Tuesday 8th September 2009 15.00 – 20.00

Present: Lisa McCann (Customer Service), Rachel Townley (Bookings), Paul Child (Catering), Dawn Spink (Fitness), Nick Lee (Marketing & Sales), Jayne Naylor (Programming & Development).

View Positive comments from the forum

THE VALLEY

• Could we have loyalty scheme for the Gym? Could the current offers or a discounted price be introduced for members that have been a member for a while? Value your customers! DS

• There are lots of people shaving in the changing rooms & even brushing their teeth in shower & spitting it back out in the shower! DS

• Stairmaster - Could we have another one? DS

• Better music? DS

• I’m not sure how well the staff are able to advice people who are active/fit already and are training for particular sports. They seem very good with beginners and general fitness. DS

• Too hot in the gym. DS

EISS RESPONSE

• We are always looking at ways to improve membership at the Valley. Members can bring a friend for free and as loyalty to members, we have organized social events. We always listen to customer s and act on feedback, with this in mind there is now a new powerful hairdryer in the members changing room, new weights are on order for the gym and we are currently in the process of installing a fast track desk in the reception area for members to swipe in.

• Regen checks are carried out in this area every 15 minutes by fitness staff, anyone caught behaving inappropriately will be asked to leave.

• At this time, we have no space to house another stairmaster, members are encouraged to book a personal session with a fitness instructor to show them a alternative exercise.

• We try to purchase new music for the spa and gym area every 4 months.

• All staff are qualified to a high standard in the gym to YMCA level 2 or 3. All staff are on the Reps register of exercise professionals and can offer advice to beginners right up to sports specific.

• The temperature in the gym is regulated 18 degrees.

RECEPTION

• Some staff more knowledgeable than others. LM

• Give them (the receptionists) some warm cloths for the winter because they look so cold in the winter when a cold wind blows in the doors. LM

• Often too few staff on & given no assistance during busy periods. Gym members often get stuck in long queues of people with lengthy enquiries & all we want is a band. LM

• Some staff don’t know what’s going on in EISS and you get the impression they don’t care. LM

EISS RESPONSE

• Regular training is carried out with receptionists.

• The problem is the main doors are next to the reception desk, the way reception is designed makes it difficult to contain heat in the winter. The receptionists are provided with heaters fleeces.

• A new Valley member’s desk has been put next to the main reception. The sales team will able to swipe Valley customers in and give the sales teams a customer facing base to sell from.

SPORTS AREAS

• I think some new equipment for field events would be good. New pole volts for example! BW

• A lot of the equipment needs replacing. BW

• Pole volt beds in urgent need of care and attention. High bar taken away – No longer available? BW

• Please look at equipment – pole volt beds need refurbishment. BW

• Please can we have the high bars back? BW

• The temperature within the athletics hall needs to be moderating to suite the athlete. BW

• At the last forum we requested the pole volt bed be replaced because of its poor quality, it needs to be replaced. BW

• Athletics equipment isn’t always put away. BW

• Sometimes too hot? BW

• Temperature could be improved it is too cold in winter and too warm in summer. BW

EISS RESPONSE

• A full audit of Athletics equipment has been carried out and Sport England have agreed to provide capital money to replace or renew equipment as appropriate.

OPERATIONS

• When asking some sports staff to get equipment out generally they have to be asked repeatedly for it to be done. This does not apply to all staff. BW

EISS RESPONSE

• This issue will be raised at the next sports team meeting.

EVENTS

• Gets too hot for events. BW

EISS RESPONSE

• As part of the enhancement project we are looking at the possibility of having air conditioning.

PROGRAMMING

• The facility needs to be more decisive when dealing with athletics (clubs and coaches using the areas and lanes at busy times). Not acceptable to “sit on the fence”. JN

• In the past, it has been difficult to book a slot for badminton due to existing bookings. JN

EISS RESPONSE

• This is something we are currently looking at and there really is no easy answer. One option would be to look at set areas and time slots for hire but when suggested to clubs they did not want to go down this road as they could not utilize all areas.

• These bookings are guaranteed regular block bookings which any customer can put a request in. We do try and leave some space for casual bookings but if a customer comes along with a regular weekly booking we will take this.

CATERING

• Only had chips or a sandwich. PC

• A lot of people saying they didn’t know we have a café and that it is never open. PC

• I have sandwiches on several occasions and they are just not very good.

EISS RESPONSE

• When the café is open we always supply a wide range of choices for all customers.

• The café has signage displayed whenever it is open, this is mainly when there are events on as we don’t open on a daily basis. Also there is directional signage always up in the building.

• I will speak to our Chef, but on a whole we have many compliments about our buffet sandwiches.

OTHER COMMENTS

• Disabled toilet should have keys to stop the able-bodied using them. PH

• Can we have swimming pool? PH

• Disabled toilets maybe have key? PH

• EISS management needs to take responsibility for the track usage and the management of coaches. PH

EISS RESPONSE

• We have looked into the RADAR key system for these but at this time the view is that with the number of families with young children using the venue they provide a dual function. We will monitor this.

• I would love to be able to say yes but unfortunately at this time this is not something we can provide. SIV do have 5 other pools available at PF (x2), Concord, HLC

• We are aware that historically but more so in recent months a number of issues need addressing. These specific incidents have been dealt with; we have also met with a number of the athletics users with suggestions taken on board to and the creation of an action plan which with the support of the people using the track will see improvement. A priority for focus for us at this time.

MARKETING

• The venue could be used more frequently by the general public. Generate more custom & advertise the facility & sports more!

EISS RESPONSE

• We do have marketing campaigns to target the general public, raise awareness of our facilities and advertise our community sports programme. This is one of the key focus points of this financial years marketing plan.

• If you have used our venue and enjoyed the facilities why not tell a friend or family member and encourage them to come with you on your next visit.

All comments are addressed and filtered to all staff and management.(x2)

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