Management consultant, Peter Burwash, discovered the power of good service at a small gas station in Hawaii nearly twenty years ago. "When I was a tourist in Honolulu in 1970, I went to a gas station and they asked me my name," recalls Burwash, president of Peter Burwash International, a management and consulting firm based in The Woodlands, Texas. "To this day, no one else has ever asked me my name at the gas station. When I came back two days later, they still remembered my name. Today I live on the island about sixty days a year, and I have spent $19,000 at that gas station. I have never been to any other gas station in Hawaii. Customer loyalty is an incredibly powerful thing, and all it took was for those people to give me — a stranger — a sense of identity."

That's the difference between a gas station and a service station. It's also the difference between a normal facility and a service-oriented facility. There are hundreds of places where people can go for a workout or a game of golf. But, how many of those places will not only remember their members' names, but make them feel truly welcome? Probably not enough! Those that do enjoy the rewards of a loyal membership, which also serves as an extremely effective sales force. Facilities that don't, says Burwash, won't last a tenth as long as the Hawaiian service station. "In addition to the tremendous parity of equipment and facilities these days, community residents are also becoming less tolerant of bad service," he observes. "Realistically, there is no way facilities that don't deliver service can survive. There will always be someone else down the road who will want your clients' business and work to keep them."

The key to good service, as Burwash's example illustrates, is to go beyond expectations. It's a mind set that begins with the business philosophy of the owner and eventually takes root in every aspect of the operation, from facility design to budget priorities to staff meetings.

"Facility operators can't simply train service in. It starts with a personal value and a passion," says Rita Fritz, president of Chicago-based Corporate Systems and Images, a customer service consulting company that has worked with a number of facilities, corporations and hospitals. "They have to see it as an initial management issue, not a training one. The facility has to start with clear expectations about phone manners, dress codes, setting first impressions. Employees must see these expectations manifested in management's attitudes and actions. Once it's there, it can be instilled in employees as policy." An employee must know what is expected of him or her from day one.

"Nothing pleases people more than a responding phone call that acknowledges their complaint or suggestion. It shows that your facility is willing to respond to their problems, not just communicate with them when things are going well. . . ."

Defining Service in a Facility

In some facilities, the service attitude is present the instant you walk into the facility. You sense immediately that everyone understands the facility exists to serve the residents, not to gratify management's ego or to satisfy the board of directors. Any person entering a facility should be approached by a staff member within fifteen seconds. Such a standard can be established as policy.

"The customer is first" attitude must be made clear to all employees when they start working at the facility. Treating the customer as royalty is crucial to the facility's success. An attitude of real service develops when the customer is placed at a higher, not at a lower level than the employee.

Essentially, delivering good service is

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Beyond The Basics (Continued) ————————————————

also a matter of pride. Pride in the facility, fellow employees, management and pride in the community. Once the pride is there, peer pressure to provide high levels of service becomes stronger; the person who isn't providing it becomes conspicuous. "Pride means service becomes the ultimate priority. If you don't serve, you lose participants. If you lose participants you can't support the upkeep of the facility, and you lose pride. It is a dangerous cycle," says Andrew Adriance, manager of the Polo Club in Boca Rotan, Florida.

Offering customers the opportunity to air their suggestions and complaints is an invaluable service. A feedback system is crucial; following up on the feedback system is even more crucial. Try contacting people who have made suggestions and complaints within forty-eight hours as a priority. If your facility's drop-box at the front desk gets about fifteen suggestions or complaints a week, that's good! Most of these problems can be handled right away, such as questions about hours of programs. Even if the questions cannot be answered immediately, the members should be called within forty-eight hours and told that the problem will be resolved shortly. Nothing pleases people more than a responding phone call that acknowledges their complaints or suggestions. It shows that your facility is willing to respond to their problems, not just communicate with them when things are going well. It also indicates their comments are not being ignored and makes them feel a part of the operation.

