editor’s letter
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Editor
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healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 3
the contract question
The FIA’s LinkedIn group has been alive with debate about the recent High Court judgement, welcomed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that contracts which bind customers to a membership period of more than 12 months are unfair to consumers. It’s not the first time the fitness industry’s had its knuckles rapped by the regulator, and in fact most operators already fall on the right side not only of this latest judgement but also of the OFT’s 2002 ‘Guidance on unfair terms in health and fitness club agreements’. But rather than simply meeting minimum legal requirements, might the time have come to take a more
proactive stance, looking at ways of packaging our agreements to appeal to a broader cross-section of the population – the non-gym goers who are yet to be ‘sold’ on the value of our product? Even for seasoned gym members, you have to ask what it communicates about our faith in our own product when, from the outset, we rely on the negative tactics of long-term obligation for member retention. It’s not necessarily a case of getting rid of
If we don’t believe we can bring about retention without contracts, we need to be asking some fundamental questions about the quality of our product – or at least our delivery of that product
contracts altogether. Yes, the low-cost gyms have done away with them – their sheer affordability doing much to dissuade people from lapsing – and a large chunk of public sector revenue comes from ‘pay as you go’ custom. But for operators who use the guaranteed income of fixed-term memberships to plan annual investment, abandoning contracts altogether would be a very bold move. In any case, part four of the FIA’s Winning the Retention Battle series found that, while prospects saw joining fees as unjustified, sectors such as mobile telephony are turning
annual contracts into an accepted norm. Signing such a contract also motivated initial visit frequency – vital to creating an exercise habit. Arguably then, more operators might actually benefit from introducing contracts – but it must be done cleverly, with more creativity, flexibility and empathy for the consumer. Contracts shouldn’t be seen as a one-way agreement, for example, but as something in which the
operator also has an obligation. When people join a club, they’re buying a desired outcome. If a member fulfils their side of the deal – in terms of attendance and effort, perhaps – why shouldn’t the club be held to fulfilling theirs, with the contract torn up if results aren’t delivered? The fitness industry’s answer to the tried and tested notion of ‘results or your money back’, this would surely be a compelling sales pitch. Operators might also look at how they talk about contracts. Successful weight loss programmes
such as WeightWatchers explain from the outset that results will be slow but steady and sustainable. Could health clubs overcome any contract objections by taking a similarly customer-centric approach, explaining that it will take 12 months for them to really help a new member achieve their goals? Of course, it’s then up to operators to deliver: in the battle to retain members, contracts mustn’t
be allowed to replace good service, an excellent product and the achievement of results. The onus should be on us to prove the value of our offering, not relying on contracts as our only retention tool. If we don’t believe we can bring about retention without contracts, we need to be asking some fundamental questions about the quality of our product – or at least our delivery of that product.
Kate Cracknell, editor
katecracknell@leisuremedia.com
FRONT COVER: WWW.
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM / © WALTER G ARCE
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