Go Tell It To Someone Who Cares.

In prior blog posts I have shared examples of great customer service and positive experiences encountered with various companies and individuals.  I have used these to highlight practices which hopefully will help others become the best providers of customer satisfaction possible.

While positive customer experiences are always uplifting, those encounters that are less than satisfactory often contain the most pointed lessons.  Regrettably, earlier this summer my wife had such an encounter with her local gym, +LA Fitness in Stone Mountain, GA.

Let me hasten to add that my wife and daughter have enjoyed LA Fitness, especially given their recent renovations and club expansion.  They have nice workout facilities, which makes encountering a negative customer experience at one of their locations even more painful than it otherwise might be.

Shortly after my son returned home from college for summer break, my wife spoke with a LA Fitness representative concerning swimming pool access he would need for training purposes.   We did not want to sign-up for a full gym membership since he would only be home for approximately 6 weeks.  The representative was very helpful and advised we could pay for a temporary membership that allowed access for 30 days and that if he needed a few additional days it should not present a problem, especially since he was in a U.S. military academy.  This was a great solution to our need and we happily proceeded with the temporary membership.  It was time to dive in!

My son swam at the LA Fitness - Stone Mountain facility several times and enjoyed trouble-free workouts;  however, on his last visit prior to leaving for school he encountered a problem.  Upon entering the facility, he presented his access card to the desk attendant who swiped it in their reader.  It flashed expired to their front desk attendant.  We were just beyond the initial 30 day period paid for.

OK, no sweat.  Our "bad" and lesson learned. We should not have assumed anything based upon the earlier conversation with the LA Fitness rep; we should have re-confirmed and ensured any pro-rated fee that may be required past the 30 day period was paid. This would not have been an issue and we would have gladly paid any additional amount required.

Unfortunately, a customer service issue did arise due to the manner in which the attendant handled the matter.  This was compounded by a subsequent lack of follow-up communications.  The negative aspect of our customer experience would have been averted had either situation been handled better. Based upon communications that occurred during this experience, I share the following as lessons and/or reminders for those of us who seek to drive positive customer interactions.

Lesson #1: Regardless of the circumstances, communications with customers must show that you care.

Once our son was stopped by the LA Fitness desk attendant from proceeding to the pool, he did what many kids would do in this situation, he whipped out his cell phone and called Mom for assistance in resolving the matter.

While still at the facility, our son explained what occurred.  He was concerned due to the interaction that had occurred with the attendant thus far.  It may have been unintentional, but the demeanor and initial communication between the front desk attendant and our son appeared to be "accusatory"; as if he knew the card was expired and was trying to access the facility anyway.  In actuality, my son was not aware.  My wife had handled all arrangements for the temporary membership.

My wife asked to speak with the attendant.  She wanted to explain her earlier conversation with the LA Fitness rep concerning the temporary membership in hopes of quickly resolving the issue.  While I listened to my wife's end of the conversation, it quickly became apparent that she was not making any progress. The attendant repeatedly stated that all he could do was go by what he saw on his screen.  He stated he could not see who processed the temporary membership, nor could he confirm any special allowance for access past the 30 days paid.  All he could see was an expired temporary membership.

His position given the lack of information at hand was understandable; however, what troubled us most was the tone and blunt communications of the attendant.  It was pretty apparent he was frustrated, agitated and did not have a genuine interest in helping us.  Eventually, my wife asked to speak with the manager, but was informed the manager was out and would return later. My wife requested a return call and was told the manager would be given the message.

To the desk attendant's credit, after the call he did allow my son access to the pool so he could complete his training swim.  We were appreciative of this but still troubled that our communications was not handled in a more professional, customer-friendly manner.

Organizations should remember that the tapestry of any customer experience is woven, in large part, by both the verbal and non-verbal communications that accompany the experience.  This could be communication, not only with the paying party, but with anyone who is aligned with the customer making the ultimate buying decision.

Lesson #2:  If you don't follow-up, customers assume you don't care.  

My wife never received a follow-up call from the facility manager as expected.  We cannot be sure if the manager received the message from the desk attendant or if some other factor caused the return call not to be placed. Regardless, we can only assume that some aspect of the LA Fitness - Stone Mountain operation let us down.  It failed to exhibit the level of customer care and responsiveness I believe they wish to portray.


Lesson #3:  One bad encounter can tarnish a lot of goodwill. Make each customer touch-point the best it can be.

My wife and daughter continue to enjoy and workout at other LA Fitness locations in the metro area, but the Stone Mountain location is no longer on the list. While this experience did not cast a negative shadow across the entire LA Fitness brand from our perspective, it remains a part of our consciousness when we discuss gyms in our area and their respective levels of customer service.  Whether there is any longer term impact on our family's future choices for gym membership remains to be seen.

Everyone responsible for touching the customer and driving customer satisfaction in any operation must remember that success comes in large part from truly listening to and effectively communicating with your customers.

Thanks for reading.  Please share your comments and viewpoints below, especially if you have a different perspective.

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