Category: TAC Management

Posted on

Every December Club Members Are Stranded Outside the Gym The Last Two Weeks Of The Month

Dear Tokyo American Club Management,

Every year members are stranded outside the club on the cold December mornings before the new year.  A quick review of the club website showed no clear schedule of when the gym was actually opening before the hour changes.

Would you PLEASE do a better job of communicating the hours of the gym?  Frankly, opening 1 hour later is a pain for growing majority of us who are still working through the remain business days in the calendar!Thank you for your efforts to make your year-end hours clearer and reconsidering shutting down the prime time many of us use the club during our week.-MABT

Posted on

Closing The Club For Employee Appreciation Day- Is It Really Necessary?

If you talk to Tokyo American Club Employees you would think that they would be excited about Employee Appreciation Day.  However, that is not the case from most that we talked to.  There is pressure to attend an event that many have said they do not want to attend.  So what’s the point of closing down the club so that members can’t use it during the week?

Today, we members celebrate Tokyo American Club Appreciation Day.  What is there to celebrate?  Actually, not much.  We don’t have access to the gym in the morning, lunch at noon, or that customer dinner in the evening.

Tokyo American Club managers and Board of Governors needs to seriously reconsider silly things like the Employee Appreciation Day as well as taking additional fees for bonuses that go to what we hear is less than half of the employees.  We were not able to confirm with other clubs in the US or around Asia that have these practices.  Time for a change!

If you are a member of TAC, tell us what do you think?

Posted on

An Inside Job? TAC Members Speak Out

Dear TAC Member,
There is a new movie called “Inside Job” that is a must see  It details the root causes of the global financial crisis; the heist by Wall Street with the compliance of government.
An analogy can be seen at TAC where over the past 25 years, members have seen a devaluation of their memberships as management and the BOG orchestrated a reversal of roles whereby members now serve the interests of management. This has resulted in the top 10 executive staff`s (staggering) average compensation p.a. at Y28 million ( $350 thousand) and the average full time staff salary over Y8 million ($100+thousand). Over staffing and not outsourcing have added to the debacle.
New TAC is the final countdown as to whether the greed, bad decisions, the  heisting (TAC-jack) will survive. A complacent/transient membership has provided the culture for these excesses. The enemy does lie within. It is an Inside Job. It is us.
TAC`s budget for 2011 shows little change in payroll — Y1.8 bn.($22+million) that is 77% of operating revenue ( industry norm between 40% to 50%). At TAC in 1983 it was 52%.
TAC`s F&B Cost of Goods (COGs) is budgeted at 27% next year, an unscrupulous mark-up of just under 4 times cost ( marketplace norm about 33% to 35%). TAC in 1983 was 41% a 2.5 times mark-up. And sales were higher in 1983 than the 2011 budget and with 2600 members versus a plan of 3600. 1983 per member sales Y488 thousand; 2011 plan about Y280,000, a 41% decline without adjusting for inflationary price increases. Over the past 15 years TAC has experienced plummeting F&B sales per member. Perhaps the COGs data tell why.
TAC is a simple business to run. A captive membership pays entrance fees and dues accounting for 60% of its revenue. In 1983 it was 45% when it delivered value to members. Entrance fees are not part of operating revenue and are meant to be reserved for renovation and rebuilding. In the past 25 years these amounted to over Y200 oku ($250 million) most of which went to payroll. Voila.
A recent announcement by TAC is to charge members a 3% service charge from January if they pay by cash or credit card. No charge for bank debit. TAC should have a credit card(s) rate of about 1% (maybe less) but has one of about 3% due to lack of common business sense. This is another shining example of how members are not getting value for their money by a management focused on its own perks to the detriment of  members who are its employers. Members should reject any service charge.
The Y11bn. ($130+ million) 4% interest loan is a dead weight around the neck of TAC. After paying the 25 year loan to term there is still a principal of almost Y9bn. (over $100 million) to pay. The 1% amortization makes it almost an interest only loan. Extremely imprudent and potentially fatal. Members should demand that all of the entrance fees be used to accelerate the principal repayment which would be 4% annual amortization, not the 1% planned. This would force payroll cuts and encourage outsourcing.
The “Inside Job” movie shows Wall Street hasn`t changed that much. What about TAC? Will the Inside Job, TAC-jack, muddle through and carry on regardless? Or will the invisable hand of the marketplace win in 2011 and render it the equivalent of the Tokyo Banana Republic Club? A hint — to date your BOG battling average is just about zero.
Members voted down the dues levy in June and are outraged by the executive salaries, F&B prices, and the enormous (coup de TAC) loan. In a show of defiance, your tax and spend BOG renewed the GMs contract in September and passed a 2011 budget with no significant cuts. The financial accounts show that the Club has negative equity. You should Vote against the 2011 Budget and the BOG that approved it. God save the member.
Signed: Greg Carley (TAC President 1994-1998) Geoffrey Walker, Paulo Maques
Posted on

A Performance Review Of The General Manager

If you ask around the club, you will find varying reviewing on varying things.  One subject area seems to get the same review from everyone.  We at the  MABT members receive the same reports regarding the Tokyo American Club general manager.   We’re really wondering what is going on.

