DAVID GUTHER: In this episode we discuss why clients would not want to give a 5-star Google review. We look at the reasons that we have encountered in our studio at Pilates Can. We also look at a hypothetical case that hasn't happened yet but could happen in anybody's studio. And Claire actually lets on a little secret that she's been keeping look out for that one.
The other advantage for the clients, and we're just talking about clients now in terms of how these Google reviews benefit them is that if they don't want to give a 5-star Google review, they give us feedback. So, our process allows the client to give us feedback. That could be about the technical side of doing it, but it could also be about what’s bothering them regarding our services.
Perhaps there's a misunderstanding, a miscommunication, or they haven't seen something that we thought they'd seen. They're not in a position to really appreciate the service the way we think they are or that they should be. At least we find out about it then. Our plan is to do this with all of our clientele over time. The process will slow down as we get over 100, but we want to do this with all our clientele, and this will be a big advantage. Any thoughts on that side of things?
CLAIRE GUNTHER: As in why some people don't do the review?
DAVID: Yeah. they'll give us feedback that they don't want to do the review. That's part of our process because we're encouraging them to give us a review, and they're going to come back to us. We haven't had this yet. Or have we had this?
CLAIRE: Well, the reasons, it's very few that haven't. When a client hasn't done it, life just gets in the way, very busy. For example, I spoke to somebody today and their husband has just had a shoulder reconstruction, so it's a timing thing. Virtually everybody would really love to help us and to be involved. Occasionally, some clients and even when I've chatted to them a week or so later, the technological hurdle, just a bit too much. And they said, 'Oh, when my daughter comes over' or 'when the grandson.' I think, sometimes people just don't want to set up an account and have a new Identity out there.
Occasionally, it's been a client that, due to their work, they don't have any profile in social media or anything out there. They like to keep in incognito really. That's a very small percentage. Pleasantly, haven't had anyone say, 'I really don't want to do it.' In fact, virtually everybody has tried to actually do one, and occasionally the technological side, or they just decide. A lot of our clients just aren't used to putting out reviews, having that out there, often they're just not comfortable with that.
TARA SMITH: The way that we've set up our process gives them like a few different ways to say that they don't want to do that feedback. We have a few options where they can elect to ask the admin team, people like myself, to get in contact with them and help them. We have had a few people who've answered that way and who I've had, chats with on getting them across the line. We also have another similar option where they prefer to do that in person with someone at the studio. Claire, I know you've also been talking to a few people, but we haven't had anyone who said, 'No, I don't want to do this because I don't think that you provide a 5-star service,' which I think was one of the advantages that you were talking about, David. If that was the case, we could identify ways that we can actually improve our service and turn them around that they do actually receive a 5-star service and then are willing to give us a 5-star review because they're getting a 5-star service.
DAVID: Exactly. Let's go through that hypothetical case in detail, just in case it ever does come along. For many of the listeners out there who are running a studio, you know that occasionally there are misunderstandings or a lack of resources for the studio to meet the needs of the client, and perhaps the expectations of the client are different from what the studio can fulfill.
Usually, we've dealt with that at beginning of the sales process, where we're setting the expectation and allowing the client to not proceed and get some of their money back if they've already started with a private session. They can get their second private session money back that they've already paid because we don't really want them proceeding with our services unless they're on board.
It's a collaborative process. It's a partnership between our instructors, the business, and the clients to help them build that excellent Pilates exercise habit. That's something that we try to deal with right up front, but even that being the case, expectations might still come through.
So, in that hypothetical case where we did get a response saying someone didn't want to give this review, we do have a series of processes. We contact the clients and communicate with them about whatever that misunderstanding or issue is with our business to make sure that we understand the issue.
It's no use just talking about it with them. We need to really understand from their point of view what's gone on or hasn't gone on so that we can then bring up our side of the story, as well as to what's happened and why. That's a two-way communication process. By explaining we see each other's point of view. If we've made a mistake, then we'll certainly apologize.
That apology comes with a number of other processes, which is we'll let them know what we can do about it and when we can do that to rectify the situation. If we can't actually meet that expectation we'll let them know that too.
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We're looking after hundreds of clients within the studio, and we need to prioritize them and our staff. One person having expectations well outside what we can satisfy means we sometimes have to admit we can't meet that expectation.
That doesn't happen very often, and it happens less and less these days as we've got better and better at finding the right clients, and that's what Google review process is about as well. The people who need our services and can best get the most out of them will see the kind of services that we provide, and their expectations will match with what we do provide and what we've provided to other clients that are giving those reviews.
There might be times when we need to apologize, but we fix the issue because it's usually just a communication issue, and we let the client know when we've done that, so they know what's going on.
As you say, Tara, they can be happy, and often that's an even better client when you have come back from a situation where there is a problem and you've gone to the trouble of fixing that problem for them and perhaps for other clients at the same time. We perhaps didn't know it was an issue or we were directing resources elsewhere.
It's always a balancing act with how you use resources. I know, Claire, you'd like to have more equipment in the studio. You'd like to have more spine-fitters. Is that the case?
CLAIRE: I haven't got any in there yet. I've got one at home.
DAVID: Don't tell the clients. There might be an expectation that there'll be spine-fitters in there.
CLAIRE: Yeah, just have to probably look at that in July I think, to do with a couple in there. I haven't shared mine yet.
DAVID: Yes, Claire has been guarding that little secret for quite a while, and we’re going to leave the episode there for the moment. Next week, we're going to look at how does the client benefit from the instructor and the business also benefiting. So, that will be very interesting, longer episode where we go into that synergistic relationship between the client, the instructor, and the business, all benefiting. Everybody wins.
That's what happens when we have 5-star Google reviews and a process for that.
So, we look forward to that episode next week. And until then, Stay awesome.
