While construction was just beginning on Stone Creek, our management team spent a lot of time perfecting the club’s mission, vision and values. We wanted to create and foster a culture of unsurpassed service and genuine hospitality right from Day 1. Service had to be top-notch to differentiate Stone Creek in a community that was already over-saturated with health clubs.
After many, many hours of tweaking and perfecting, we got that mission statement, vision and values document just right! Even today (8 years later) as I show them to new employees in our orientations, they still ring true. But are those key guiding principles as impactful to our front-line staff — the people we actually rely on to deliver on those promises and values? Probably not. We needed something more down-to-earth, something relatable and easy to remember for millennials, something that cuts through the “fluff” and business-speak. So we translated our company mission, vision and values into a simple and actionable acronym that demonstrates “how to” deliver member service — Stone Creek’s TAKE CARE Principle.
T – Teamwork – Work together within our teams, across departments and at all levels.
A – Attitude – A great attitude is the only option.
K – Keep it Clean – It’s everyone’s job to keep all areas of the club clean at all times.
E – Everyone – New members to veterans, deconditioned members to elite athletes, big spenders to the most frugal, everyone deserves the same great service. Treat others as you would like to be treated!
C – Cordial – Smiling, eye contact, friendly greetings and calling people by name are little things that make a huge difference!
A – Always – Always do everything for the right reasons. If in doubt, err on the side of the customer. The customer always comes first.
R – Right-of-Way – Give members the right-of-way. Step aside in hallways, allow members to move ahead in café lines, give up your spot in a class or on equipment for a member if needed.
E – Extra – In Louisiana we call it “Lagniappe” — the little extra care or effort that you put in to help a member, guest, or fellow employee. That’s what truly sets our team and our club apart!
At Stone Creek, we TAKE CARE of our members, our co-workers, our business and our community.
This is the most important take-away for our new employees, and it really sums up why we’re here and what we do to make a difference. We tell our staff that they may not remember all the details of their orientation a week later, much less months or even years, but if they can remember to simply “Take Care,” then Stone Creek’s service culture is in great hands.
Larry Conner is the President/GM of Stone Creek Club & Spa.
