I’m Basil, a male member.

What do you all think of Maezawa’s staff blog post about Saito’s response regarding the black-market rates? https://universe-club.jp/staffblog/47934/ Personally, I have to call Maezawa out. Here are my thoughts. > If the men had been the type to say, “You’re in a tough spot, so I’ll help you out,” this probably wouldn’t have happened. Instead, they were male members who jumped at what seemed like a bargain. > The negative impact has been terrible. > It seems the staff should have been more careful about whom they approached. > Ultimately, there’s a possibility that male members don’t realize they’re only making things worse for themselves. If the number of wonderful women at Universe decreases, it may be your fault. (I believe the real cause was that the club failed to exclude men like that.) I was thinking, “What on earth are you talking about?” Even if this situation has caused problems for the club and its members, the only thing that was underestimated was the backlash from taking advantage of lowball offers to get some quick cash. People really do forget once the crisis has passed. What, then, was the point of Representative Kida’s column when business resumed? Men aren’t the only ones lowering the going rates—the women themselves are contributing to it as well. I’m not saying this in the same way as Okamura, but I believe that the more attractive women who had been enjoying the perks of glamorous careers have lost their jobs because their work was deemed nonessential, fallen into financial difficulty, and started accepting low offers. Men who can make a lot of offers simply recognize this situation firsthand and are acting based on economic rationality, so to speak. What’s wrong with jumping at a bargain? Aside from a few exceptional cases, male members are customers, not volunteers supporting the club or the women. Male members aren’t really the ones in a difficult position, either. There’s nothing bad for us about rates going down, and even if the quality of the women declines, we can simply choose not to make offers to women we’re not interested in. If the vicious cycle continues—with more women receiving no offers and the overall quality declining further—then, at worst, we can just look for another club that satisfies us. The recession caused by COVID seems likely to continue, and the number of women struggling financially will probably keep increasing. The club is the one facing the biggest problem. On top of last year’s campaign, this latest development makes it impossible to shake off the feeling that the regular fees are overpriced. Once the brand value—such as the quality of its members—has been lost, don’t assume it will simply return. Even if offers come back, that may only be temporary, driven by men making lots of offers, using up their points, or reacting after refraining during the pandemic. Once that wave passes, sales could drop sharply. Rather than taking a breather while you have some financial leeway, use this opportunity to explore new services.