Membership fee

Jon

Jon

Member Specialist
Although the PWNA board refused to consider lower membership fee lets take a look at what lowering the fee would bring in.

Do the math.

Yearly membership is $250 x 300 members = $75,000 a year.

Yearly membership as $100 x say 3000 members = $300,000

Increase of $225,000 a year.

That does not include say $175.00 or $250.00 for distriibutors and dealers, yes lower their dues also.

Now please try again and explain why they refused to lower the dues Chris?

Seeing this in black and white I am having a differcult time trying to understand why they refuse to even consider lowering the membership cost and doing a marketing program to let all pressure washers (legal ones) out there know about the PWNA and join?


Doc Reisman
Mike Hughes
Chris Detter
John Hartley
Tom Daughtry
Barbara Sivells
Daryl Mirza
Tom Bickett


Jon
 
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Jon,
It would be great of course if the PWNA did lower there membership fee but they made it clear that won't be an option at this time. What there trying to do is get you more bang for the buck such as giving you free membership to Cleaner Times Magazine($36/yr) etc.

You picked a number from the top of your head in the 3000 memberships. Thats a terrible example because they don't have that and lowering there price won't garantee that, so how can you make that # as a point.

What happens if they do lower there membeship fee to lets say $100 and they only get 200 more members out of it. That means they will have aprox $50,000 dollars Instead of the $75,000(Your numbers) that they would have and now what?

I think there attitude to get us more for our $250 membership is the proper way to go because we want this organization to be something that is BENEFICIAL to our business. Which it can be.

If they just lower there price and continue to go the course they have been going then what will you gain from this organization..Nothing..Except that you saved $150...which in the big picture of things really means nothing if the organization doesn't improve.

I don't know what CETA Organization cost, but I bet you it is more then $250/yr or at least $100/year and the distributers I'm sure have no problem there continuing to pay there membership fee's.

I for one like Chris's Idea of trying to get us more for our money. IF they just announce that they are going to lower our membership to a $100/yr and they did not do anything else then Whats the point of having an organization that is stagnent.

Of Course Jon if they found a way to lower our membership and they were still moving ahead to improve this organization than who wouldn't go for that. Maybe one day they can do that but with 300+ members its just a pipe dream.

Hopefully with Chris, Mike and the others along with us members and non members we can make great improvements the years ahead but it will take time. Thats why I re-joined. Just my own feeling that maybe I can help out also in the future by active or at least by throwing support to the new powers to be.

I plan on going to the Convention in Pitt in October where I'll save at least $100 for being a member and getting the Cleaner Times thru my membership($36/yr) so I saved $136yr. In essence there getting an additional $114 dues from me to help then impliment some improvements. Hopefully it will happen.
 
I can understand it even though some may think I'm not a pro as the way I handle my post.Its easy to read between the lines if your a pro and growing,its not hard to see though the sticks or forest as to why.

Also see other things happening in our trades as to what,when,where as to handing to others on a silver plater.,,,,O you have to be a pro to see though it.

Now back to not being a pro in the threads,its dat I told you so thingy iffin a peanut always a peanut where did p'butter come from,more p'butter on the plater to spread out as to pick peanuts when ready,you havta be a redneck to eat peanuts but to taste p'butter you havta ack the pro ack.I do Not agree with numbers aways being better,its the power of the number weather 1 or many..........eat a can of peanuts to see my meaning.



 
John,

That was very well said.


Jon,

Like John said above, we are currently going to focus our attention on improving member benefits. There is no guarantee that lowering the membership fee would even bring in a fraction of the new members you are talking about.........its a gamble that can't be taken at this juncture (in my opinion).

Lets take it one step at a time.............
 
The dues issue is a manifestation of the problem. If the programs were true benefits, no one would complain about the dues. I could care less what the dues are -No benefits low dues-low membership. Good benefits-high dues.

Why would a person stay a member for $150 and leave at $250?
The program are poor at $250 just think what they would be like at $150.

David
 
Mission Accomplished.

Hopefully my intent here worked, that is to keep this forum alive rather then a post a week then nothing.

I already knew they have no intention of lowering dues, what I wanted to do here is as mentioned above get and keep the ball rolling.

I would hope we are all kept abreast of what is being discussed behind those closed doors (conference calls between board members) so we as past, present or future members can see before hand what is being thrown back and forth as ideas for the future.

By doing that and listening to our input, pro and con I feel the board can and will be able to structure the PWNA benefits to reach the broadest range of pressure washers out the and appeal to them to join.

Now would a CETA member be willing to share the book of benefits with all of us so we can in fact see just what it is they offer.

Ok going back in time here for an example, the PWNA at one time tried online office supply program, (not sure if it is still offered or not) and everything there was more expensive then just going to Office Depot or your local office supply store.

------Please no rebuttles on the above, it is only an example-------

To be truly a benefit there must be a signifincant discount, not 5%, not 10% but more like 20%, enough to want the members to buy or join or become a part of whatever it is the discount comes from, be it office supplies, insurance, supplies etc.

Now back to my whole reason for the dues post, if this forum is to be of value it should be visited and post made by the board of PWNA often, not just when something stikes their fancy, but if need be a few times a week.

