the full house  of members and friends.

Big  nights on an occasional basis are also finding favour and have been very well supported – evidence the packed out Mixed Lounge for the Michael Buble Tribute Show and for the 60s & 70s Music Night.

In January 2013 the Social Committee introduced a trial run of what they termed Quiet Nights with low key music to allow for companionable dining and conversation. Unfortunately the weather didn’t exactly play along during the month but the Social Committee will evaluate the outcomes for future planning.

The Social Committee works closely with the Restaurateur to produce enjoyable dining and socializing experiences and there are plans afoot to broaden the scope of these.

Keep an eye on the Website for details of future events.

      

 

Survey 2012 - Comments on Entertainment

 

Current Entertainment - Members Comments

• "Turn down the volume!
• Needs a bit more in the way of imaginative events rather than just the same old groups week in week out."
• Too many noisy bands.
• I feel the entertainment is aimed at a certain age group and there need to be some variety on the events/acts booked.
• We do not need all the very loud groups especially when dining
• Too much money spent on groups etc. Very few members attend and caterer possibly making more money out of  Saturday nights than the club. Perhaps a cover charge could be introduced
• Entertainment? Really? is that what it's called?
• I do not generally attend these events but I would like the club to look seriously at cost of the bands and is it what the members want or is it to get non members to attend.
• "The entertainment is fine but do we really need so much of it - would once a month or around holiday time not be enough. 
• The Music is far too loud and I am in the under 50 bracket here.  I think we are spending far too much money on bands.  There is a band a week booked to next christmas!!!  The bands do not make me come to the club in fact I am more likely to stay away from them.  You cannot talk when there is a band in the Main Lounge."
• The entertainment consists of too loud bands every Saturday night which lacks variety and costs the club a lot of money.
• "Rarely avail of the entertainment and hope that it is not being subsidised by the general  membership for the entertainment of the general public at our cost.
• Think we need to consider if it contributes positively to the membership "
• Does not encourage younger members to attend
• Based on lack of patronage, the number of Saturday night live music events should be reduced.
• "The entertainment in the club is very very poor. It needs more variation and more professional acts even just once a month. But the same rubbish every week is doing nothing to attract anybody. In fact, it is actually a perfectly good reason NOT to go to the club. Please do something about this.
• I am not interested in loud music or groups when on an evening in the golf club and it distresses me that too much money is spent on music which is generally not wanted by users.
• Who wants bands every Saturday night, this must cost the club money as very few members use the club on a Saturday.  Maybe once a month have a special event evening but forget the bands, too loud!
• I have chosen satisfactory as I have no view on the entertainment provided within the club. Only to say that when it is on, it is far too loud and there seems to be a lack of numbers in the club to fund such an expense.
• Too much money is spent on groups who paly before increasingly smaller crowds
• I feel the club caters more for older members at the weekend, the younger members have been forced to look elsewhere for nights out. Why not try a disco for younger members to see how it goes?
• Bands engaged are poor and reflective of a very elderly audience
• "The entertainment is catering to what is commonly called the ""blue rinse brigade"" the average age probably being around 65.
• The entertainment is very good but possibly unaffordable - should look for less expensive bands ( e.g. one man entertainers) on occasion and this might reduce fees.
• "Bands -  noise levels, entertainment value, cost, necessity of , number of members in attendance - some areas to be considered. The bands are a huge cost to the club but are they what the members want?
• I think the entertainment standards are very limited and repetitive.  They are generally aime at the older house member and this does not facilitate a lot of members of my generation.  This poor entertainment choices makes me chose another venue for my social outings.  I do regularly drink socially in the club do not go wityh my wife and friends for a night out as the entertainment i dated and repeptitive.
• With an ageing membership who want to socialise and chat, bands are far too loud and are not wanted by the membership. There are far too many non members at the weekend which means that the members are paying for bands for non members. Bands should only be used on major occasions.
• The choice of entrtainment sems to cater for more for the older members in the club.
• All of the above are geared towards an older client.
• Suggested Changes
• "There needs to be a major overhaul of the entertainments programme. It is not enough to throw away between £1000 and £2000 as a loss leader becuase we haven't charged in at the door. We could charge £3 or £4 per head in on a Saturday night and recoup some of our losses. We also need to create a list of maybe 3 or 4 bands with excellent reputations that could play designated nights for longer runs and at a fraction of the cost.
• You need to create a 'buzz' again, through resurrecting the 'open the box' competitions as well as 'free mic' singer songwriter nights which are very popular at the minute.
• There is a growing market also in over 30s nights, 70s themed nights and 80s styled nights. These could happen once every 2-3 months.
• The big issue is lack of affordable transport as members from the opposite side of Belfast can spend quite a lot of money coming over to the club. However, if there were bus drivers or a taxi contact point that was designated just for the club, then more people would choose fortwilliam.
• "I would like to see an odd comedy night, special guest DJ and occasional Sunday evening entertainment.
• Plenty of entertainment notice."
• On weekends of sports events I would rather there was a TV screen available and a bit of craic. 
• Rethink the entertainment strategy- some of those bands are old hat. blues and jazz and something a bit more for todays world. try to push the wine club membership and as many other interclub activities. consider merging social activities with other clubs that dont have facilities so we can increase our turnover.
• Sorry I cannot comment since I do not frequent these functions but if there were "special " entertainment events that might chance
• Friday is a very popular night elsewhere - why do Fortwilliam ignore this night and treat like a Monday night with no entertainment and a 11:00pm closing. Its madness. "
• No support-  no expensive groups.
• These all need looked at . to cut off the dead wood . and the key to our success is to advertise the entertainment by way of even the bar staff telling  the customers of what is happening that weekend . and the office staff emailing all the members of events too
• "Special dining functions (ex Formal ) encroaching on seating for non diners
• Evening dining should berestricted to resturant and adjacent half of main lounge"
• There should be a charge attached to Saturday nights to contribute to the cost of the bands.
• Sadly there are now too many Saturday nights with few people in the club when the music is on! Maybe we need to rethink it!!!
• The club has other nights that should offer entertainment maybe not every week but something that caters to the age group between 25-50 groups
• Time to bring back crowd pullers like the Take Your Pick or Play Your Cards Right.  A regular 70s / 80s disco would also appreciated"
• "Would love a regular quiz night, year round.
• Also, for the big sporting events, have a BBQ or extra catering, as the European Rugby and Champions League final day was great.
• The restaurant theme nights were good also.
• Members might like to see open microphone nights for sing a longs etc.
• Wine tasting, theme nights are well supported - more please
•  Charge for entertainment everyone else does  Might find out what people really want There are nights with more in the group than listening
• "There should be a monthly special dining event (most of the current ones are well supported).  There should be more nights surrounding sporting events, such as the recent Heineken Cup/Champions League evening.  Friday nights should be better utilised for quizes, bingo, night at the races events. 
• The club needs to become a hub for social events in the local area so maximising the potential of the clubhouse."
• "Entertaiment needs varied to appeal to all tastes and ages.
• More professional entertainment required
• Entertainment should be provided on a Friday night.
• The whole subject of entertainment needs revamped and restructured."