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Quality Fitness Center Customer Service

Searching for the Customer Service Holy Grail by Gail Fast

Customer service. Retaining members. Creating customer intimacy. We’re all looking for the magic pill: the perfect program, concept or idea that will help our staff better serve our members. At the most recent International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) conference, at least ten sessions were devoted to customer service. Experts in the industry spent hours educating us on member retention programs, staff training and theoretical models of service excellence. Do they work? You bet! The problem occurs when you bring the ideas and concepts back to your staff and try to implement them at your facility. Now matter how hard you try, you can’t recreate the magic. So, if that’s the case, how do you develop your own successful customer service program?

First, develop a Customer Service Committee of your top service providers. The committee should be made up of volunteers from all areas of your facility, from front desk to senior staff, who will be responsible for revamping your facility’s service standards. Remember, it’s important that all employees are able to define what customer service is and what it means to your customers and members.

Next, develop a set of service expectations. It’s easy for staff to get so busy with day-to-day operations that they lose sight of what they’re really trying to accomplish, for whom and why. Put those expectations into writing, and begin to motivate your employees to make the commitment to improving customer service. If you have a mission statement or company philosophy, you can re-evaluate them, and develop new standards that incorporate your new vision of service excellence.

Finally, recruit people who can help deliver service that “wows” the customer. It is easier to teach an individual the skills necessary to meet job requirements such as fitness testing, exercise programming and nutritional counseling, than the personality traits to successfully interact with members, handle complaints and avoid crisis situations. During a new hire interview, make sure to ask questions such as, “Can you tell me a situation when you received poor service and how that made you feel?” or “Give me an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.” Once you’ve hired your staff, don’t stop there. Training programs that highlight building confidence, increasing communication skills and handling stressful situations will make your staff better customer service representatives.

To get exceptional service, you need to reward employees who are service leaders. If you don’t have one already, develop an employee of the month program specifically to reward individuals for service accomplishments. Or, have senior management send personal notes to employees who consistently provide outstanding service to their members.

Improving customer service takes time. Over ten years ago, we launched a training program designed to help staff improve customer intimacy. We broke the training down into simple steps, teaching staff how to interact with every member who came into their fitness center. Three of our service leaders taught the basics of how to approach members, correct contraindicated exercises and guide them in proper form and technique. The goal of making every member feel special became part of our company philosophy and one of our golden rules. Today, our vision of service excellence is explained to new employees at their orientation and re-emphasized in our standards operation manual.

Becoming a service leader requires commitment and work from everyone involved, from locker room attendants to senior management. Make your customer service goals realistic and achievable. Be sure to reward your employees for their accomplishments along the way. Improving customer service benefits everyone involved: your members, your staff and, most important, your business.

Published with permission from:
Fitness Onsite Magazine Feb 2004

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