A new year, new pricing.

As you may know, when it comes to the business of the Elks Club, April 1st is when we say "Happy New Year!" Fiscal Year 2012-13 ended on March 31st, and yesterday we moved right into Fiscal Year 2013-14.

In conjunction with the new fiscal year, the Board of Trustees did a review of drink and food pricing. It has been four years since the last time there were any price increases, and our annual audit always criticizes our margins in the food and beverage operation. So, we assumed that some kind of an increase would be likely.

A "wild card" in the process was installing our new Point of Sales (POS) system, which makes it much easier to track and manage prices, and provides a LOT more flexibility. So, here's the long and short of the "new prices for the new year":

1. There is now a two-tiered pricing system. Elks Lodge Members and their spouses will pay less for food and beverages than golfing-only members and the public. Elks Lodge Members receive a 50-cent discount on drinks and at least a 50-cent discount on food (in some instances, it's substantially more than 50-cents.)

2. Prices on drinks for Elks Lodge members were increased by 25-cents. Food increases were not as even across-the-board. Our costs on food items have gone up in four years, of course, but some items increased in cost substantially more than others. On average, the increase for a food menu item is less than 50-cents. In many cases, the price held even.

When we began discussing the two-tiered pricing system, one of the first questions was: How do we apply the Elks Member discount if they are with Non-Members?

In order to make it easier on the bartenders and staff, we made the pretty straightforward decision to base the pricing on WHO IS PAYING. If the Elks Member or spouse is paying, the discount applies. If the Non-Member is paying, the Elks Member discount will NOT apply.

Like every change, this will take some getting used to by our Lodge Members, our Non-Elk golfers and the public, and our staff. There will be some stumbles. We'll stub our toe a couple of times.

However, this could be one of the most important changes we've ever made to our business. It provides an incentive for Non-Elks golfers and guests to join the Lodge. It will help "beef up" our margin (and make our auditor happier.)

Most importantly, it allows us, as a Clubhouse operation, to acknowledge and give a very nice benefit to those who are Elks!