This makes for an interesting topic. We certainly are re-defining "Pay it forward." From some of the posts I get the thoughts that basically we should charge a fee to "deal" with new folks. What is wrong with the cost of club membership covering the cost of operating the club? New folks should actually get a discount for joining.

So how is that fee applied to those of us that are actually dealing with the new folks when they come out? It appears that most of the folks that initiated the fee and benefit most from the fee are never around when new folks come out and the rest of us wind up helping them.

In my observation, I don't recall any of that money every making it into the hands of those that help new members. Trainers are donated, time is donated, supplies are donated, what happened to that new member fee? Did it ever even buy fuel for the instructor that took his time out to help the new guy? Sort of takes the friendly helpful relationship aspect out of the equation doesn't it?

I am currently in two clubs, one charges the new member fee the other does not. The one that charges the fee operates more by the modern "business" model and the other more by the "golden rule". Guess which club has the fewest issues?