Having been open nearly 78 months, we have a reasonable number of ex-members.
Our retention is pretty good for this industry, but people do leave for a variety of reasons and that adds up over the years.
Every month we get a number of ex-members coming back.
Some had to stop for genuine logistical reasons and those circumstances have since changed.
Some tried to do it themselves to save money and weren’t getting the same results so realised it was worth the investment.
Nearly everyone who leaves leaves under good terms.
Most PM me directly first with an explanation and are, often, quite apologetic.
You don’t get that when people leave local Globo Gym.
Occasionally we get people leaving us owing us money.
We ask them a few times to pay their debts.
And we’d be well within our rights to take things further than that.
But that’s not the way we roll.
We recently had a couple of people who’d left owing us money ask to come back.
And I said no.
“You’re not letting me come back?” said one.
“Are you saying I’m banned?” the other.
I wouldn’t see it quite like that personally.
Every month for over four years now we’ve had enough people wanting to do our programme.
There’s only so many places.
I suppose we end up giving out those places out in the following order:
1. Existing members who are staying on from last month (95%+ of each month’s members)
2. Ex-members we know and like who want to come back
3. New people we’ve never met
4. Ex-members who left owing us money
Thankfully we’ve always got enough of 1 to 3 to sell out the programme.
Many of our local competitors may be desperate for any members they can get.
Train anyone with a wallet and a pulse.
We’re not.
I’m sure they’re not “bad people”.
Just they’ve put themselves from category two to four with their actions.
And we’re not a big corporate company.
Just a couple of guys and the coaches we employ looking for some people who want to be in a mutually beneficial relationship where they get to change their lives and bodies and we get to pay our bills, etc.
Part of the reason that there’s such a great atmosphere at RISE is that we look to attract people that we get on with and who then, in turn, get on with each other (check myrise.co.uk/briefing-meeting) if you like the sound of that.
Much love,
Jon ‘Don’t call it a’ Hall and Matt ‘Kid’ Nicholson
