A Conversation with Dean Brown,
Partner at The Cambridge Group of Clubs
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After spending four years playing for the University of Western Ontario’s squash team and studying Kinesiology to become a chiropractor, Dean Brown decided he wanted to keep playing squash for a few more years and to pay the bills while playing. So, in 1995 Dean Brown joined The Adelaide Club – which with Club Sportif MAA, Toronto Athletic Club and Cambridge Club comprise the Cambridge Group of Clubs – as a squash professional.
After three years, he became squash pro at the prestigious Cambridge Club. Then in 2000, while Cambridge Group partners Clive Caldwell and Bill MacDonnell focussed on adding Club Sportif MAA and The Fitness Institute chain to the company, Brown was asked to add club General Manager to his roles as squash pro and membership consultant. Five years later he moved back to The Adelaide as its GM with the task of reviving the club’s decreasing membership numbers within four years. He did it in one and is now a partner in The Cambridge Group of Clubs. |
Three of the four Cambridge Clubs are located in downtown Toronto, one of the top financial centres in the world. What is the most challenging issue dealing with such an urban membership?
I think probably the biggest challenge, which also makes it the most exciting for us, is that our members are very particular. They’re all high-end professionals, and they’re used to getting great service on their vacations and in restaurants. So it’s our challenge to make sure we fulfill and exceed their expectations in the fitness world, every day. That’s really what we try to do on a day-to-day basis in all of our clubs, we almost operate as a high-end hotel would in making sure that members are taken care of in the most personal way possible.
Is that the most challenging thing you notice…the difference between the demographics in the clubs?
We do and I think that’s something that Clive did years ago when he built this company. Although they all operate with the same service standards, they are each very unique. The Cambridge Club has its own sort of vibe and feel because it’s an all male club. The Toronto Athletic Club caters to the upper level professional, and The Adelaide Club has a much younger, energetic feel to it ; almost a boutique hotel sort of environment with lots of social functions and activities. The clubs capture all the different types of individuals working downtown; we’ve got a club for everyone.
Was this by design, or did you adapt as the company expanded?
I think both. The Cambridge Club has been a men’s club forever, and we play up on that and make sure we run the place that way. For the Toronto Athletic Club, we concentrate on the service and state of the art facilities and equipment (we call it “the club above” referring to its 36th floor location). The Adelaide Club is more of a high energy type of place with music in common areas and lots of group excercise programming. All 3 of our Toronto Clubs have always had their own unique brand and we continue to run them that way. They all cater to a certain type of individual, no matter what age they happen to be. There are lots of older executives that prefer the Adelaide Club and lots of younger professionals at the Cambridge Club (which is Bill Macdonell came up with the idea of a young executive membership). The different club designs and feel, and the pricing structure allow us to attract a whole range of members at all our clubs. That is definitely by design.
Club Sportif MAA is in a province with predominantly French speaking Canadians. What are some of the differences in approach to prospects in the Toronto clubs versus the Montreal club?
Montreal and Toronto are really culturally different cities so we have to take that into consideration. We really try to operate all of the clubs under one umbrella and make sure we are delivering the same level of service at each location. The challenge with Montreal is it’s not positioned in as highly a populated area as the Toronto clubs are, so growing that membership is sometimes a little more challenging, but day-to-day we run them exactly the same way, including how we propect for members. Our member referral programs account for about 70% of our new members in all our clubs.
How does the fitness industry today compare to when you began with the company in 1995?
There are more clubs and more competition today. Fitness has become a much bigger interest for people. We’ve cut down the number of squash courts in each club significantly to make room for fitness. I think that equipment has gotten better. Clubs everywhere have really has good equipment now, even the YMCAs and the mom and pop shops down the street. I think your service has to be absolutely world class to enable you to compete on a high level.
What are the big differences in your approach to your clientele today?
I think that people now have even higher expectations and we try to exceed those expectations and meet member demands in everything we do. We have Pilates, personal training, and we still have squash. As new exercise options arise, we’ve been able to change the clubs’ offerings, so it’s not so much a room full of treadmills and bikes. Everyone appreciates that we’re constantly adapting and providing the services people are looking for. But at the end of the day, it has always been about member service and it always will be.
What are you working on now?
We’re in a fortunate position in that the Toronto Athletic Club and the Cambridge Club are both full, so we’re only accepting new members as current members resign. At The Adelaide Club and the MAA, we’re continuing to grow these memberships and continually improve our service there. We’ve spent over $5 million in the last five years on the clubs. It costs a lot of money to stay in the top end of the market but we are committed to being there.
Is anything changing the way you operate now or the way you plan to operate in the future?
The whole personal training world has grown tremendously across the industry and in our clubs as well. It’s a big business for us, so we’re continually growing it. I also think that the whole dynamic conditioning aspect is growing as well; working out used to be all machines, but there’s a lot more dynamic training happening now with equipment like TRX and kettlebells. We’re really trying to stay ahead of the curve by offering the most up to date equipment and programs.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing fitness clubs in Canada (or the world) today?
I think it’s the economic conditions. The Adelaide Club experienced a small setback during the recession; we had lots of corporate members who lost their jobs and weren’t able to keep their memberships. But we survived remarkably well. We’ve also got lots of competitors in many industries vying for people’s time. We haven’t had people leave us the way that that perhaps they have in other industries. I think that’s a testament to the good job we’ve done. People are willing to give up other things before they give up their club memberships. Our challenge is to continue to offer the member an experience that’s hard to walk away from.
Are members who join today more knowledgeable about health and fitness?
Absolutely. People are definitely more conscious about their health, fitness and nutrition. I think the media has a big influence and the amount of information people can get at their finger tips on exercises and nutrition plans has helped. I think generally that our members are much more health conscious than they used to be.
What is your advice for the up and coming professionals that may be considering opening or running a club in our industry?
It’s a very rewarding lifestyle but, whether you’re entering the health business the financial field or anything else, you have to be really passionate and love what you do. You have to have a love for the business in your gut. You’ve got to have that passion for serving people because what we do is we make sure our members are happy. If you have difficulty doing that, it’s probably not the best industry to be in.
What is the most important thing you have learned from the many fitness pioneers with whom you’ve worked?
Lorna Caldwell, who runs our hugely successful Toronto Athletic Club, always talks about “making decisions in favour of our members.” I think we all really live by this in this company. Even when we think members don’t have a case, we bend over backwards to make sure they’re happy. And I think that’s what’s really made us successful.
What do you want to do next?
I would like to continue to make these clubs grander and to grow the business and acquire new clubs. Instead of four clubs, I’d love to have eight around the country in the next 10 years. I know Clive feels the same way and is working hard at finding opportunities that make sense for us.
What’s your best customer service story?
We had a group of guys who were going on a trip to the Masters golf event. There was an issue with their flight, and they couldn’t get there. These guys had all spent money, they had tickets and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They were crushed. I happened to have a buddy who was a pilot, and within a few hours we were able to get them on a jet, and make it happen for them. I was able to get a jet for a couple of guys with an hour’s notice, which is probably my best customer service moment.
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