Service From The Top

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to attain high-end service. It is the natural result of a service mind-culture, which requires time and devotion to build. A logical first step is developing a mission statement which reflects senior management's service philosophy. The mission statement should read something like this:

We are committed to:

1. An obsession for cleanliness.
   
2. Enthusiastic (sincere) hospitality.
   
3. Hospitality and integrity.
   
4. Flexibility (in handling resident and guest requests).
   
5. Enthusiasm for serving others.

A mission statement should close with something like, "Let there be no mistake about it — we are service professionals! Every action we take and every judgment we make is with the welfare of our community, residents and guests in mind first." If service isn't addressed in the club's business philosophy, chances are it won't be addressed in any great detail in the facility, notes Jim Riscigno from Dallas-based Club Corporation of America. "If service is not a priority of the people at the top, it will never be a part of the philosophy as it goes through the ranks."

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Once the mission statement is articulated, it needs to be instilled in the employees. "Facility leaders have to perceive the employee as their most important asset," notes Burwash. "The reason most facilities fail is because owners, presidents, and general managers think they are the most important person in the facility. They create a huge communication gap, which eventually results in employees' resentment and lack of service efforts toward both management and the residents."

"The boss should get off his platform of having to be pleased. The real purpose of the boss is to serve the employee, and the purpose of the employee is to serve the customer. When that happens, the bottom line automatically takes care of itself. And the head of the facility is automatically rewarded," Burwash adds.

The key to serving employees is to make them feel valued and respected, just as members should be made to feel. Management's job is to support the employee. If this isn't happening, the organization is going nowhere. An example of a way to do this is to have management participate on the front line. During an employee social, while employees eat, drink and compete in various contests, the manager of the facility should work the front desk. The opportunity for the staff to see the manager working the front desk sends a signal to them that management is not afraid to do what they do. It also makes staff more appreciative of management.

". . . people are willing to pay more for the luxury of feeling valued. Quality and service are remembered long after the price is forgotten."

Similarly, employees need to be brought into the decision making process. When staff members help make decisions and formulate policies, they are more likely to abide by them. People are more productive when they have a stake in what's going on. Giving employees such things as personnel manuals and eliciting their feedback proves to be invaluable to management.

The front line staff are generally closer to daily operations than are management or board members. Management needs to learn to trust the judgment of front line workers. If we have confidence enough to hire them as our employees, we need to maintain the faith that they will provide us with the information we need to operate a quality facility. For example, if a remodeling project is to be completed, it is important to consult persons, such as maintenance staff, to help review plans and discuss the logistics of plumbing and machinery items. Before any decision is made on the operation or remodeling, it is important to take the maintenance person's viewpoint to find out what the effect this change would have on their operation.

"When staff members help make decisions and formulate policies, they are more likely to abide by them. People are more productive when they have a stake in what's going on."

Reaping The Rewards

Facilities that have created a successful service-oriented culture have found their investments of time and energy yield great financial rewards. Most notably, people are willing to pay more for the luxury of feeling valued. Quality and service are remembered long after the price is forgotten. At the Homewood-Flossmoor Racquet & Fitness Club, a formal survey revealed that 72% of the membership considered the speed of service and the atmosphere the staff created as the most important aspects of the Club. Value for the money was rated third, supporting the idea that members want service first — and they will pay for it! Services have become such a high priority in recent years, industry experts believe people would opt to join a smaller or more modest facility if they liked the way they were treated better. Facilities will always have their problems, but if your agency has good service, it increases your likelihood for success.

Once people are emotionally "bonded" to a facility, a curious snowball effect begins to take place. When you provide good service, you win the support of the members. Then they are apt to be more understanding if something goes wrong. If they aren't receiving proper service, they are more likely to complain about everything. At the Homewood-Flossmoor Club, complaints averaged about fifteen per week three years ago. Recently, with a new emphasis on service, complaints are down to three per week.

This snowball effect also applies to servicing employees. Staff members who are treated well by management tend to enjoy their work, which results in lower turnover rates. In turn, customers are happy because they continue seeing familiar faces at their facility. This type of bonding can't happen if the staff is constantly turning over.

When people who use your facility are happy, everyone wins. The staff wins because a satisfied individual tends to treat employees better than a dissatisfied one. The facility ultimately wins because user satisfaction translates into increased usage, more referrals, and an overall boost in revenues. You can't separate service from the bottom line!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark McKinnon is the Manager of the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Racquet & Fitness Club in Homewood, Illinois. He has been with the Park District for nine years.

Portions of this article were reprinted with permission from Club Industry Magazine, July, 1989 issue, written by Carol Bialkowski.