Reviewing Front Desk Efficiency
OPERATIONS UPDATE :
2023 Issue 3 | GearedUp
Planet Fitness ® has long prided itself on the ability of the system to be a disrupter in the fitness operations space . When Planet Fitness was founded , most fitness facilities operated with many of the same practices . Most gym concepts thought of their people teams as departments . A typical gym would have a sales team , a front desk team , a fitness trainer team and a facility cleaning team . That model was proven to work , but it did have some drawbacks . The labor cost would often need to be offset by charging higher enrollment and monthly fees , or by selling fitness training packages at premium prices .
I may be oversimplifying the principles there , but the leadership at Planet Fitness took a different approach to the cost of labor . Having most of your team performing the same tasks as multiple departments gave Planet Fitness a competitive edge in reducing the monthly charges to the members . To make this new model work , guest interactions needed to be streamlined . While the technology available to a club today did not yet exist , there was room to improve the department model of operations .
The first wave of innovation came with the idea of putting member engagement at a premium . Planet Fitness recognized that a sincere greeting and acknowledgement of the member ’ s desire to add fitness to their lives was an accomplishment to be celebrated . Removing the barriers to getting to know a member ’ s name and fitness habits was a step in a positive direction that other fitness concepts had not used on a large scale to that point . This isn ’ t to say that other gyms did not care about their members , but Planet Fitness made sure all team members had access to the members ’ basic information and were encouraged to engage frequently with the guests . Simple , but effective , methods were used .
In those days , a key tag with handwritten numbers on the back encouraged the staff to find shortcuts to entering the member ’ s “ barcode .” The teams would often compete to see who could remember the most member names . The staff would often be looking out the front door as a member came into the facility to let that member know they had already checked them into the club . Such a simple but endearing way to show your members you care about their visit . While we may look on those days as inefficient
compared to our QR code check-in style today , it is important to note that the staff is still finding ways to greet a member efficiently and in a friendly manner .
Today , that may take the form of holding the scanner out to a member or reading the screen to use a member ’ s name if they are a Black Card member from another location . There is a challenge presented to by Brian Cassagio our teams today with our innovation . It can be easy for staff to become complacent , turn the scanner out and be less attentive to the members . The team may feel that if a member can check themselves in effectively , there is less incentive to be front and center , greeting every member with a smile and a hello . Do your teams still follow the 10 / 5 rule when there are fewer teammates needed to run the front desk ? It is easy to fall into the trap of letting technology distract the team from the goal of the system .
A second innovation came in the form of standardizing the way information was downloaded to a member . An info call script and the tour script made it possible for any staff member to be proficient quickly on the “ sales ” side of the business . The emphasis was put on the excitement of becoming part of the gym for a member . The scripts highlighted the community nature of being in a gym and working toward the goals the members chose . The staff did not push an agenda , but rather showed a potential member that they could be comfortable in the environment of Planet Fitness .
The info call was , at that time , one of the most important tools the team had . The staff was the “ actor ” in our commercial before we had commercials . The information was just detailed enough to get the point across , but the real value was the excitement the staff gave off to entice the member to visit for a tour . The club tour was really just emphasizing to the potential member that no matter where their fitness journey started , or why they wanted to start it , Planet Fitness was the place they could add fitness to their lives . While the scripting of the interactions was an improved efficiency of the member service time management , the downside
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