The Brave, The Blind and The Blunt Truth

It takes courage to be mystery shopped. Are you a courageous gym owner?

Many owners and operators would rather not know. They would prefer to assume their staff are doing great, their systems are perfect and their members are happy. But assumptions do not build strong businesses, accountability does. And nothing shines a brighter light on the truth than a professional mystery shop.

Let Me Tell You A Real Story

Before I work with new clients, I like to do my own due diligence. I like to get a feel for the experience that our mystery shoppers will get when this business becomes a client. So, I mystery shopped a prospective client, a well-known fitness club company, who had expressed interest in working with us to assess their operations, sales process and customer service for prospects.

I walked through the front doors expecting to be welcomed, engaged and shown around. After all, this was a brand that prided itself on community, energy and culture.

Instead, I got something very different.

Sitting at a coffee table in the front reception area was a man. He looked like a member enjoying his morning break, but I could feel him watching me as I stood at the reception desk for a full 5 minutes without being noticed by any team member.

No smile. No greeting. No warmth.

Eventually, he stood up, looked directly at me (still no smile), and asked, “Can I help you?” Not in a friendly tone, it was more in a blunt almost irritated one.

I replied that I was looking to join and was hoping to have a tour. He turned around, walked off and called someone else to come speak with me.

That was the first impression. That was the “welcome.”

I detailed every moment of my walk in tour in a comprehensive, constructive and actionable report. My goal was to show this prospective client the depth of our reporting and that our reports would help them see the gaps, fix what wasn’t working and ultimately build a better member experience. And I must add here that there was plenty of absolute positive moments during this tour as well!

However – I never heard from them again.

No reply. No “thanks for the insight.” No “we’ll be in touch.” Just silence despite my follow up.

And Then I Found Out the Truth

Weeks later, I learned that the man who stared me down, the one who made me feel like an interruption in his day wasn’t a member at all.

He was one of the owners.

Let that sink in.

The person responsible for the club’s success, for the brand, for the culture and for driving growth… was the exact person turning people away at the door without even realising it.

That moment explained everything.

Here is the real issue: That club didn’t ignore me because the feedback was unfair. They ignored me because the feedback hit too close to home.

When you run a business and especially a people business like fitness your blind spots become your bottlenecks.

This Isn’t for Everyone – But It Should Be

Mystery shopping isn’t about catching people out. It is not about shaming teams or embarrassing managers.

It is about clarity.

It is about discovering where your culture breaks down and fixing it before it costs you members, referrals or reputation.

Some of the best operators I have worked with love being mystery shopped. Why?

Because they know that feedback (even the uncomfortable kind) is a competitive advantage.

They want to know what’s really going on.

They want to make it better.

And most importantly, they want to lead and not just assume everything is fine.

You don’t rise to the level of your branding.

You fall to the level of your standards.

Book A Call with Lisa to discuss Mystery Shopping for your fitness business.