What is part of the customer experience in a Pilates studio?

Everything members experience before, during and after class: communication before the visit, reception and arrival, guidance in class, the goodbye and the follow-up message. The workout itself is one part of it, but far from the only one.

Where do I start if I have little time?

Start with the goodbye and the reminder the day before. Both can be done with a template and a fixed sentence, cost hardly any budget and have an immediate effect on newcomers.

How do I greet lots of members by name?

Look at the participant list in your booking tool before each class and make a point of remembering the newcomers. A short note for the team helps as well.

Does a better customer experience cost a lot of money?

The most important measures are habits, not investments: using names, giving members something to look forward to, sending a message. You only need budget for small extras such as a tea corner.

How do I measure whether the experience is improving?

Track the return rate after trial classes, visits per member and cancellations, and ask briefly after the third visit. What matters is the trend over several weeks.

Pilates Studio Customer Experience: Retention Moments

Two studios, same schedule, similar prices, comparable Reformers – and yet one has a waitlist while the other counts cancellations every month. The difference rarely lies in the workout itself, but in everything around it: how members are informed beforehand, how they arrive and how they leave. In this guide you'll walk through the customer journey of a single Pilates class – from the reminder the day before to the message that evening – and get concrete levers you can pull without a big budget.

Why everything around the class matters so much in a Pilates studio

In a boutique studio, members often come two to three times a week, frequently at the same time, in small groups. There's no anonymity like in a big gym: you're seen – or you're not. The workout itself depends heavily on individual instructors, whom you can only standardise to a degree. Everything around it, however, you can design, regardless of who happens to be teaching.

The so-called peak-end rule fits here. It goes back to research by Daniel Kahneman and colleagues in the early 1990s: people judge an experience mainly by its emotional peak and by how it ends, while the middle and the duration matter less. Applied to your studio, that means whether a class “felt good” is decided largely at arrival and at departure. One caveat: this is the idea transferred to your daily routine, not Pilates-specific evidence – but it still makes a useful priority list.

Moment 1: Before the visit – set clear expectations

The customer experience doesn't start at your studio door, but with the questions every new member asks themselves the day before: What do I need to bring, where do I go, and will I embarrass myself?

The reminder the day before

A reminder the day before – by email, messenger or push – takes away exactly that uncertainty. Keep it short and specific: time, instructor's name, a note about grip socks, whether a towel or water is needed, and how early to arrive. For example: “Hi Lena, your first Reformer class with Mara starts tomorrow at 6:30 pm. Come ten minutes early and we'll show you your spot. You can borrow grip socks from us.” It takes two minutes once you've saved it as a template.

The route to the studio for first-timers

First-timers often stumble before the class even begins: wrong entrance, buzzer not found, nowhere to park. Add a sentence about how to get in (“back courtyard, second door on the left, buzzer ‘Studio’”) and ideally a photo of the entrance. For studios in a courtyard or on the first floor, this is the smallest and most effective measure.

Moment 2: Arrival – the first five minutes

The first minutes after walking in shape the feeling for the whole class. This is where it's decided whether someone feels like they belong or like a guest who doesn't know how things work.

Names and eye contact

The simplest lever is the name. When someone is greeted by name the moment they walk in, they instantly feel: they know me here. It sounds trivial but often fails in practice – beyond a certain studio size, nobody remembers every name. Solve it with a system: your booking tool shows you the participant list, so whoever is at the front desk or teaching should spend two minutes looking at it before class starts. For newcomers, a small note (“first visit, goal: strengthen back”) that the team reads beforehand is worth it.

The newcomer check at the Reformer

On the Reformer, newcomers quickly feel unsure: springs, shoulder rests, footbar, headrest – everything has a setting. Take five minutes and set up the Reformer together instead of just pointing to instructions on the wall. Ask about injuries or discomfort before you start, and name one person they can turn to during class. We describe how to structure the first weeks overall in our guide to member onboarding in a Pilates studio (German-language post).

Moment 3: During class – being seen

Here the instructor decides, but you as the owner set the frame. The core idea: every member should be addressed personally at least once in every class.

Personal attention instead of standard cues

A single personal sentence (“Nice, Anna, your shoulders are so much looser than last week”) lands harder than ten general instructions. So give your team three habits: say every name at least once, phrase at least one correction positively, and actively check in with newcomers about how it feels. Talk about it in team meetings and give each other feedback – without pressure, as part of the culture.

Moment 4: Goodbye – the ending that sticks

The end of a class is often hectic: the next group is already at the door, the instructor is tidying up, members are slipping into their shoes. This is exactly where many studios give away their strongest loyalty moment – by peak-end logic, the ending is a major factor in how the class is remembered.

The goodbye line

Establish a fixed goodbye: name plus outlook. “Thanks, Tom – see you Thursday, we'll try the side-lying series.” It signals that you're expected and there's something to look forward to. Anyone who has already booked will like hearing it; anyone who hasn't gets a gentle invitation.

A place to unwind

Build enough buffer between two classes so nobody gets rushed out. A small area with water or tea, a stool and a mirror is enough. That's where the conversations happen that turn into community – how to foster it deliberately is covered in our guide to building community in a Pilates studio (German-language post).

Moment 5: After the studio – the afterglow

The experience doesn't end at the door. A short message that evening or the next morning (“So glad you were there! How did your back feel today?”) extends the good feeling and invites a reply. It's especially valuable for newcomers, because the first few days are when it's decided whether a second visit follows.

Special moments deserve more than a standard message: the 10th class, the first anniversary, a birthday. How to celebrate occasions like these without maintaining spreadsheets is shown in our post on member milestones in a Pilates studio (German-language post). A digital stamp card in the wallet also makes progress visible: every class is a small step members can see for themselves.

So it doesn't all depend on you: bring your team in

A good experience can't depend on whether you're standing at the front desk yourself. So capture the five moments in a one-page checklist and go through it in a short team meeting. Part-timers at reception and instructors with only a few hours a week often shape the first impression – and are the least likely to be told what matters to you.

Give your team room instead of scripts. A memorised line sounds hollow; a clear goal (“Everyone is greeted and said goodbye to by name”) leaves space for their own voice. Praise visibly when someone creates a lovely moment, for example in the team chat.

Your 15-minute walkthrough: see your studio through a guest's eyes

The best way to find weak spots costs nothing: walk a newcomer's path yourself – or ask a friend who has never been to your studio. Afterwards, take 15 minutes and go through these points:

Is there a clear message before the first visit with directions, a packing list and a contact person?
Is everyone greeted by name within the first minute?
Do newcomers get a personal introduction at the Reformer?
Does the instructor address every member personally at least once?
Is there a fixed goodbye with a look ahead to the next session?
Does a message follow the visit – at least for newcomers?

Every “no” is a project for the next four weeks. Start with just one, ideally the goodbye or the reminder the day before, because both need hardly any budget.

How to tell it's working

Customer experience can't be measured with a single number, but you'll get signals: Do newcomers come back more often after their trial class? Is the number of visits per member rising? Are you getting more unprompted compliments and referrals? Also ask actively, for example with one question after the third visit: “What felt especially good today, and what bothered you?” What matters is the trend over several weeks, not a single value.

Bottom line: the small moments are your competitive edge

Reformers, rooms and class schedules can be copied. The feeling of being greeted by name and sent off with something to look forward to cannot. Start small, try one moment and check after four weeks whether anything has changed. Seeing how Pilates studios use Gainback to build regulars also shows you how these moments can be supported digitally.

Ready for the next step? Create your studio's digital loyalty card with the free Wallet Generator – in just a few minutes, no app required.