According to Ann L’Orange, the co-owner of Windsor Health Club in Windsor, Colo., every single person who joins their facility is considered family. In a town of 19,000 people, 800 of which are members of the club, this feeling extends outside the club’s walls.
“Every time my husband and I go into the grocery store, we jokingly make a bet as to how many members we’ll see inside,” said Ann. “We visit sick members and go to see their bands. It’s a small community, which enables us to do that.”
Ann and her husband, Eric L’Orange, opened Windsor Health Club five years ago. Ann said there are multiple things she and her husband do to create a tight-knit atmosphere, which starts the second a prospect walks in the door. “We recognized that each person has a different need,” said Ann. “We take the time to listen and ask, ‘what’s your goal?’”
In addition to personalized attention, Windsor Health Club hosts multiple events that Ann said facilitate the club’s community, including a member-appreciation breakfast, which is held the first Monday of every month. “At first, we only got 10 people to attend,” said Ann. “Now we get 60 almost every month.”
In addition to she and Eric being in the club almost every day, Ann explained that being flexible with members contributes to the “Cheers-like” atmosphere. “We’ve had members come in and explain they lost their job, so they’d like to quit their membership,” explained Ann. “We tell them not to do that, because they need exercise to alleviate stress. Instead, we allow them to freeze their membership and work out at the club for free. We tell them to resume paying once they’ve found another job.”
Lastly, Ann said making people comfortable is the club’s number-one goal. “We want people of all ages, shapes and sizes to feel like they belong here,” said Ann. “At the end of the day, we’re the ones that are being blessed by our members, not the other way around.”
By Rachel Zabonick
