An Exceptional Experience

The Mt. Madonna YMCA, a branch of YMCA Silicon Valley, like many other facilities, strives to achieve one thing: an exceptional member experience.

They create this experience by ensuring their instructors create a welcoming experience both inside and outside their fitness classes. “They [fitness instructors] provide a culture of friendship and comradery in each class,” said Eryka Temores, the administrative director for the Mt. Madonna YMCA. “Instructors also provide outside activities for the members to get together. Such as a walking club, ’Moms and Mimosas’, and YMCA community events.”

Since their space is smaller than a typical studio, the Mt. Madonna YMCA instructors have had to use out-of-the-box ideas to adapt their classes and equipment to meet the needs of each member. Temores said this has resulted in modified classes and training techniques, and has also allowed for an individual approach while still serving a full class.

Another way to cultivate a great member experience is by giving them an outlet to voice their suggestions and concerns. The Mt. Madonna YMCA does so by having a comments and questions box available at the studio in which members can drop their comments and/or questions.

“In addition to that, we have begun to use a system called Listen360,” Temores explained. “This system periodically sends surveys to random members throughout the year to get feedback. This allows us to continuously get constructive feedback and allows us to continue to offer enhancements within our studio.”

Focusing on member experience has allowed the Mt. Madonna YMCA’s studio to become a special space for members. “It has not only served group exercise classes, but also has served as a women’s community hub,” said Temores. “With recent events in the Gilroy community, we saw women come together at our studio to share coffee and just appreciate each other’s company. It provided a space for healing for our members and further proved that we are indeed #GilroyStrong.”

Overall, Temores believes in order to better serve their members, they need to continuously ask members what improvements they are wanting to see. “This not only keeps us consistently in contact with members, but it also shows that we, as an organization, are trying to better serve them and their specific needs,” she said.