Starting a new club ... and taking the old club's fencers with you.

[Sciurus-Rex]

Short form:
Nice guy at the club has some coaching background. Charismatic, too. Moved in from across the country somewhere. Then after several months decides to set up shop of his own and convinces several members of his current club to go with him, without discussing it with the owners/coaches there first.

How common is this practice?

[VELISARIOS]

Unfortunatelly, this situation happens. But it is not acceptable and it is not polite to the coaches.

[Pauli]

I imagine this happens.
Personally, I find it a very unethical business practice.
But we're on a free market, aren't we?

[Peach]

It does happen, though usually not so quickly. Club owners have been known to have their coaches sign a noncompete agreement.

[parrythis]

I imagine this happens.
Personally, I find it a very unethical business practice.
But we're on a free market, aren't we?

I'm no business ethics expert, but I do my very best to behave in the most ethical manner possible. That being said, I am not seeing much of an "ethics" question in the scenario described.

The owner and the coaches of the club have decided on a business model - that is, they have decided on a particular level of service they will provide to their customers - the club members. Different coaches have different approaches to teaching and different ideas of what is important to teach. The whole concept of a free market economy rests on the premise that if you have a different way of providing some service or product, and you think yours is better than what is currently available, and you are willing to do the work to make it happen, you have the right to do so.

The only thing that stands out in the scenario as questionable is the perception that the "nice guy" didn't discuss it with the coaches/owners first. I guess, if you mean that he didn't approach them and let them know that their methods weren't meeting his needs, then yes, he was impolite for not sharing his perception of a weakness in their business offering with them. On the other hand, if you mean that he didn't ask their permission to run off and start a club of his own, well, I don't think anyone in their right mind would give such permission if asked, so there is little to be gained by doing so.

If he came to town fully planning on starting a club of his own and only joined that club to "scope out the competition", well that might be described as a bit underhanded, but it is a fact of life that anyone starting a business should know the market and the competition before starting their own endevour.

I guess the proof will come in the guy's success or failure. If he succeeds, then the original club probably wasn't offering what it's members (customers) wanted/needed. If he fails, then he is the one that has misread the needs of the customer base.

The one downside of doing what he did is that if the customer base is too small to support two clubs, his actions will dilute both business to the point that neither might survive. One thing he might have done is to consult with the owners/coaches of the existing club to see if he could bring his particular flavor of coaching to their club. Not necessary, but certainly a worthwhile approach to the situation.

Without knowing more of the background, a lot of this is very speculative. Several of the scenarios I described above could be completely unrelated to the actual situation.

[Feltan]

I have seen this happen, and the results are not nice. It can cause bad blood between clubs, and less than friendly attitudes at competitions.

On the other hand, I have seen one club willingly spawn off and assist a new club getting started. This was done due to travel distance issues. The two clubs were extremely friendly both on and off strip, would assist each other, and had frequent inter-club competitions.

The lesson I have learned watching these situations is that it is best to keep things in the light of day. Be honest and up-front with issues, and be receptive to discussing the issues. The moment issues start getting discussed in the back room, I know there is trouble brewing.

Regards,
Feltan

[Inquartata]

There are a LOT of things that can lead to feuds between clubs, though. A lot of coaches are prickly, territorial creatures at the best of times. Something about the status seems to breed jealousy, envy, resentment and dislike of rivals.

I tend to feel as Parrythis does on the issue. At first blush something about the situation as described rubs one the wrong way, but on close examination there doesn't appear to have been anything nefarious going on. The new guy didn't twist any arms. The people who decided to go with him have free will and used it. They weren't the property of the old coach or club; they weren't sworn in fealty. If there was a deliberate poaching campaign that might be different....