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Health Club Billing Is About More Than The Bottom-Line

June 25, 2012

It’s an industry wide concern. Non-payment of member dues is something nearly every health club, large or small, faces at some time. Beyond impacting your club’s bottom-line, delinquencies are also probably the biggest obstacle to a harmonious relationship with club members.

No matter what size the club, the delicate challenge of maintaining a positive connection with your members while trying to collect overdue payments is one that needs careful attention. It takes a blend of business and personal perspectives to manage potentially uncomfortable situations. It is also the reason why so many clubs turn to professional health club billing services for help.

Here are 3 ways the right health club billing services can help collect delinquent member dues, while maintaining smooth relations with your members:

17 Templates to Streamline Communication With Your Members in 2024

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  1. Serving As The Objective Go-Between – It’s never comfortable talking about overdue bills. Nearly any conversation related to unpaid dues will veer into emotional territory. This is especially true if you operate a smaller club that has built one-on-one relationships with many of its members. A fully trained health club billing services team allows you to remove yourself from the conversation in favor of a professional that will approach the situation objectively and fairly.
  2. Fully Assessing The Situation – One delinquency may simply be because a long-time member inadvertently neglected to provide you with new billing information. One delinquent member may be having difficulty paying their bills – but would be happy to work with your club on a payment plan. And another member may simply be disgruntled and refusing to pay what they owe. Approaching each delinquency above with the same air of blunt authority may have the unintended result of alienating two valuable members – while only producing a small chance of recovering dues from a truly delinquent member.In the first list item above, I stress fairly. The right health club billing team understands that all delinquencies are unique – and approaching each situation with the same approach will do little to fully alleviate your situation.By taking the time to learn more about the reasons for late payments – and treating your members like people, rather than just numbers contributing to a bottom-line – a health club billing provider can help you learn more about your members, ensuring you are able to offer more customized membership options that can reduce delinquencies in the first place.
  3. Freeing Your Time – There are enough daily details to keep you busy. Removing the billing process from your plate gives you more time to improve both your club’s operations and overall member experiences.

Ensuring that your members have a positive encounter every time they interact with your health club – even in the delicate situation of a delinquency – is essential for both collecting dues and enjoying a consistent member retention rate.

To learn more about the health club billing services our team provides, request a demo from ABC Financial.