12.4% of the UK population is currently a member of a gym or
fitness club. That's almost 6000 gyms and over 2.5 million members.
With such a wide variety why should you not settle for exactly the type
of facility you want?
There is such a variety of clubs, with a
huge variation in facilities, styles, standards and member expectations.
1) Call and book an appointment to see a club before you go.
This is important as it gives you the
first impression of a clubs standards and professionalism. Don't be put
off by a strong sales person on the other end of the phone. A good
membership advisor shows the company invests in their staff and understand the
importance of new members. You have to ask the question that if there is no
investment in those staff looking to drive the business forward what sort of
training do the rest of the team have who will be entrusted to look after and
keep you happy.
This is also your first opportunity to get
an insight into the personality of the club. A friendly call where the focus is
on you is important. The advisor should be asking what your reasons for
joining are, what your goals are and why. If they show genuine interest
then they are worth a visit, if not we suggest you put the club further down
the list.
Don't be surprised though to find a few
clubs who get this wrong, especially the smaller clubs who staffs has to multi
task with reception, gym, cleaning and membership duties. There should be
no excuse for a big club though!
2) The tour of the club is your opportunity to gather as much information as possible about your potential new venue.
This should not be a 5 minute run round, take your time, ask questions (we'll come onto to these in a minute), look for faults. If you decide to join there is a good chance you will be spending up to 10 hours a week here, it needs to be right.
What to look out for:
a) The meet and greet - are you greeted
with a smile? if you booked an appointment do they greet you by name "good
afternoon Mr Charlesworth, sally is expecting you", do they take you
details. You should be willing to fill these forms in. Does the
membership advisor look smart, have a friendly greet and good handshake?
b) Are you asked to complete a form with
your goals and aims? If you are be wary as this is a lazy approach.
The membership advisor should be asking you those questions, one to try
and build some rapport with you but secondly to try and understand your reason
for joining and what facilities you are interested in. You should be sat down
for this chat so you feel relaxed, and it should take 15-20 minutes. This
allows the advisor to do exactly that, advise you on how they believe the club
can help you achieve your goals. If they don't know what you want how do
they know the club is suitable?
c) On the tour you need to look out for:
- Cleanliness issues:
Check showers for mould, floors should be clean with no brown staining, rust
should not be visible, if you can see under treadmills and cardio kit for dust,
check the pool, Jacuzzi, steam rooms for yellow staining (this is body fat and
is easily cleaned) . When you start looking it is very easy to see
whether a club is clean or not. This is an indicator of staff morale and
the care for detail of the management team. Cleanliness is 2nd biggest reason
members leave a club yet it is still not seen a high enough a focus by many
clubs.
To this day I am still amazed by how many
managers allow their clubs to lose members simply by ignoring this. This
includes the big expensive clubs so don't be fooled by price.
- Maintenance: Is all the
equipment working? There will always be occasions when pieces of equipment
break down, however if 3-4 pieces are broken then you have to consider their ability
to maintain the equipment or what funds are available for maintenance
contracts.
- Does the advisor introduce
you to other members of staff on the tour? This is a great way of putting
you at ease but also showing they are comfortable with people and enjoy their
jobs. A socially outgoing team is important to delivering great service,
even if you prefer to be left alone it is important to know the staff enjoy
serving you.
- We suggest asking to see
all the facilities and not just those that you are interested in. Your
circumstances or interests may develop over time and so knowing what is
available is important.
d) Discussing joining or closing the sales as they know it
You should always be sat in a comfortable
place to discuss price and not stood up in reception. This allows you to
feel you can ask more questions. Never feel like you are being pushed
into joining, the advisor should by now have built rapport and you should feel
comfortable discussing money with them.
Things to note:
- Let them first
present the price as if there are any offers they should say
- Very few clubs now
charge a joining fee as competition is far too great. Some however do
still charge what is called an administration fee and quite often this is not
wavered
- Almost all clubs
offer a joint membership rate if there are 2 of you joining. This can
save as much as £150 a year between you. Consider getting a friend to
join with you. Whilst almost all clubs will say it’s for partners, most
will stretch the rule for the sale.
- If you can wait
until the last week of the month to join this is always the best time to join
as clubs all have membership targets and it is often where the last minute
offers come into play, dropping joining fees etc.
- Unless you really
like the club don’t be afraid to say no. A well trained advisor will try
and find out why and see if they can overcome the challenge. Be honest
with them as they may just have the solution you are looking for
- Don’t be afraid to
ask for a free trial first. Most national chains will offer a free 1 day
up to a free week’s trial. So ask and you could get a try before you buy.
If they don’t ask if you can pay the guest fee to try it for a day, many
will allow this and it will give you the insight you need.
E) If you decide to join then make sure you get all the important information explained to you before you sign.
Whilst the office of fair trading ruling last year ensured clubs and obliged to make sure all new members are aware of their obligation.
Look out for:
- Length of contract.
In today’s world, unless they are offering big discounts to do so there
is no need to sign 12 months contracts. Some clubs offer great savings to
do so and that then become a decision you need to make. If they don't we
advise to stay well clear of annual contracts.
- What is the
cancellation policy? Some are 3 months, others 30 days so it’s important to
know. Don’t just cancel your membership as many now will hand the debt to
a collection agency
- What are your
benefits, will they give you some free guest passes, do you get a free gym
induction and programme. A full service club such as David Lloyds,
Marriott, Bannatynes should offer this service free. It’s unlikely the
£9.99 gyms will provide this.
- If it’s a national
chain can you use the other clubs as a member? Marriott allows this,
David Lloyds does but it depends on your membership category.
- Can you freeze you
membership for work or illness?
After considering all of this it will be
time to make a decision to join somewhere. .Ultimately after you have
taken the time to look around the choice will be a personal one. You need
to feel that you will be comfortable, that you will get the level of support
you need for your experience and that you will enjoy turning up even when your
motivation is low.
We always suggest looking around and
visiting at least 3 clubs to get some comparison. Don’t join a club on
price, in that we do not mean don't join the cheapest; there are some great
budget clubs out there if you just want facilities. What we are saying is
join a club that offers you the facilities and value for money.
If you join and it turns out to be wrong a
wrong one, then leave and join somewhere else. The choice out there is
vast and so why be stuck somewhere you don't want to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment