Photo by Sabel Blanco from Pexels
I recently shared with you a colleague’s bad experience with Planet Fitness. This week’s post is another BAD customer service experience with his local gym.
Real world story:
Although I’ve been having BAD attitude issues with the staff at my local gym, I decided to stay on track with my fitness goals and not allow the staff to discourage me from reaching my objectives to better health. In fact, I started taking one-on-one training sessions with the gym’s only trainer. My sessions have been progressing nicely, and I am seeing great health results. My trainer is patient, inspirational and knowledgeable. But recently, he’s been out ill on two separate occasions. And on either occasion, no one texted or called me to say that my session was cancelled because of his absence. And since the gym has one trainer only, it would have been nice to see a sign stating that all classes and one-on-one sessions were cancelled for the day. The second time my trainer was out ill, I waited 15 minutes in the “classes meet here” area in the lobby. And yet, no staff member even bothered to tell me that the trainer was not available that day. I had to stop a staffer who was walking by to ask about the trainer. And even worse, I wasn’t given the option to re-schedule. Nothing. And with the gym having more than 10 classes and sessions scheduled for the day, I know that I wasn’t alone in feeling upset about not being called in advance or having a sign in the lobby, so we wouldn’t have to wait and wait for a class that wasn’t going to take place.
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Inform customers. When you can’t keep an appointment, for any reason, always contact your customers in advance of their arrival, so they know ahead of time that an appointment has been cancelled. Most customers won’t be upset about the cancellation, but they will be irritated if they’ve had to wait and wait and are then told of a cancellation.
- Offer an alternative. Don’t wait for a customer to ask for a rescheduled appointment. Always offer customers the opportunity to reschedule while you have their attention at the time. Don’t assume they will simply call you sometime later to reschedule. They may just go elsewhere.
- Show that you care. Always show empathy when a customer has been cancelled on. Don’t ever take the attitude that “It’s not my fault” and then just walk away. Show sincere empathy and apologize.
Remember: Most customer dissatisfaction is the result of unmet expectations. Nothing is more irritating to a customer than not being notified of a cancelled appointment. Respect your customers by always ensuring that you call or text when a cancellation is necessary. When possible, always do so well in advance of the appointment time. A happy customer is an informed customer, most of the time.
How do YOU handle having to cancel appointments, thus still ensuring a great customer experience?