Forgotten my gym card, again. I go to reception, where they have implemented a three-strikes system because reception is too busy to deal with missing cards. After three strikes you are charged £15. My guess, after a few weeks of watching, is that reception is about 20% busy at peak times. It is never that busy.
My two kids and I hit three strikes pretty quickly. It is only £15, but it is not good to punish customers for being human, especially when there are many ways to solve the entry problem.
What would good customer focus look like here?
And where did the paper towels go? After 60 minutes on a spin bike I am a little damp. More like I just fell in a lake. The gym introduced a no-paper-towel policy because it is better for the environment. True, but they kept the plastic wipes, which are far worse and leave the equipment wet.
I am sure the policy is meant to encourage people to bring a towel. Maybe it is just my gym, but nobody wants to bring one and take it home covered in Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, E. coli, ringworm, cold and flu viruses and all the other common skin bacteria. Your washing machine will not kill this stuff. And sweaty gym equipment is nasty. The policy led to dirty equipment.
According to research, a significant proportion of customers switch products after just one negative experience. Many studies put it between 50% and 70% of customers leaving a brand after a single bad interaction, depending on the severity of the issue and the industry.
As soon as they tried to charge me for the strike, I cancelled my membership and joined a gym with QR-code entry through an app. There are plenty of gyms around here just as good or better. I have a choice, just as I do with every other product or service.
Key points to remember
- Most customers switch after one bad experience. Many studies show a substantial number change products after a single poor experience of customer service or product quality.
- Multiple bad experiences compound. The likelihood of switching rises sharply.
- Perception matters. Even when a company tries to put a single bad experience right, the customer's perception of the interaction can still send them to a competitor.
Product ownership exists to balance value creation for customers, users and the company. Product Owners value experiments, and a focused vision and strategy. In this example the company's vision and strategy were not clear. Make more money, save reception time and reduce cost had become confused with protecting the environment. If you are not clear on the strategy, how can you measure whether it is succeeding?