Facilities - Supplies - People

Table of Contents

• Rod Heckelman: The Impact of Your Reception Desk  

• Chris Hagman: Liftoff for Wellness 2.5!

Rod Heckelman: The Impact of Your Reception Desk  

We operate daily with clients who feel that the facility is more than a business—it's their second home.

By Rod Heckelman

It’s been a long day at work, and you are looking forward to a night out enjoying a good evening with friends. You enter the restaurant, and the host greets you as if they had known you forever. They ask how you’re doing and guide you to your reserved table to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. That small gesture has set the tone for the rest of the evening. This is just the type of welcoming that every well-run facility should practice. That first impression your Reception Desk provides your members and their guests will likely set the tone for the rest of their experience during that visit. 

To create this atmosphere, it all starts by hiring and training the right people to work at your Reception Desk. First, don’t let yourself think that training will ever overcome personality. In this day and age, where technology has impacted the development of a person’s social skills, it is increasingly more difficult to find people with outgoing personalities who enjoy interacting with others. 

Too often, clubs feel that the Reception Desk staff is at the low end of the pay spectrum; this should not be the case. These are the staff who are on the front line and set the tone for how your facility is perceived and how your members initiate their usage of your facility.

Some facilities will look for a person to oversee the Reception Staff who has strong organizational skills. This may not be the best choice. Friendliness and quality social skills are contagious. You want that leader to both set the example and help create an atmosphere where staff are comfortable and enjoying their work.  

Start by looking for three major personality traits. First, they are the type of person who naturally will greet others first. When they come upon another person, they are the first to say hello, welcome, or how are you. Second, they make eye contact. Lastly, they’re happy people. To augment this last point, it’s a manager’s job to create an environment that is pleasurable to work in. Keep the coverage and the schedule set up so that it does not produce stress or a sense of urgency. 

Too often, the Reception Desk staff is directed toward their security awareness or their efficiency in checking in members and guests. Although this topic is important, avoid allowing this approach to create a very sterile, automatic welcome. When members join a club, they want to feel that the facility is part of their life and that belonging to that facility does not make them a customer but a welcomed member that you truly enjoy seeing and having as a part of the daily routine. If you like, you can rename your Reception Desk to the Welcome Center, or whatever name you might feel sends the right message. 

Many clubs equip their Reception Desks with proper software that provides personal information, including photo IDs. That’s very helpful, but the most important information that the Reception Desk person needs to know is their first name. You can’t expect the Reception Desk staff to remember every member’s first name, but you can make that a challenge for them, and of course, provide that information to the staff via your software as the member checks in. 

One easy way to help the Reception Desk person familiarize themselves with the members is to ask them to learn why the member is entering the club and how they intend to use the club. Some members may find this intrusive, but casual conversation and keen awareness will help the staff to gradually learn these facts. Why is this important? Remember that one of the main reasons people join clubs is to meet others. For whatever reason, often they feel that their social environment needs to be expanded, and clubs offer that venue. A friendly Reception Desk staff that can address the incoming member by first name and with a smile will go a long way in helping fill those members’ needs.

Besides your Reception Desk staff, your physical entry itself will also have a large impact on the members entering the club. Turnstiles and gates may be a necessary evil for some clubs, but the message here is not a welcoming one. If you can, design the Reception Desk to be placed directly in the path of the entering members. This design will also make it easier for the Reception Desk staff to have direct eye contact with those entering the facility. One of the mistakes made in the design of the Reception Desk is putting the monitor for your entry computer in a location that forces the Reception Desk person to look down instead of forward. The monitor should be an aide and not an obstruction. Here’s also a little inside trick: find a florist or do it yourself, and put an eye-grabbing arrangement at the Reception Desk, hopefully, it will also create a pleasant fragrance, so that the combination of those two characteristics will slow a member down as they check in, and at the same time enjoy that ambiance you created. 

Another function that is helpful in the design of the Reception Desk is to have a system where large groups of guests can be checked in at a second terminal, so that there is no bottleneck at the entry. Often, the guest will need to fill out a guest card, which can take some time. Keeping the traffic flow is very important at facilities because of the nature of the functions and activities that take place. Members are trying to get to a class on time, or to their court time, or just simply because they have limited time to work out. 