This is a very important job as the GM role is entrusted with the staff and resources of the club.  Our money.

We would like to recommend that the Board of Governors review the performance of the GM in managing the resources, rapport with the membership, and financial performance of the club.  If the GM performance is good, then the pay should be good.  If the performance is… well you get the idea.

All the members of the Making A Better TAC (MABT) team were surprised at the renewal of the current GM’s contract by the board of governors.  Of course, you could argue that we need to have consistency in management as we go into our new facility.  Did anyone see what they membership thought about the GM?

We put the question out to you.  We are not here to trash anyone, or to blindly say “they’re doing a great job”.  What is your experience as a TAC member.

Overall are you happy with the GM and his performance over the last few years?  What are some good things the GM has done?  What are some things that concern you?  Please feel free to comment below.  The more feedback we have the better.

Encourage your BOG member to do real reviews of this GM role as it is detrimental to the health of the Tokyo American Club.

Posted on

Around The TAC- TAC General Manager Contract Renewed

One of the MABT has confirmed that the contract for the General Manager has just been renewed.  This was done by the Board of Governors.  He continues to draw his high salary that has been the subject of much frustration among the membership despite the economic difficulties of the TAC.

Further, the Food & Beverage manager has tendered his resignation and will be leaving the Tokyo American Club in coming weeks.  The Assistant General Manager is now looking after F&B.

Posted on

Summary Of TAC Townhall Meeting 27 Oct 2010

As the management of the American Club has apparently managed the TAC to the brink of financial failure, a group of 4 TAC members teamed up with 4 TAC board of governors.  This group was named ‘The Working Group 2” or TWG2.

This TWG2 presented their recommendations for how to fix the problems of the TAC.  They were very candid about what needed to be done.  Following their presentation, when asked if they “were confident that their recommended changes would be implemented?”.   the group unanimously responded “No”.  They responded on how getting information was slow and painful at TAC.

It was apparent to all present that there was a split between TWG2’s recommendations and some members on the board.  Although the positions of all the BoG (board of governors) was unclear, one board member made clear that he was against their recommendations in several instances.  In one case, he responded that the loan could not be renegotiated.  When asked by another member, he revealed that he was the one who negotiated the loan at 4 plus % interest for the club but did not clarify why he was unwilling to renegotiate and his position varied from that of the 4 TWG2 members.

The overall conclusion was that the problem of the club is not just an inept general manager playing the committee and board system, but also some individuals on the board of governors.  There are definitely some good people there, but there are also some people that need to move on.

A recommendation was made, and accepted by the President, to have a further meeting for the Board of Governor candidates to debate or state their positions as being for change or of the group that would continue the status quo and continue to block change and not make the changes necessary.

An American Chamber of Commerce (ACCJ) board member asked the General Manager if he paid for the development of yet another new TAC site that was described earlier in the meeting.  With a bit of stumbling around saying something about a ‘backend’ the GM confirmed that he did use budget to develop a new website.  The member went on to explain that the TAC must shift their thinking.  “The paradigm must change” he stated.  He illustrated his points by explaining how at ACCJ he paid nothing for web development, the chamber magazine, the upkeep of the website or virtually anything else.  This comment was a brilliant illustration that TAC needs people with fresh minds.

Although we have not covered all the questions and comments of the membership in this summary,  the conclusion we made from all that we need to rid the club of blockers on the board of governors and elect people who are willing to implement the changes.  One BoG member (mentioned above) seemed to indict himself at the meeting as being against change later on multiple points.  Later arguing with the TWG2 members about providing information that the 4 clearly stated they had not received.  The positions of the other BOG members and BOG candidates for the upcoming election remains unclear at this point.

The great work of the 4 board of governors and the TWG2 made it known that their work must be implemented otherwise we will have to continue “these

If you have any comments or would like to add any further points, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.  We will edit this summary accordingly to incorporate your comments.

Stay tuned!

Posted on

New Blog On Tokyo American Club Website

There is a new blog on the Tokyo American Club website.  It has the name of “The Heard”.  Although there is no need to hire a brand consultant, we wonder where they got this name?

Our biggest concern with doing those posts there is that things will filtered and we’re back to the same lack of transparency that got the management of the club and the board of governors into trouble in the first place.

We’ll put up the first post shortly here so you can comment.

