The boiler broke, the showers are cold
On Thursday afternoon, the boiler fails. The engineer can come on Monday. The changing rooms will have no hot water all weekend, and you decide to close the pool area and warn members. The manager posts on Instagram and Facebook and puts a sign on the door.
Saturday morning, members who never check social media arrive expecting hot showers. Some were booked into a class that uses the pool area. Your Google listing still says normal hours. On a different weekend, the bank holiday hours are on the website but not on Google or the app, and early members find the doors locked.
One announcement, many places to update
Closures and changed hours need to reach members through the channels they actually use, and need updating everywhere your hours appear.
- Social media posts reach only a share of members.
- Door signs reach members only when they have already arrived.
- Class bookings affected by the change are not cancelled or moved.
- Opening hours on Google, your website and your app are updated separately, if at all.
- Door access schedules are not always adjusted for special hours.
Each place is updated by hand, often by one person, usually in a hurry.
Members also get notices that do not apply to them. A general email about the studio being closed goes to members who never use the studio, and they learn to ignore notices, including the one that matters to them next time.
Wasted journeys and irritated members
Members who travel to a closed gym, or to a class that is not running, are rightly irritated. Early morning and late evening members, who often have the tightest schedules, are hit hardest. Negative reviews often mention exactly this.
Getting it right by hand takes time at the moment the manager is also dealing with the cause of the closure. And special hours that are not set in the door system can leave the gym open when it should be closed, or closed when members expect it open.
Members also judge you on how a problem is handled more than on the problem itself. A boiler failure is forgivable. Finding out about it at the door is what people remember.
One change, every member and listing updated
- The manager enters the change once: what is closed or changed, from when to when, and a short message.
- The system finds affected members: those booked into affected classes or sessions, and those whose usual visits fall in the affected times, from door data.
- Affected members receive a message by text, email or app notification, with their booking cancelled or moved if you choose, and alternatives offered.
- Other members can receive a general notice if you want, so everyone knows.
- Opening hours are updated on your Google Business Profile through its API, on your website and in your app.
- Door access schedules are adjusted for the changed hours, and restored afterwards.
- When the closure ends, affected members get a short note that things are back to normal.
| Change | Who is told | What else updates |
|---|---|---|
| Bank holiday hours | Members who usually visit at those times | Google, website, app, door schedule |
| Studio closed for refurbishment | Members booked into studio classes | Class bookings moved or cancelled |
| Emergency closure | All members, affected bookings first | All listings and door access |
| Pool area closed | Members booked or usually using it | Class timetable |
Members hear before they travel
Members affected by a change hear about it directly, in time, through the channel they use. Bookings are dealt with automatically. Google, your website and your app show the right hours. The door system follows suit.
The manager can spend their time fixing the cause of the closure, rather than updating listings and replying to complaints. And members see a gym that tells them what is going on.
Planned changes become easy to schedule in advance, so bank holiday hours for the whole year can be set up once and go out at the right time without anyone remembering.
Is this your gym?
- Closures are announced on social media and a door sign.
- Members have turned up to a closed gym or cancelled class.
- Google and your website show different hours.
- Special hours are not always set in the door system.