Customer Service: Did You Just Accidentally Repel a New Client?

Let’s talk fitness, customer service, and all the ways we (unintentionally) make people feel like outsiders.

Here’s the truth no one tells you early enough:

If you work in the fitness industry, you work in customer service.

Yes, you’re also a coach, a programmer, a small business owner, part-time cleaner, and accidental therapist—but at the core of it, you are the welcome committee. You are the vibe-check. You are the reason someone stays… or never comes back.

So let’s get real about the parts that actually make or break that first impression.

1. You Wear More Hats Than You Think

Even as a head coach, how you interact with new people sets the tone. That first message, that first look, that first rep—it matters. You might be feeling calm and casual, but for them? It’s terrifying.

Especially when we default to industry jargon instead of speaking like a human. If someone reaches out and you reply with words like “gen pop,” “posterior chain activation,” or “mesocycles”—you might be impressing yourself, but you’re losing them.

Let’s be honest:

Are you trying to communicate or perform?

Are you selling connection or just flexing credentials?

2. Your Language Might Be Friendly to You… but Alien to Them

We throw around terms like “general population,” but regular people don’t know what that means. When you say, “We help gen pop with movement quality,” you’re basically saying, “We help… people?” It feels distant. Clinical. Like a doctor talking about them, not to them.

Worse still, some coaches have started turning weight loss into a dirty phrase. But guess what? That’s still the #1 reason many people walk through your doors. And if you act like it’s shameful or “not our vibe,” you’re sending a message that their goals don’t belong in your space.

They’re not hearing nuance. They’re hearing, “You’re not allowed to want this here.”

We’re not saying you have to center your whole brand on weight loss. But you do have to meet people where they’re at, not where you wish they were.

3. Stop Getting Triggered by Their Words

Someone might say your gym “looks a bit CrossFit-y.” You might instantly bristle. But they probably don’t know what that even means. They’re not accusing you of anything—they’re trying to find words to describe an experience they don’t have yet.

So take a breath. Don’t get defensive. Don’t get technical. Just listen. Ask what they’re looking for. Translate for them. That’s your job.

4. The Welcome is the Whole Ballgame

Your existing clients are one of your most powerful onboarding tools.

Set the culture of friendliness from the top:

Teach your crew how to greet new people.

Make introductions that show both skill and personality.

(“This is Alice—she started here at 48 and now deadlifts her bodyweight. She also makes dangerously good banana bread.”)

Create a vibe where it’s normal for members to offer help or conversation—especially when someone new looks lost or nervous.

This has to be taught, not assumed. That vibe won’t magically appear. You’ve got to seed it, model it, and reinforce it. Because one awkward class where no one talks to them? That’s all it takes for someone to disappear.

5. Don’t Just Introduce—Include

Nothing’s worse than being introduced at the start of class, then ignored for the next 45 minutes. No one talks to you. The coach disappears. You don’t know where clips or mats are, and you feel like you’ve crashed someone’s high school reunion.

Then—bam—a sales pitch at the end.

That’s not an onboarding strategy. That’s a vibe killer.

You need to embed your sales strategy inside a good experience. Why? Because people will forgive average programming—but they won’t forgive feeling invisible.

6. Experience > Perfection

Here’s the punchline: 95% of clients will choose great experience over technically perfect programming.

If your classes feel inclusive, warm, and exciting—even if your programming is sitting at 70%—you’ll retain more people, grow faster, and attract the kind of clients who stick around.

People notice your:

Music

Energy

Language

Attunement

Tone

And they’ll pay more for an experience that feels good than one that merely looks good on paper.

Bottom line:

If you care about what you’re building, show it in how you welcome.

Your programming matters. But your culture is what keeps them coming back.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

But until then… did you feel (a little) called out? Let me know!