Reading the comments here highlights to me the problem that the club has created not just right now but probably over a number of years
IMHO, this "move" and the way it has been communicated and undertaken by the club is the issue here. Members blaming members is just simply wrong.
The club have done it incredibly poorly. I spoke to a friend this morning who was there last night and they said the presentation listing the reasons for "move" put up by the club was extremely poor and in part made very little sense. After speaking to my mate I don't think the new membership manager who came from N0rt really understands the RFC. To say this or that works at Nort and then trying to implement the same thing here is farcical. Clueless and out of touch are words that spring to mind
Sadly by extension, the message has created alot of views based on perception rather than reality with members whacking other members for no other reason than because they are a coterie member or in the case of 3121 a premium membership category
Few points if I may.
1/ This view that the majority of coterie members have suddenly appeared and joined in the last few years is ..well .. to be honest crap. I know of alot of people (myself included) who have been members for ages (me it's 38 years) who started out with just a standard 11 game membership. Who have upgraded because their personal situation allows and because in most cases they wanted to help the club in the bad times. People shouldn't be whacked for that. The majority of Coterie members don't run around making demands on the club. A very small handful do but the majority simple don't.
2/ RE: I find it really sad that so many people don't know the story behind RE. It was established back in 2005 by Miller to raise money for the club; you know when the club had very little $$$. He manage to pull together 100 people who coughed in $5000 each to establish this group. He went to long time supporters and asked them to help. When it was first set up it's seats and function room were ironically where they are being moved back to in 2019.
I actually think RE should be called the RFC Nomads because they have been moved that many times it isn't funny. Each move hasn't been born out of the RE members requesting it but because the Club has decided to move them for varying reasons. Throw in the stripping back of their benefits over time and that group hasn't been treated fantastically well by the club but gee they've stayed loyal. Despite price increases with the removal of benefits
Did they ask to be moved to the Southern Stand and demand the long term reserve seat holders be moved? No they didn't so to throw whacks their way over this is unfair. This a CLub decision not a coterie member decision..
And just so people are clear the reason RE were first moved out of bays 14 & 13 in the Southern Stand was so the Club could sell more 3121 memberships. If you want to talk revenue raising at the absolute highest level then look no further than 3121, they sold and sold, moved RE and sold some more
3/ 3121: alot of 3121 members are long termers there too, so to suggest like RE that they have all jumped on board in the last couple of years is a furphy. yes some have but so many haven't. Were they consulted about losing one of their function rooms and being moved? Again nope.
4/ The Long time Reserve seat Holders: they deserve to be upset, angry and bloody peeved. The way they have been treated in this is shambolic. Up until this season despite having Inner Sanctum m'ships I had kept the seats I had in N7 because they meant so much to me and my family. I gave them up this year because the time was right. But I know the footy friends I've meet, the bonds that have been formed from people seating together for so long. They cannot and should not be underestimated but clearly the Club doesn't understand it perhaps want to acknowledge it.
As I said when I started the thread the people sitting there have been coughing up there dough through the darkest of times to support club, maintain their footy friendships. It is about more than the seats and I don't think the Club understand that or want to understand
So the way I see it is members whacking members and pointing the fingers of blame at other members is wrong. This "move" isn't member driven, coterie driven, whinger driven
This whole thing is club driven. The issue has been caused by the club which I'd argue seem to not understand their membership base like they think they do as well as (IMV) struggling to manage servicing 100k+ members.
Just my take