This brings up one of the stickier issues that take place at many facilities. Because the nature of a facility is to be comfortable and create a real sense of belonging with the members, getting the members to check in can be a task. A long-time member will not likely understand that they need to check in every time they enter the club. They often develop a sense of privilege and entitlement. They enter the club and breeze right by the Reception Desk as if they own the place and are offended if anyone should ask them to check in. Many of these people can be dealt with by adding a card-swiping system to the Reception Desk. You can make it even easier for them by assigning cards that can be attached to the key chain or equipment. The cards have a barcode that automatically registers the member. For the few that are still difficult to deal with, do your best to learn their first names and try to address them as soon as they enter. On the flip side, your staff doesn’t need to tolerate a person who is abusive or threatening. A member who refuses to respond to the Reception Desk’s greeting or will not check in is not a member who appreciates the privacy of the club, and their membership may very well need to be terminated. A manager should not hesitate to have this person’s membership revoked. 

Because guests, like members, are trying to make their way to a court time or class, they are often in a hurry. No matter how many people you staff at your Reception Desk, or how efficient your software is, it will occasionally be difficult for you to process a guest as fast as needed. Sometimes it’s best just to provide a sign-in card that the guest can fill out as they enter the club. 

The Reception Desk will also be point of sale for many items, including memberships. Do you want a prospective member standing at the Reception Desk when they are inquiring about or purchasing a membership? It would be okay to sell tennis balls or gift certificates, but issues concerning memberships are best handled away from the Reception Desk, preferably in a private area where the potential member feels comfortable asking detailed questions and the staff person can give them their undivided attention. 

The ultimate design and location for a Front Desk would also include two attributes. The first would be easy access to the lost and found area, and the second would be easy access to the laundry or towel area. Having this easy access allows the Reception Desk person to stay within the vicinity of the front desk and, in some operations, provides an opportunity to cut back on staff when the club is not as busy. 

Finally, the Reception Desk is a point of information. It is the location where anyone can go and get answers. Make sure that all answers are readily available and easy to acquire via brochures or promotional material. Also, always make sure that all information is updated, especially if there are sudden changes or new activities that need explanation. Many facilities are installing monitors that can also provide current updated information as well as promote activities and programs. 

If you can, engineer as many of the switches that run the lights, fans, and many other mechanical functions of the club to be able to operate from the Reception Desk. The more you can make the Reception Desk the master point of operations, the more efficiently the entire club will run. 

Chris Hagman: Liftoff for Wellness 2.5!

This monthly column will provide holistic wellness information and forward trends to serve racquets sports and hospitality.

As Editor, my goal is to gather excellent information from Health and Wellness and Racquets Professionals then share this with others. Wellness 2.5 will not sell particular products or services. The column will promote contact information of people who have provided beneficial health and wellness content. For example, you can write about a new treatment for longevity, then readers can contact you about specifics and ways to get involved.

What is wellness? My view is knowing about multi dimensions of being - body, mind, spirit, social, emotional and occupational then striving to make progress in these areas. Some people add environmental and financial dimensions. Instead of reacting, wellness is being proactive toward optimal health and to be your best self. A wheel is a great way to describe wellness. The hub is your core values. These are your personal values and priorities and why your wellness can be much different than others. Spokes are dimensions of well-being. Each area of wellness is huge, so at best a person may know much about just a few dimensions. This presents the challenge – we need others to assist our wellness; and the opportunity – with knowledge in a few dimensions we can be a resource to serve others. What experts do you need to support you and who will you serve? A short list of providers could be Psychologists, Osteopaths, Pastors, Nutritionists, Therapists and Coaches. Based on your core values, there can be other providers. The rim is where you move and contact your environment and others. How will you steer your wellness to impact yourself and others? What does your wellness wheel look like? Is your current well-being aligned with your goals? These are some key questions to consider.

Many clubs have fitness centers and/or spas then say they have a wellness program. These amenities serve the crucial physical dimension, yet this is merely a spoke on the overall wheel. There are huge opportunities for Racquets Professionals and the club industry in mindful and occupational wellness. For example, Pros can teach the power of positive affirmations or self-talk and integrate cognitive exercises with physical activities. Also, Directors can customize a holistic wellness program for their staff then offer this to other departments. Besides improving productivity, an internal wellness program serves to retain and attract top talent.

I invite anyone who is connected to the health and wellness industry to send me your ideas and articles for review and promotion. Please limit content to approximately 1,000 words. Thank you and be well!