Biometrics: The panacea against fraud or an invasion on privacy?
TOM WITHERS
HEAD OF SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, GLADSTONE
members being conscientious enough to sign in properly, and the public will find ways to take advantage. Validation at reception, a visible token such as a wristband or staff spot checks need to be in place – but even then, if someone doesn’t want to pay, they will find a way around these measures.
I
f clubs don’t have a physical control for customers, they’re reliant on
Showing the customer’s image on
large screens by the turnstile when they swipe their card or enter their PIN helps stop people sharing a membership. Near fi eld communication (NFC)
within mobile phones has great potential for leisure: everyone likes to have their phone on them and, unlike a membership card or PIN, they’re unlikely to give it to someone else to use. Phones will also interact with apps such as the one we’re currently creating, which can be used to automatically check members into or around a building and can be used for checking
into classes, allowing instructors to ensure that everyone attending is valid. Apps have the added advantage of
capturing data automatically – clubs can fi nd out about member’s habits without them signing in or doing anything. Unfortunately not all phones have this
technology yet, so it will be a few years before this can become widespread. Getting it right can cost money, but
the returns are real. I know a club that invested £20,000 in turnstiles, which paid back within six months by trapping unpaid usage. They even found one regular user who had not paid in over eight years.
“ONE CUB INVESTED £20, ,00 IN TURNSTI IES, WHI I H PAI ID BCK IN SI IX MONHS BY SHEZ NAMOOYA
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, EZ RUNNER
H
ealth club operators have the unenviable task of protecting their
business, but doing so in a way that doesn’t seem too draconian. But it’s very important. As one of our clients said: “If they can cheat you, they will!” Turnstiles are undoubtedly effective, but a number of our clients say they give
October 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
the wrong impression. Also, unless other checks are in place, people can still pass their card to a friend behind them. We have clients who don’t agree with gate access, but instead ask their members to swipe their card at reception. When a member swipes their card
using our system, a photo appears on the access screen. This gives clubs great control in terms of managing peak/off- peak entry, expired member entries, bad debtor entries and anyone borrowing someone else’s membership.
I’ve been to many sites where
members exploit the admin time it takes for the health club to manage debtors, costing them thousands of pounds a month. Our direct debit system can automatically place messages at reception for bad debtors, or prevent entry where there are gates, and automatically send out rejection emails. To prevent people from entering fake data – fake addresses, bank account details and so on – we also offer validation of member details.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 59
ONE CLLUB INVESTED £200000 IN TURNSTLLES, WHCCH PAD BAACK IN SX MONTTHS BY TRAPPING UNPAID USAGE. ONE REGULAR USER HAD NOT PAID IN OVER EIGHT YEARS”
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