People use lockers in the belief that storing their possessions restricts access by unauthorized parties. Fitness center thefts focus on a handful of common items: jewelry (including watches), keys, and cell phones. Oftentimes, patrons lay their belongings nearby while they exercise. They then forget about them. The whole reason people go to fitness clubs is to get away from the stress in their daily lives, not add to it. At a basic level, lockers offer front-line protection to prevent loss of valuables.
Fitness centers are an especially targeted business due to great variations in security measures. Even with all the warnings, most health clubs do not use video surveillance to record entering patrons, and they certainly don’t use video surveillance in the locker rooms, for obvious reasons, which makes locker rooms mostly unsupervised. Further, facilities have been slow to mandate photo membership cards, and some do not require guests or day-use patrons to supply photo IDs. One promising trend relates to installation of small, secure valuables “express” lockers placed in proximity to exercise facilities where members can store keys, wallets, and cell phones. These specialty lockers are small and stylish and can be located outside the main locker room area. Not only do they help to decrease locker room traffic and create more privacy for those changing in the locker room itself, but they are convenient.
Fitness facilities rank at the top of dishonest peoples’ hit lists because that’s where the people are, and human nature dictates that many assume ”out of sight, out of reach” and many members eschew security measures by thinking, “It will never happen to me.” So, while most fitness centers do install some sort of locker system, the trick lies in placing them prominently, and convincing patrons to use them properly. To that end, opting for expanded security – whether proprietary keys; coin- or token-operated systems, or newly introduced preinstalled set-your-own combination locks – is prudent for health clubs. Security lockers communicate to patrons that they are expected to lock-up their belongings to prevent theft from occurring, and the random-choice aspect of security lockers assures that thieves can’t “scout-out” a specific locker for trends. Simply put, prevention counts.
Jonathan Ruttenberg is the Director of Marketing of American Locker Security Systems, Inc. He can be contacted at 1.800.828.9118, or by email at jruttenberg@aol.com.
