BarTalk April 2003
Volume 15, Number 2

by Lorianna Bennett

The CBABC Member Services Committee provides members with an impressive range of benefits, many of which are arrived at through the brainstorming of our committee, while others come to us directly from organizations interested in promoting their services to CBABC members.

This year, in an effort to learn more about what our members want, the committee circulated a survey to all B.C. lawyers in January 2003. The results were compiled and we report as follows:

• 76 per cent of respondents have seen the Benefits of Membership booklet that was distributed to all members in February 2002. 59 per cent of respondents found this booklet to be a useful reference.

• Of those respondents who have used the booklet, the services most referenced were entertainment discounts, CBIA, and hotel discounts. The services least referenced were boutique items, office service discounts, and annual surveys conducted by CBABC.

• The top five services (in descending order) were reported as: hotel discounts; travel and leisure discounts; CBIA; entertainment discounts; and Costco Wholesale Warehouse.

• Members said they would like to see CBABC pursue member services in the following areas (in descending order): computer hardware; software supplies; arts & entertainment; restaurants & nightlife; spas & fitness facilities; temp services; and janitorial services.

• With regard to Boutique Items bearing CBABC logos, office products and umbrellas are the most popular items while thermal coffee mugs and men’s golf shirts come in at a close second.

• The vast majority of members are not interested in being able to purchase a web link from the CBABC Web site to their firm’s Web site.

• 84 per cent of respondents are not aware of the Human Resources link available on the CBABC Web site.

The survey generated a variety of helpful comments and suggestions from members throughout B.C. For instance, members asked the committee to ensure that services provided are actually “discounted.” In other words, the discounts offered should have a benefit over and above regular consumer discounts/public promotions. Also, we were asked to focus more on benefits for members residing outside of the Lower Mainland.

Our list of preferred suppliers and member services is always changing. We frequently receive proposals from organizations interested in offering bigger and better benefits to our members. We work hard to evaluate these proposals and we are constantly trying to develop other benefits that may be of interest; our goal is to provide CBABC members with ongoing access to products and services that are of personal and business benefit, and to provide direct cost savings.

We are pleased to report that within the last six months, we have secured two new major preferred suppliers: a three-year contract with the Canadian Scholarship Trust Fund (for your RESP needs), and a 25-year exclusive contract with the CBA Financial Services Corporation (a National supplier which will focus on financial services, including group RRSPs). We have also introduced a variety of new entertainment discounts.

For a complete update of our existing services and suppliers, members can log onto www.cba.org/bc and click on the Member Services link.

Lorianna Bennett is the CBABC Member Services Committee Chair. Lorianna practises primarily family law in Kamloops. This is Lorianna’s second year as Chair of the Member Services Committee.

Survey Prize Winners
The Member Services Committee thanks all of those members who took the time to respond to the survey, and congratulates the two winners of the prize draws. The grand prize winner was Kevin T. Simcoe, of Kamloops, who won a Whistler/Blackcomb jacket and two adult day passes. The second prize winner was Donald S. Allan, of Duncan, who won a Whistler Blackcomb Ski Tote.

This article was published in the April 2003 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.