"Insider Speaks"
Bad Health Club Signs - Part II
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Another Bad Health Club Sign
Imagine taking time out of your weekend to visit a health club that you have heard good things about. As you approach the front door to go in, talk to a manager, take a tour and maybe join the club, you see this sign on the door (See Photo Right).
As a potential new member, what are your first thoughts? My first thoughts include:
- 1. What if a parent with two toddlers is following me into the club?
- 2. What if a veteran with an artificial leg is following me into the club?
- 3. What if an older person who parked in a handicap spot and is struggling to get to the door is following me into the club?
- 4. What if I hold the door open for my significant other who is walking into the club with me?
In all four cases, I'm holding the door open, attempted fines be damned. However, I'm also thinking to myself that this might be one of the two or three if not THE worst sign I've seen in 35 years of working out in more health clubs than I can count, and I've seen a lot of bad signs. What could the operator of this club have been thinking when he came up with this policy? Is this operator as big of an a-hole as I'm imagining him to be as I'm holding the door open for whomever is coming in behind me? This sign is so bad that it reduces the chance I will join the club, and it is a horrible first impression of this club I've otherwise heard good things about.
Thankfully, the purpose of this sign is not what it first seems. This club is staffed and open to all members 111 hours a week, and members have the option to pay a bit extra for a premium membership that allows access to the club during the 57 hours each week it is not staffed, which is a sound idea that increases dues revenue without adding payroll expense. Premium members scan in at the front door during unstaffed hours, and the sign is intended to serve as a warning to those premium members not to sneak guests or help non-premium members into the club during the 57 unstaffed hours. The idea behind the sign is sound, but the execution of the idea is laughably bad. The owner of the club, who by all accounts is a decent human, would almost certainly hold the door open during staffed hours for anyone who was following him into the club and would not fine anyone else for doing so.
How we say or write things matters, and my draft rewrite of this sign would be something like:
Mike Manning
Premium Members: Do not help anyone get into the club during non-staffed hours. We will assume they are your guests and charge you a $50 fee per guest.
Is there someone in your company who feels comfortable pointing out bad signs or other obvious operational issues to you? We all have blind spots, and the owner of the club with this sign on the front door owns more than five clubs, thus obviously, cannot spend all day every day in each of his clubs. Getting honest feedback from someone is important, and if you own multiple locations, who is coming up with signs posted inside your clubs? Young managers who are still learning the business can sometimes come up with some interesting signs that might be doing more harm than good attached to your walls.
