Miata Mailing List: March 1998, Message #13

sponsored by

Time for me to get singed again...

While many of Mark's earlier postings were 'on the mark' for what they were
addressing, mark, you are wrong here.

I don't think there's much question that MOST wish MCA to be a club that
furnishes a magazine (whether on its own or with the travail of onother
player) as well as OTHER services.

What is coming across LOUD and CLEAR is that many do not see any other
services.  They'd like to hear 'from the horses mouth' what those services
are.  Many admit that there may be services but they are not aware of what
they are.  Since MCA (Vince and Norm and staff) accept those DUES/FEES,
(whether a business or a club) they are beholdin' to their
constituency/customers to address those questions.  I don't cate if an
entity is a volunteer club, an out right business, or something in between,
if it does not communicate it runs a very high risk of failure.

What IS NOT coming across very clear (except for a few posts) is what the
EXPECTATIONS of the customer/member body is.  That's why I posted my widely
ignored 'PUT Up or SHUT UP' post.  While I haven't seen what I consider to
be a reasonable reply by MCA to the concerns expressed, a reasonable reply
would not (at this point) do much to calm the furor.  The only other
correspondance (which I am referencing from a second hand reading) is that
MCA in its letter with the local club newsletters it redistributes (one of
those services thay don't bother to tell the list they are doing) mentions
that Mazda is really up on working with the local clubs BUT they don't want
anyone to go directly to Mazda but rather through them...  I have not seen
the exact wording, so treat this with some care before taking it as gospel.

I'd like to see a more CONSTRUCTIVE nature taken on by this maelstrom. 
Harness the energy and thoughts to bring about some change.

For my part, I will try, by this evening, to extract some of those
DESIRES/specifications for the national and post to the list.  Hopefully
others will read it, add to it, and re-post it.

Then, hopefully (yeah I may be a bit too optimistic at times) MCA will
respond along the way as to whether they are doing any of this or whether
they feel they can/want to address each point.

I have some other ideas and have been working to put them in some concrete
form.  I will post these as soon as I can figure out how to 'phrase' them
so they can be considered for what they are intended to do rather than
interpreted as a threat to one party or another.

Ric ;-((
Braveheart is staying out of this one.




----------
> From: Mark 
> To: Multiple recipients of list 
> Subject: Re: Thoughts from Barbara
> Date: Saturday, February 28, 1998 11:00 AM
> 
> At 03:33 PM -0800 2/28/98, Bluemm wrote:
> >mark,
> >i get it......quite a few of us get it.         barb is loyal to her
> >friends.....that's
> >very comendable and she should be proud of that fact.     i'm loyal to
> >my friends......most good people are.    it's obvious that you are too.
> >
> >that still doesn't remove the fact that we have asked questions
pertaining
> >to the "club", not the "mag",   and we would appreciate it if someone
> >would come forward from the "club" and tell us that either:
> >
> >1.  the "club" is really just a magazine and nothing else.
> >or
> >2.  the "club" is in fact a "Car Club" and what they really do for
> >     members & enthusiasts.
> 
> 
> Tom,
> 
> Let me try this from a different approach.  What does MCA mean to YOU?
> What do YOU get out of the "club"?
> 
> If your answer is "Just a Magazine", then you know the answer and your
> continued request for a reply from someone "higher up" is redundant.
> 
> If you answer is "A Car Club", then you know the answer and your
continued
> request for a reply from someone "higher up" is redundant.
> 
> If your answer lies somewhere in between (more than a magazine but less
> than a democratically run car club) then you know the answer and your
> continued request for a reply from soemone "higher up" is redundant.
> 
> It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that MCA is a more than
"just
> a magazine" (MCA has played an active role in many regional and national
> events, etc.) but MCA also falls well short of being a true "club" (in
the
> classic sense).  It is what it is and it is extremely obvious what it is.
> Most people realized what it is from the very first issue.
> 
> Frankly, my impression is that you've already made up your mind what the
> club is to you and you are just waiting for someone "higher up" to
confirm
> your conclusions so you can point your finger, wiggle it, and
say...see...
> I told you so!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mark Booth
> 1992 "B" Classic Red
> Team Voodoo
> President - San Diego Miata Club
>     [http://mmdshare.ucsd.edu/sdmc.html]
> 
>