RETENTION
equipment as a hassle, compared to 47 per cent of 16- to 24-year-old males who state their usual reason for a visit to their club is for a workout in the gym. Increased cancellations are also seen for frequently not being able to park and no towels being available. Three hassles in Figure 3 (cancelled
class, broken equipment and unclean facilities) appear at first glance to suggest that the more they happen and the more annoying they are, the less people cancel. However, a bit of further investigation reveals that this is because these three hassles are really only reported by long-standing members who attend their clubs regularly – in other words, members at the lowest risk of cancelling compared to the newer, low-attending, high-risk members who don’t report these hassles. Some statistical adjustment of these factors results in there being very little difference in cancellation rates according to how often these hassles occur. Figure 4 shows the cancellation
rate according to whether members say a particular uplift never happens to them or if it happens frequently and is enjoyable. Four key uplifts are associated with the lowest cancellation rates: receiving encouragement from fitness staff, conversation with staff, reception staff communication and meeting friends are all associated with much lower cancellation rates compared to members who say these uplifts never happen to them. Other uplifts shown in Figure 4 are not significantly associated with reduced cancellation rates.
Fig 4 Cancellation rate by uplift frequency and enjoyment
Learning a new piece of equipment Updating an exercise programme Attending a new class
Completing a challenging workout Meeting friends
Fitness staff speaking to you Achieving fitness goals
Receptions staff speaking to you Encouragement from fitness staff
Cancellations per 1,000 members per month 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Frequent and enjoyable Never
25 21
21 22
25 21
21 21
13 23
16 24
21 21
11 28
16 24
Not being able to park can be a strong contributing factor to cancellation rates
Predictors of cancellation There is some overlap between the detrimental effect of some hassles and the beneficial effect of some uplifts. In figures 3 and 4, reception and fitness staff communication are important. If members report being frequently ignored by staff, they cancel more frequently; if they report frequently being spoken to, they cancel less. Members who report one hassle or
uplift are likely to also report others; these members may also differ according to other important factors that affect membership retention, such as age, length of membership and visit frequency. It’s therefore necessary to do some additional statistical work to try and identify which of the hassles and uplifts are the
Fig 5 Interaction between hassle of queuing for equipment and fitness staff communication on the risk of cancelling
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
21 32 16 24 11 25
strongest predictors of membership cancellations. When we take account of all hassles and uplifts, as well as age, length of membership and visit frequency, four member experiences are significant predictors of the risk of cancelling. Members who report that staff
frequently fail to speak to them, and who find this annoying, are 50 per cent more likely to have cancelled in the seven months after completion of the questionnaire compared to members who say fitness staff never ignore them. Members who frequently have
to queue for equipment and find it annoying are 28 per cent more likely to cancel compared to members who never have to queue. Members who frequently can’t find
a parking space at their club and find it annoying are 33 per cent more likely to cancel than those who can always park. Members who report they are
frequently spoken to by reception staff, irrespective of whether they say it’s enjoyable, are 50 per cent less likely to cancel than members who say they are never spoken to by reception staff. It’s unlikely that most clubs are in
Never Yes, not annoying
Frequent and annoying
Queuing for equipment hassle
Regular fitness staff interaction No fitness staff interaction
a position to suddenly buy lots of new equipment or build more parking spaces – doing so would be a longer- term strategic decision. So what could be done in the short term to offset the increased cancellation rate caused by customers annoyed by lack of parking or the need to queue for equipment? Of course, all clubs must ensure their facilities and schedules are designed to maximise the space and equipment they do have. However, Figure 5 shows the interaction between fitness staff
44 Read Health Club Management online at
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Cancellations per 1,000 members per month
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