Greater
St. Louis Bridge NewsGreater
St. Louis Bridge NewsEditor: Marie Sander, St. Louis MO hatlady@prodigy.net
The last article in the Advocate
drew almost no response, which leaves me wondering. Do the players not care that
the games are shrinking, or do they just have no ideas? Both are so unlikely
that I am at a loss. I suspect option three, that we, as mere players, feel
powerless to make a difference.
I attended the last board meeting,
where a new liaison was formed between the board, (which concerns itself mostly
with tournaments and awards) and the club managers. The hope and purpose of the
group is to stimulate interest and increase attendance at both club games and
tournaments. So be assured that those who are running things want to see some
more people in the seats.
We players can be active in
stimulating interest in the game. We may want to call someone not seen in a
while and see if you can give him a ride or find her a partner. I have heard of
churches increasing their membership by just having the current members bring a
guest. While that won’t work for us, we can steer those who are interested in
learning to Mary Hruby, who teaches bridge from ground zero on Tuesdays from 6-8
p.m. at Bridge Haven. If you know someone who knows duplicate but is still new,
direct him to Donna Coker’s Thursday-morning novice game at Olivette. Both of
these are listed on our web site, www.unit143.com.
If we want to attract younger
players, the unit has to come up with more evening games. Perversely, many
evening games closed because they are not supported. Would an evening novice
game be an option? That way, working people could get their foot in the door.
Finally, in the cool gray light of dawn, we have to admit that many players quit because they were treated badly. People were rude to them. If you know someone like this, please call him or her and grovel. Promise it will never happen again. Directors will get out the tar and feathers for anyone daring to get ugly at their games as the cost of allowing it has been made pretty clear. Mostly, the membership has to speak up and protect those who may be new and uncertain.
There is a phenomenon called
“service recovery,” in which studies show that messing up and fixing it
score higher than not messing up at all. For example, if the hotel gives your
family a single twin bed, then fixes it with the correct room, studies show that
the service is perceived as even better than the service provided where there
are no mistakes. We know tempers flare and voices are raised occasionally. Now
we know we have to step in and fix it.
As always I welcome your ideas for
attracting more players. Write me at Hatlady@prodigy.net
Y’all play nice now,
Marie