Yes I am completely aware they have businesses to run, families, little league, boy scouts, girl scouts and other personal things to do but I feel most of us were hoping to see a very active constructive forum here.

Case rested.

Jon

PS: It is not my intent to bash the PWNA or the board, that was not why I posted as stated above, but to get their attention and get this forum moving along.
 
By the way....is PWNA still issuing membership cards? Rod never got a new one, although we did pay the renewal fee. He pulled it out the other day in front of a prospect only to find it had expired..... WHOOPS! Of course, it was a large prospect...wood restoration on home not a deck.

Beth:confused:
 
Hi Beth & Rod

How are you? Good to hear from you.

The membership cards are printed 4 times a year. The reason is that the company that makes them charges us $150.00 set up fee each time they make one (Pretty damn steep if you ask me)
Anyway thats the reason you havn't got yours yet. But you will.

I didn't know this either, maybe we can find another , cheaper way of doing this. I will look, I promise

Chris Detter :) :) :)
 
Simple. Buy the already graphically designed cards in a large lot of 1000 and buy a simple card embosser. Not brain surgery here, guys.
 
Zippo,
Good idea, Thanks.

Don't the new cards have your pictures on them? will an embosser do that too?
If it will, then that would be the way to go.

Chris:) :) :)
 
Chris,

I don't know of a photo embosser. However, there are a couple of ways to go. 1) With tight money, high(?) dues and low membership, why the 90210 membership cards? A simple card with a barcode pre printed and embossed at PWNA with the members name would suffice. Who really now is going to land a job because he has his less than flattering photo on a plastic card? 2) Have the cards pre formatted with a consecutive barcode and emboss the members name, company name, location, date in business, number of years in business and membership number, 3) If you are really anal about having a picture on the card develop either a web page where the member can imput all the info, upload a photo and you guys print them out and laminate them.

I have owned several businesses and we used these and additional methods for creating individual membership cards. Since it is a not a credit card, security is really not an issue,it is just to show support in an organization. Hell, my alumni membership card from the University doesn't have a picture on it.

And as far as Jon and his miserly take on the PWNA, I suggest ignoring him. I guess he likes to hear himself speak, since he can't hear anyone else. My $.02...if you think $250.00 is a lot of money, if your business cannot afford $250.00, if you don't think the organization is worth $250.00, here's an idea, SHUT THE HELL UP!

Either join the organization and make changes from within, join the organization and grow your own business so you don't weep if something costs you $250.00, or keep your opinions to yourself. I, like the PWNA, have pretty much turned a deaf ear on Jon's rantings and ravings. If you are not a member, you have no business either criticizing it, telling it how it should be run, or making any suggestions. You are part of the problem (a critical outsider) rather than the solution.

Just so my position is clear, I am not a member, would never become a member, and don't need to be a member. However, I wish all those good luck who join and reap benefits.
 
Thanks Mike & Chris, appreciate you all taking care of the card.

Personally, I like the look of the card. If it could be maintained with an embossing machine, great, but as I have said before, image is everything. For the organization representing our industry, I think the look of the card does carry some weight in the eye of the consumer.

Zippo,
We all appreciate your ideas here. All ideas are valuable and should be respected, including yours. But at the same time let's see if we can perhaps share our ideas without attacking the views of other members. When others do this, it can cause those who may be thinking about sharing ideas to not do so for fear of retribution.

Now, with regard to the more personal attack on Jon and his hearing, I'll strongly suggest you NEVER attack anyone's disability on this board again. We do not support descriminatory behavior.

Again, many thanks for your ideas, we look forward to more of them.

Beth
:)
 
Hi Paul,
I was referring to Zippo's remark about Jon's hearing as being a descriminatory remark.

While some may feel the PWNA membership dues are high, I don't think they could be classified as descriminatory themselves. I just wanted to clear that up. Glad you posted. We encourage constructive comments and ideas in all forums.

With regards to the PWNA, we are members. Like any other organization there are areas that could be improved upon, but I for one feel confident that the members have voted in some very responsible people who are dedicated to the betterment of the group as a whole. Should be a good year.

Beth:)
 
Beth,

I wasn't referring specifically to Zippo's remark. I think you handled that extremely well.

Also, I was not inferring that the current cost structure of the PWNA's membership fee schedule is discriminatory or inflammatory.

I do maintain the position that: I believe the fee schedule would "become" discriminatory if the fee for new contractors joining the organization is increased to be more than the fee for seasoned contractors.

Best Regards,
 
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Thanks for the clarification, Paul.
Beth :)
 
Paul,

There was never any talk of increasing the fee for new contractors. That would be absurd. And, certainly, you are welcome in the organization.

Being a PWNA member and attending the shows was/is the cornerstone of the success of my business.............even more so then the bulletin boards. Face to face interaction tops a computer any day.
 
Paul,
THe real benefits of being a PWNA member at this time for you and guys like myself would be to attend the PWNA Conventions where if you take a course I think they discount members $100 for each course along with Hotel Discounts among other fringe Benefits(One being they pay your Cleaner Times Magazine subcription each year).

And last but not least, You are supporting an Organization that supports us.. The every day Powerwashing Contractor.:)
 
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