Jan 03, 2010 12:00 AM
5001 Views
(Updated Jan 04, 2010 11:14 PM)
At first let me admit that reviews in Mouth Shut helped me save the trauma of becoming one more member of the Club Mahindra.
Now my analysis of their functioning but prior to that let me share my personal experience of having stayed in Munnar. I went their as non member.
The view is scenic but if you clearly had to look at the rooms and service it comes no way closer to 5 * services, we had opted for a sight seeing tour and were shocked that we were all crammed into commander jeeps. now this is not the vehicle you provide to your 5* guests. Trust me on tricky roads this vehicle can be a hell ride. we realized exactly the same. when it came to activities there were simply no signs of anyone. But believing that the experience was in 2003 and that things would have really improved by now, I was contemplating taking Club Mahindra Membership and I am a little surprised by following facts.
> How can they add so many new members when the rate of increase in their room capacity is so minimal
> Why would they provide a feature for selling your holidays by paying Rs.1000 to them, this means that there would definitely be some crooks who would exploit the system to make quick bucks and I would not be surprised if some of club Mahindra personnel are also involved in the scam, I have read many time that club Mahindra holidays for sale. this is despite the fact that actual members struggle to get a room once in even three years
> How they provide so many free offers and most disturbing an opportunity for new customer to visit any resort of their choice, which again means that it will be at cost of members who would not be able to book rooms despite of their eligibility
> Why their is Zero transparency as far as their pricing is concerned their website simply does not talk of this
> Why don't they share statistics of tier breakup, I asked the sales person he said 30 30 30, I don't know what the remaining 10% is for?
> Why charge ASF (Annual Subscription Fees) from all members. upkeep of resorts needs to be managed through operations cost. they cannot pass the burden to its members. I feel this is their way of ensuring steady flow of cash at all times
> Why their are so many hidden charges for taking benefit, like the pickup drop is at cost, food is for a cost, most of the facilities are @ a cost, they mention that it is discounted for members still that works out to be costlier than what one can get from market.
> Why are their sales personnel so eager to close the sale on the same day. I got suspicious when they insisted that I should sign the contract on the same day.if they are genuine they should provide sufficient time to their customer to make right decision
> Why don't they publish details of their members(in terms of no of members, new additions during the year)
> Why there is no commitment for providing rooms. if 100% is not practical at least something like for the same tier if a customer makes Five request he / she would be served at least Three time.
> Further to the above point . Why is there no accountability or SLA for services to be rendered or CM commitments that shall be met during the tenure of membership, why are yearly holidays not guaranteed when a person opts for that Tier. It is the duty of CM to ensure that customers are able to enjoy their vacation else they should make alternate arrangements in other 5 * properties. this would be called as customer care. If they believe that their properties as 5* properties then they should compensate the vacation with other 5* hotel stay in case they are unable to guarantee any holidays during the year(in the same tier)
> If they are so genuine why don't they refund money to customers who are not satisfied
> Although they mention that new members will not be provide any immediate vacation why is it that they offer 5 days / 4 nights stay at any CM resort as complimentary at the time of joining the club, how are these rooms made available when members are unable to get rooms even 3-4 months in advance
> If they really boast of Mahindra brand value why are they seriously involved in making false calls to customer, many of colleagues have mentioned that they call despite of registering themselves in DND list. Why do they continue to fool people through lucky draw system and then treat them like rotten vegetables, why are their so many complains for cheating and still CM has never bothered to offers any clarifications on the subject
> Finally why has someone not contemplated taking the company to court and investigate their business model. I would personally not be surprised if their are serious findings against the organization. Now that it is a public ltd company is it not their responsibility to let the shareholders know on an average how many rooms are shared by every members who joins the club
My personal advice to anyone contemplating taking the membership is to confirm that you are satisfied on each of above questions before going ahead with your membership, personally I will still be in pursuit to know the truth but till then I am sure that CM membership is a big no. owing to their unstable and non transparent business model.
Honestly this will work good only if you prefer travelling in off peak season else I believe it can pretty much be a waster of money.
