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From time to time, I like to convey my “real life” experiences with brands not involved in the real estate or mortgage industry.  It’s my hope there are real business lessons to be learned there, which can be applied to our own space.

 

At the least, it’s my hope the stories make for mildly entertaining blogging!

 

Way too often, in my own role as American consumer, I run into a brand or a service that has, apparently, decided that good customer service is somehow not a critical part of the equation for customer retention  (Or in some cases, the brand has decided that customer retention, apparently, is unimportant.)  It becomes painfully apparent to me after spending inordinate amounts of time waiting to reach a call center ill-prepared to solve my problems.  It becomes apparent when I can’t get a problem resolved at all, in spite of multiple efforts.

 

And in some cases, it’s just painfully apparent from each and every interaction with the brand.   

 

In those cases, I like to do my part to provide feedback.  I want to be sure that, if the decision to skimp on training and customer-focused resources was a numbers-based decision at the top, I can be a part of the argument FOR better service.  So I do my best to add to the data.  And don’t worry.  Although some of my complaints can be a bit acerbic, I also make a concerted effort to provide positive feedback for those who get it right.

 

With that, allow me to share with you a real message I’ve recently sent to my “big-box” gym.  (I hear the snickering out there.  Why?  You don’t think it takes effort to keep up this physique?  And I heard THAT, too!)

 

I’ll be honest.  I run, but I hate it.  It’s like taking out the garbage:  you’re glad you did it, but there’s no enjoyment in doing it. I don’t get any “runner’s high.”  I don’t feel proud afterward.  I just sweat and hurt. If you want to read about positive running experiences, have a look at Beth Trecasa’s excellent blog.  She loves running.  I don’t.  I just do it to try to extend my short time on this earth, while accomodating my eastern European/Midwestern appetite.

 

So you can imagine how much harder it makes my life to belong to a gym that carries itself more like a dungeon than a fitness center.  For obvious reasons, I’ve redacted the name of the gym.  Read on!

 

 

I tend to run outside when the weather permits, but living in Cleveland, that gives me a good 4 or 5 months indoors.  Unfortunately, by the end of running 4 or 5 months at the (NAME OF GYM HAS BEEN REDACTED), I’m generally questioning why I’m a member in the first place.

 

Although I understand the difficulty of maintaining a fitness facility in this economy, each trip to this particular gym gives me a hint as to why this company has been in bankruptcy twice in the past three years.  The facility itself is subpar–there are often leaks from the roof which leave wet areas on the track, for example.  And the locker rooms are anything but clean.

 

However, I wouldn’t be writing if that were the only issue.  It’s not.  What has finally prompted me to write after a few years of membership is the utter lack of customer service I experience each and every time I enter the building.

 

To be perfectly blunt, I’m routinely made to feel as if I’m interrupting the busy day of your employees just by providing my ID.  In three or four years of membership, I can count on ONE HAND the number of times anyone at the front desk has even said “hello.”  The typical scene involves 3, 4 or even 5 employees hanging around behind the entrance kiosk or counter, having a fine conversation.  I truly hate to interrupt them.  And I’m usually made to feel as if I am, indeed, little more to them than an interruption.

 

But the crowning glory of this unbelievable customer service experience came today.  One of your employees was approached by me, my wife and our 3.5 year-old son.  We were inquiring how old a member needs to be to use the track.  Now, we’re realistic–we don’t expect any gym to allow a toddler to use the track.  This was more of a playful inquiry for our toddler’s sake.  I’ll add that the gym was NOT busy, so we were NOT really diverting this woman.  I will also add that she has routinely, in our experience, been the least friendly of all of your employees.

 

So when my wife and toddler looked up at this woman and asked the aforementioned question, we were given a scornful response.  “Oh no.  You have to be at least 13.”  The look was something between disdain and contempt.  No “sorry.”  No smile.  Nothing remotely friendly about it.  You’d have thought we’d asked if we could sacrifice our child right there on the counter by her response.

 

 

To be honest, I wasn’t even surprised by the response or the demeanor.  I almost wonder if your employees are trained to express the perfect blend of contempt and oblivion when it comes to the members.  It would appear this is the case in your (LOCATION REDACTED) facility.

 

My family has a membership to this gym solely because we have few options in our hometown.  But it’s clear that your employees either aren’t happy people or don’t like their jobs.  At the very least, it appears they don’t like your customers. 

 

And so, when my membership expires shortly, I’ll be doing business elsewhere.  I work pretty hard to earn my money.  I think I’m finished giving it to a business that doesn’t exhibit the slightest sense of appreciation for that.

 

No response is necessary…and to be honest, none is expected.

 

Lessons gleaned?

 

1. Brian can be a little vindictive when he gets bad customer service?  Perhaps…
2. Saving money on customer service has a downside as well—and it’s a real, tangible, measurable liability.
3. Customer service requires consistency.  There’s no one single event that really made me feel a need to write to my gym.  But the lengthy and repeated drumbeat of bad service finally led this consumer to act.
4. Some brands rely on consumer apathy when making resource allocation decisions.  Don’t be one of those brands.  Not everyone is apathetic, and some will even go out of their way to spread the bad word.  That’s anti-marketing or negative branding.  Never a good thing.

 

Hope there’s something useful in here for you!  I’ll be holding my breath, waiting for a response from my Big-Box brand.  In the meantime, it never hurts to double-check your own brand’s service.  Are you doing everything you can to keep your services up?