In March we’ll be getting behind some of the best front desks in our industry. But, for now, I’ve been thinking about front desk people a lot — especially right when the club opens.
I’ve started hitting the gym at around 6:15 a.m. every morning. Not that it’s a big deal, tons of people do it every day, and have been for many years. However, it’s new to me, hard for me, but has given me a whole new perspective on the gym.
The gym is a much different place when it first opens. It’s a little less crowded and you seem to get a more dedicated clientele. I’ve also noticed the great importance of the front desk staff.
During the early morning hours there is typically only one person attending the front desk — there probably isn’t a need for more considering there isn’t a lot of traffic. However, it made me think about the hiring process for that particular person. The person must be a morning person — at least a little — and they must be able to get to the club at an early hour.
I don’t think I could actually be that person, considering I’m pretty much dragging my feet as I walk through the front doors of the gym each morning. I’m not a morning person at all, but I think early workouts make for a great start to the day.
I believe it’s imperative that your opening front desk person is extremely friendly — all front desk employees need to be friendly, but I believe it is much more important in the morning. The last thing I want in the morning is someone yawning and reaching for my key tag. I want someone to greet me with a “good morning” or “how are you doing” and “have a good workout.” It seems silly, but in the morning I need a little positive interaction.
Throughout my workout, I also notice that the flood of people coming in isn’t existent and the front desk position can become slightly boring. Now, I know we’ve discussed possibly giving your employees the ability to post on your Facebook, and I know it has received mixed reviews, but I believe this one person could be able to help out your social media.
With the small amount of members coming through the door, they could easily update Facebook pages while they check in members or update Twitter with schedule changes. Allow them to get local weather reports and post them to your page first thing in the morning — if it’s snowing, give members the ability to check into your club’s fan page and find out. Does your club have a mobile app? You should, and once you get it, if you didn’t already have one, you should let your morning front desk person be in charge of “Push Notifications” during the morning hours. This is another easy way to convey schedule changes or weather problems to members as they walk out the front door or roll over in bed and contemplate waking up or sleeping for another hour. You could also explain to members how to turn on or off the “Push Notification” ability. Once you do, try using the notification as an alarm from the club to the member to get them up in the morning.
These are just a few ways to help make early morning workouts a little easier and more enjoyable. With the right early morning front desk attendant you’ll be able to start your members’ mornings off right.
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com
