Inside the Club: How to Sell a Disgruntled Client

A few weeks ago I was doing a functional routine at a club I attend frequently near our office. I had just finished my second set when an employee approached me and said that I wasn’t allowed to use that particular area.

At this point I was the only person using the area and the club was practically empty. However, in terms of functional space, all other spaces had been taken up. Therefore, I had moved into this space to complete a quick 15-minute workout.

When I began going to this club the area of the space wasn’t roped off, but was open to everyone in the club. Now, the club has brought in a CrossFit-style program and made the area only available to those trainers and their clientele.

Slightly winded, I tried to ask the employee why I couldn’t use the area. He said that it was roped off and I wasn’t allowed. He said I could use the equipment I was using, but I’d have to move it out of the area and use it, just on the other side of the rope.

As I’ve been at Club Solutions I’ve seen some clubs do weird things. I’ve heard stories from members, but never really had problems with any club I’ve attended.

What hurts about this is that the roped off area wasn’t roped off when I started. I used it frequently and some others did as well. Now, the area is strictly for the group training classes, but it sits empty almost all day.

I’m not knocking the business decision to bring in a class to create more revenue for the club. In fact, that’s a great idea! But, I am saying that to take away an area from members and ask them to leave it when it’s not being utilized is strange.

However, I started asking if the price of the membership changed since the available space had changed. Granted, this probably wasn’t the best discussion to have, but it felt like a decent point. This is where I believe I could have easily been sold on a better package.

Currently I’m at a pretty basic package. I use the gym five, sometimes six, days a week. But, I don’t have any extras and I don’t spend any more money in the club other then my basic membership dues. What this employee did was remind me that my membership was minimal compared to what the people that got to use that area were charged. This was repeated to me several times before our conversation ended.

Clearly, I understand that my membership is basic, but the employee could have easily noticed that I enjoyed using that space. He didn’t even take the time to ask if I’d be willing to pay to use the space. Would I want a trainer? Would I pay to use a trainer once a week if I could use the space regularly?

These are questions I waited to hear. I kept asking if my membership price would change because the size of the gym changed, but only heard that my membership was minimal compared to what they received for roping off the space.

This employee missed out on the opportunity to make another sale. He didn’t think outside the box, but simply argued on why someone can’t use that space. If only he had stopped and thought about how he could solve the problem, I might be using the space and paying more, as opposed to spending more time searching for another club.

Tyler Montgomery is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.