Although most fitness centers are aware of the importance of establishing and maintaining good membership relations, few fitness centers have a perfect member complaint system. Even a fitness center called a model can't be perfect.
What can complaints bring to fitness centers?
Many fitness centers attach great importance to their perfect image in the minds of their members, and worry that their complaints will have a negative impact on them. Actually, complaining is not terrible. Economically speaking, it is a valuable information resource. As long as we treat members' complaints correctly and dig useful information from them, we can turn members' complaints into a turning point in the subsequent development of fitness centers.
Complaining = a mirror of the fitness center
Fitness center is a service-oriented enterprise, and its members are the authority to judge the service of fitness center. Most of the members who came to complain were due to the mistakes or deficiencies in the service of the fitness center, which caused them material or spiritual losses, so the situation he reflected was highly targeted. From these complaints, the fitness center can understand and discover the defects in the service system, grasp the actual needs of members and the implied market information, and then find the key to the problem, correct its own mistakes, eliminate the potential danger of causing more members to suffer losses, and continuously improve its service quality.
Complaint = an opportunity to build membership loyalty
In China, membership dues are the main source of club income, and retaining old members is an important measure to stabilize club income. A member can actively give feedback to the fitness center about problems, opinions or suggestions in fitness, which shows that he has not completely lost confidence in the fitness center. As long as it is handled properly, members will build higher loyalty to the club and make the fitness center get more development opportunities. Usually, a member's dissatisfaction often represents the unspoken feelings of 25 customers, because for many members, instead of complaining, it is better to go to other fitness centers to exercise.
The statistical data of McKinsey & Company shows the significance and role of correctly treating members' complaints in building members' loyalty. They believe that in service-oriented enterprises:
No matter what the result is, only 19% customers who have major problems but have never complained will be willing to come again next time.
54% of the customers who complained and were satisfactorily resolved would like to come back to visit.
82% customers who complain and get satisfactory solution quickly are willing to come back to visit.
This shows the importance of members' complaints to the fitness center. On the issue of member complaints, no news is bad news, which is an early warning of the decline of member relations.
Complaint = opportunity to build and consolidate image.
If members' complaints can be solved quickly and sincerely, members' satisfaction with the club will be greatly improved and they will act as propagandists of the fitness center consciously or unconsciously. These positive publicity for members are very helpful for the fitness center to establish a good image of putting members' interests first and sincerely thinking for members among the public. For a fitness center, what is more important than this?
(unfinished)
How to handle complaints?
Dealing with member complaints is an excellent opportunity to consolidate the good image of the enterprise. How to face the doubts of members and improve? How to continuously receive the real voice of members? How to maximize the communication effect of members? In fact, as long as we treat members' complaints well and quickly solve the stubborn problems in the system or hardware, these problems will be solved! In this regard, Dr. Li from the Department of Sports Economics and Management of the Central University of Finance and Economics put forward five suggestions: be more patient, have a better attitude, act faster, make more compensation and have a higher level. At present, many health clubs seem to be confused when dealing with members' complaints. Now it's time to make up lessons!
Treat complaints with a correct attitude.
Only by adhering to the concept of "members are always right" can health clubs handle members' complaints with a peaceful mind. This includes three meanings: first, we should realize that members who complain or are dissatisfied are members who still have expectations for health clubs. Those members who are "silent" about the health club will cause more losses to the club than those who choose to complain, because they may not only turn to your competitors, but also spread information that is not good for you. Second, we should affirm, encourage and thank members for their complaints, and establish a mechanism to encourage members to complain, so that every member can give feedback to the club in time when he is dissatisfied with the service of the club. Third, try to meet the different requirements of members. For those who can't meet the requirements of members at present, we should also explain the reasons to members and gain their understanding. In this regard, some foreign-funded fitness clubs do very well, but some well-known domestic clubs that follow the mass line may have a large number of members because of their low prices. In some of its branches, front-line employees are not very good at accepting complaints.
Establish a complaint management system
Members' complaints about the health club may involve various aspects, such as the service to the front desk, members' consultants and coaches, the quality of equipment and even the water temperature when taking a bath. In order to ensure that all departments can be consistent, cooperate with each other and solve members' complaints efficiently and satisfactorily, the fitness club should clearly stipulate the norms and strict management system for handling members' complaints.
★ Improve various rules and regulations. Clarify the departments and full-time staff who accept complaints from members, and clarify the business process of handling complaints.
★ Establish complaint acceptance criteria. It is necessary to establish a unified acceptance standard, that is, to unify the quality of handling complaints. When dealing with the same type of complaints, if the handlers have different handling methods or different attitudes towards the complainants, it is bound to lose the trust of members. Therefore, whether from the perspective of fair handling or from the perspective of improving business efficiency, we should formulate standards that meet the complaints handling of clubs.
★ It is necessary to distinguish responsibilities when dealing with problems. To classify the complaints of members, it is necessary not only to define the responsible departments and persons, but also to clarify the specific responsibilities of the departments and specific personnel accepted.
★ Record complaints in detail. In order to solve members' complaints in time and provide a basis for future complaint handling, the receptionist of the fitness club should make a detailed record of each member's complaints and handling, including complaint content, handling process, handling results, member satisfaction and so on.
Encourage and facilitate members to complain.
First of all, health clubs should formulate clear service standards and compensation measures, and clearly tell members how to complain and what results they may get. Secondly, the health club should inform the member center of the departments and procedures for accepting complaints through the media, and the contact information for further complaints if they are not resolved. Third, try to reduce the cost of members' complaints, for example, we can implement free telephone calls and publish complaint mailboxes to make members' complaints more convenient, smooth and timely.
In our investigation, the "Club Member Management Committee" established by Beijing No.1 Fitness Club is a good example. The management committee can feed back members' needs and opinions to the managers of the club at any time, which will play a positive role in creating a harmonious fitness environment and improving the quality and economic benefits of the club.
In fact, there are many specific ways to encourage and facilitate members to complain. As long as the fitness club can come up with creative ideas according to its own specific conditions and start to implement them, it will certainly achieve good results, because the method itself is a good publicity for the fitness club.
Handle member complaints in a timely manner.
As a fitness club, members should promptly handle complaints about the services or products of the fitness club. We must respond quickly to the opinions put forward by members, and it is best to solve the problem quickly. Sometimes, it is a good way to solve the problem by taking remedial measures in time after the negligence of health club staff causes certain difficulties or inconvenience to members and causes their complaints. Procrastination will only make members complain more and more strongly, make members feel that they have not received enough attention, and their dissatisfaction will rise sharply. At present, many Fortune 500 companies have adopted the "first inquiry responsibility system", that is, whoever receives the complaint first must be responsible to the end. This may be a good way for fitness clubs to learn from.
It should be emphasized that in the operation of fitness clubs, its front-line employees, such as front desk, member consultants, coaches, etc. It is not only a member's complaint, but also an important force to deal with problems in time. Sometimes, all members need is a sincere apology or a reasonable explanation. In this case, as long as front-line employees take members as their purpose and take immediate remedial measures on the spot, most members will be "flattered". Because what members fear most is endless waiting and mutual prevarication. Therefore, for the management of health clubs, it is necessary and necessary for every club to regularly train front-line employees on complaints and teach them how to listen to members' complaints, how to explain common complaints, how to explain various regulations of health clubs and how to choose appropriate solutions.