I can see you are approaching this from the club / indtructors side.
Take a look at the other side of the coin for a moment - the customer, the person who is paying you.
1. It is far from entirely the responsibility of the customer to do his homework. The club should brief the customer on their procedures or better still give the customer a written guide.
2. Why would you want to introduce yourself to all and sundry. It is up to the relevant people to introduce themselves to you. If you are the customer that usually the way things work - other than perhaps in this business.
3. Why should you have to request a brief. It is up to the instructor to brief you. If I had to ask for the brief I might be better spending my time finding another club.
7. See 3 - although by then it might be too late to find another club!
Sorry, but if that is the way things went, I'd call that the painful checkout.
From the customers point of view a good club / school should welcome you, take time to explain their procedures and introduce you to the key club officials. A good club should ensure you are aware of what is expected of you during the club checkout, how the checkout will be conducted, and on its conclusion brief you on your performance.
On your part you should ensure you are familair with the aircraft you are being checked on and review any local procedures. You should try and relax and make sure you are in the best mental state for the check. In short you should do exactly what would be expected of any qualified pilot flying from a new airfield (assuming this to be the case) in a different aircraft (once again assuming this is the first time in a new type).
If you have to ask too many questions about how the club operates and what is expected of you during the check I would suggest it is the club, not you, that needs to examine its performance.