How to Handle Common Member Complaints and Issues

If you are running a gym or fitness center, then you must understand the importance of customer satisfaction. Happy clients equal smooth and successful business. However, no matter how successful or fantastic your fitness business is, no one is immune from customer complaints. A good and solid reputation takes time to build and can be quickly compromised with member complaints and issues, especially those that end up never getting resolved or handled appropriately.

As a leader of your fitness space, it is critical to have a plan of action regarding member complaints. They’re never fun to deal with but can ultimately be the difference in having a successful business long term. In this post, we will discuss the most common complaints gym members have along with tips on how to deal with these issues.

Common Complaints:

There are multiple reasons why members may complain. Some will be expected following a particular incident, while others will catch you completely by surprise. You can’t always satisfy everyone’s needs and some complaints may even be out of your control (ex. gym temp. is too hot or too cold/ a local event causing the gym to close early/ etc.) However, here are five common gym complaints received from gym owners and managers. 

1. Lack of Cleanliness 

Poor gym hygiene conditions are a massive red flag for members. When it comes to cleanliness, it is important to be proactive and make it a priority. Creating a cleaning schedule for your staff before open/closing time or during the slower hours can be very effective.

The last thing you want is for your members to be turned off by a dirty fitness space. Keeping your facility clean helps your overall image and is attractive when promoting to prospective members. 

2. Broken or Faulty Equipment

Broken or faulty equipment, as well as broken equipment that’s been left out, can frustrate members. Your customers pay for a service. When you don’t meet that expectation, they start to question why they are paying for a gym membership in the first place.

It becomes a problem when members are repeatedly dealing with the same issue. It’s important to make sure faulty or broken equipment gets handled as quickly as possible as it can take a decent amount of time before the issue gets resolved or replaced. 

3. Poor Communication

Effective and smooth communication is essential for a successful fitness business. For example, a customer tells you they want to cancel their membership, but it’s not filed properly, and you continue to take monthly payments.

Ineffective communication can result in time consuming issues and frustration that needs to be resolved. It’s important to have steps in place to deliver effective communication. If something slips through and there is an error, make sure you solve the problem. Use every mistake as a lesson so that you can update your communication strategy and make sure it doesn’t happen again. 

4. Lack of Attention

If a member came to you a few months ago with a problem and still hasn’t received a solution or any confirmation, this can cause even more of a problem. A lack of attention and feeling like you’re not being heard can anger an already upset customer. Being ignored and not given the attention they deserve leads to negative reviews, bad referrals, and a poor reputation.

As an owner/ manager, it’s important to keep track of this information so that you can follow up and solve the issue. If they feel like their problem doesn’t matter and you’re not dealing with it, why would they stick around? In the long-term, an upset customer could push away several potential leads.

5. Unprofessional Staff

A lack of professionalism reflects poorly on your gym and could affect your future membership numbers. Make it clear to your staff that you always expect professionalism and good customer service. For your front desk staff, this includes greeting guests politely as soon as they enter the facility and promptly responding to their questions and concerns. As for trainers or coaches, they should be encouraging and enthusiastic but not overly harsh or intense when working with your members.

How to Handle Gym Member Complaints

As mentioned above, member complaints are never easy to deal with. However, if managed properly and effectively can maintain a successful business for many years to come. Here are some ways to effectively approach and handle a member complaint.

1. Empathize and understand

It’s important to actively listen to the member’s concerns and try to understand their frustration. Stay calm and don’t let anger or emotion get out of control as that obviously won’t help the situation. Sometimes, the member just wants their thoughts to be heard, and giving them the chance to speak their mind will help them feel better especially knowing that you are listening to them.  

2. Keep Calm/ Focus on the Solution

This may not be easy and take some practice. However, it’s vital to not get defensive and work to keep your emotions in line. Focus on a clear plan on how you intend to solve the problem. Continue to stay calm and personable with the member.

Your facial expression and body language should also match your calm tone and conversation. Remain approachable but show that you’re really listening to their complaint and taking it seriously. You should hopefully have a clear idea of how you can solve the issue. If not, it’s worth asking the customer what you can do to make it right.

3. Take ownership

If it is an internal mistake or issue, take responsibility and genuinely apologize. You may completely disagree with the point they are trying to make, and if so, try to find out where they are coming from politely. Avoid being confrontational as this may anger them even further.

The complaints experience should be just as high-quality as the other services you offer. Start discussing ways to solve the issues and work to find a solution. Continuing to not take ownership can only lead to anger and frustration while also hurting your overall reputation.

4. Record the complaint and Follow Up

You should have a system in place to record complaints. With a complaints system, you shouldn’t lose track of any upset members and will know when to follow up with each person. Even after solving a problem and rectifying the situation, it’s a good idea to check up with your customer via email, phone call, or social media messaging to ensure the issue is fixed.

There should be a clear complaints procedure for members. Your complaints procedure allows you to swiftly deal with complaints, investigate them thoroughly and fairly, and provide an effective solution.

Conclusion

To improve member retention, you need happy customers. You create loyal members by providing a great service in a clean and exciting environment. By taking steps to tackle complaints before they arise, you can meet customer expectations. Despite doing all that you can, complaints will pop up. The best thing you can do is stay calm, understand, and listen to your customer complaints. Work diligently to find a solution that works for them and deal with complaints before they have a chance to spiral out of control.