Posted on

TAC Email from President Lance Lee

—– Original Message —–
From: “Lance Lee” <@tac-club.org>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 11:21:02 AM GMT +09:00 Japan
Subject: President’s TWG Update
Dear Members,
On behalf of the Board of Governors, I would like to thank all members who voted on the recent proposal for a special assessment, as well as those who took the time to attend and share their concerns in the Special General Meeting (SGM) on June seventh . We on the Board are committed to addressing all concerns expressed with dispatch. At the same time, we are looking forward to an increasing number of members becoming actively involved as we work towards our shared vision — superior member service and satisfaction with sound financial management.
In this spirit, the Board passed Resolution #3649 which creates a team to spearhead action plans in resolving many difficult issues raised at the SGM giving top priority to the financial issues. This new nine-member team is returning to the work of the original “Transition Working Group” (TWG) established in 2009 to analyze and plan an optimal strategy for ensuring earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in conformance with the debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) called for in our loan covenants. The members of the TWG include four members of the Board of Governors (BoG) and five non-Board members. The TWG Chair is Mr. Dieter Haberl who is not on the BoG and the vice-Chair is Ms. Barbara Hancock who as Women’s Group President has Board status. The other Governors on this reconstituted TWG are Mr. Brian Nelson, Mr. Dan Stakoe, and Mr. Per Knudsen; the other non-Governor members are Mr. James Ashley, Mr. Bryan Gould, Mr. Takashi Maruyama, and Mr. Terry White.
The full text of Resolution #3649 will be found on the TAC web site.
The Board further resolved to thank the original members of the TWG for their intensive efforts to date.
Members will be regularly apprised of the work of our reconstituted TWG and we hope they may have your support as they progress in their complex undertaking.
Lance E. Lee
President
Posted on

Tokyo American Club MABT Update

Suggestions are flowing in from the membership and many are adding comments.  Please keep contributing your comments and stay positive.  Quick update points are

-Tomorrow, the BOG will be meeting to discuss how to proceed with communicating better with the TAC membership as represented through the MABT.

-We are encouraging the BOG to have a real Townhall meeting and get people a chance not just to make suggestions but to get involved.  We would like to see this by the end of July.

Members Comments-

-A member from the finance industry suggested that the current TAC is “much like we have built this Tokyo American Club Taj Mahal that cannot sustain itself.  All the governance systems need to be rethought and brought to date”.  The TAC needs to be run like a business that is competitive.

Updates

-135 people visited this website yesterday.  110 visitors on Monday.

We’ll keep you posted of new developments.   We will only send out emails to all membership as barely necessary.  There won’t be much email because we are collaborating via this website.  You can subscribe to updates via the RSS feed below.

Staying positive and construtive with you!

Making A Better TAC (MABT)

Posted on

All Members Email

—– Original Message —–
From: “Better TAC Team” <editors@wordpress-644826-2102161.cloudwaysapps.com>
To: “Tac_members” <tac_members@wordpress-644826-2102161.cloudwaysapps.com>
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2010 7:19:51 PM GMT +09:00 Japan
Subject:  Making A Better TAC (MABT)- Need Your Feedback
Dear Fellow TAC Members,
With the push for a “Yes” vote on increasing costs to TAC members by the current leadership, the vast majority of the TAC membership has risen up in alarm. This was evident in the three town hall meetings and materialized in the vote result.
Although not organized at the time, a number of us were able to get an email out to demonstrate how a “Yes” vote was the wrong decision (posted on the website). If you were one of the members in the packed room on 7 June, you will know that people were very concerned about what is going on with the Board of Governors (BOG) and especially with the management of the club.
We have amazing people in retail, IT, operations, hospitality, entertainment, finance, marketing, and many other areas that can help the club keep the glow that it has had and blossom as it goes back into these amazing new facilities in a few months time.
Our goal is to better involve our membership as we have found out few things about TAC that concern us.
  • -TAC does the majority of work house and outsources little to keep costs competitive
  • -The average salary for the top 10 managers at TAC in 2009 was XX million yen according to the website. Quick marketing checks would have this as 40% above market rates in Japan.
  • -Apparent over-staffing in certain areas of the Club
  • -There seems to be no check or balance on the management we employ
Democracy has spoken and the Board of Governors is listening after your “No” vote. The group of members that has been working towards fixing and helping the club has become known as Making A Better TAC (MABT). We have a website with close to 100 visitors each day since we set it up earlier this month. Clearly all members that want accountability and transparency are a part of MABT.
Five of initial MABT membership will begin work with the BOG shortly to help better represent the membership on the whole. The rest of our growing group will be monitoring the status. We will use the website to collaborate with each other.
We will remain a voice of the membership and independent from both the management and the BOG. Let’s all stand together to continue our momentum. The site can use more ideas from you of how
  1. To Reduce Cost
  2. Generate More Revenue
  3. Improve the Tokyo American Club overall
Please check out the site and comment in the appropriate section so that we can open the lines of communication and make everything clear.
We are looking forward to working together to make an even better TAC.
Sincerely,
Making A Better TAC (MABT)
www.abetteramericanclub.com
PS. Please feel free to change, remove or add your email to this list by following the links below. We apologize that this email address is not monitored, but encourage everyone to communicate via the website. (There is a link on the top page of the website for the mailing list as well).
_______________________________________________
Tac_members mailing list
https://abetteramericanclub.com/mailman/listinfo/tac_members_abetteramericanclub.com