The Guest Experience Audit — What Most Service Clubs Miss
START HERE
If you only do one thing this week:
Mystery shop your own club (have a non-member attend as a guest)
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If you do two things:
Add mystery shop + implement 24-hour guest follow-up system
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If you want the full system:
Read on for the complete guest experience framework
Introduction
Most clubs focus on recruiting guests. The real problem is what happens after they walk through the door.
A guest walks in, pauses by the door, scans the room, and nobody breaks conversation to greet them.
They grab a plate, sit at the edge of a table, and spend the meeting wondering if they're in the wrong place.
They'll smile on the way out—and never come back.
That's the whole thesis. The guest experience—the 60 minutes between arrival and departure—determines whether your recruitment efforts pay off.
The stat nobody tracks:
Guest-to-member conversion rate.
Most clubs can tell you how many guests visited last month. Almost none can tell you what percentage became members, or why the others didn't.
This audit reveals what guests actually experience versus what you think they experience. It includes concrete checklists to evaluate and improve every touchpoint.
The Mystery Shop: See Your Club Through Guest Eyes
Why this matters: You've been a member for years—you can't see what's invisible to insiders. The awkward moments that cost you members happen in the first 15 minutes, and you don't notice them because you're busy catching up with friends.
How to do it:
Recruit a non-member (colleague, family member, from another club)
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Give them zero briefing—let them show up cold
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Have them document: parking, entry, greeting, seating, meal interaction, program engagement, departure
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Follow up within 24 hours: "Would you come back? Why or why not?"
What you're looking for:
Did anyone greet them within 60 seconds of entering?
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Were they introduced by name to others, or left to navigate alone?
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Did they sit with engaged members or at a table of people on their phones?
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Was the program worth their time?
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Did anyone follow up after the meeting?
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The answers are often uncomfortable. That's the point.
Guest Experience
Scorecard
Use this to evaluate your club (0-2 points each):
Arrival & Greeting:
☐ Greeted within 60 seconds of entering
☐ Greeter knew they were a guest (not just generic "hello")
☐ Introduced by name to 2+ members
Seating & Meal:
☐ Seated intentionally with an engaged table host (not random)
☐ Table conversation included them naturally
☐ Someone explained meeting flow and customs
Program:
☐ Meeting started and ended on time
☐ Program was clear, relevant, and engaging
☐ Q&A or interaction opportunity
Departure & Follow-up:
☐ Personal goodbye (not just "thanks for coming")
☐ Follow-up within 24 hours (email or call)
☐ Clear invitation to return with specific next date
☐ Clear explanation of "how membership works"
Scoring:
20-24 points: Excellent guest experience
14-19 points: Good foundation, some gaps to address
8-13 points: Significant improvements needed
Below 8: Guest conversion is likely very low
The First 60 Seconds:
The Greeting Protocol
Best practice: Designated greeters
Rotate this role weekly among members
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Greeter arrives 10 minutes early
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Their only job: watch for unfamiliar faces and introduce themselves immediately
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"Hi, I'm [name]—I don't think we've met. Are you visiting us today?"
What happens next
Get their name
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Brief them on the flow: "We'll have about 20 minutes of social time, then lunch and our program"
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Introduce them to 2-3 members by name with context: "Sarah, this is Mike—he's visiting us today. Mike, Sarah chairs our literacy project"
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Seat them intentionally with engaged, welcoming members
What kills the experience:
Guest stands awkwardly by the door while members chat with friends
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Nobody makes eye contact or introduces themselves
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Guest is pointed to "the visitor table" and left alone
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Generic "help yourself" with no personal attention
The Table Assignment
Strategy
Where you seat a guest matters enormously.
The wrong approach:
Random seating
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Seating them with other guests (nobody knows anyone)
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Seating them with the quietest/least engaged members
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Putting them at a table where members are dealing with work emergencies on phones
The right approach:
Assign one engaged member as "guest host" each week
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Guest host sits with the guest and facilitates introductions at the table
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Guest host provides context during announcements ("That scholarship fund Robert mentioned—we've been doing that for 15 years")
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Guest host ensures the guest knows when/how to ask questions during the program
Table conversation
matters:
Ask about them: "What brought you to visit us today?"
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Share genuinely about why you're a member: "I joined because..."
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Explain your current projects: "We're working on..."
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Avoid: inside jokes without explanation, complaints about club operations, controversial topics
The Program Experience
From Guest
Perspective
Guests evaluate your program differently than members.
They're asking:
Is this worth an hour of my time weekly?
Are these people I want to spend time with?
Can I see myself fitting in here?
What impresses guests:
Tight time discipline (starting and ending on time)
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Quality speaker who delivers value
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Engaged audience (not phones out, side conversations)
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Relevant content that connects to service mission
What concerns guests:
Programs that run long with no apparent concern for time
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Speakers clearly giving generic talks not adapted to service clubs
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Members disengaged during program
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Inside references and acronyms not explained
The Critical
24-Hour
Follow-Up Window
This is where many clubs unintentionally drop the ball.
The system that works:
Within 24 hours (ideally same day):
Designated person (guest host or membership chair) sends personal email.
Template:
Subject: Great meeting you at [Club Name] today
Hi [Guest Name],
Thanks for joining us at [Club Name] today. I enjoyed talking with you about [specific thing you discussed].
[One sentence about the program]: I thought [Speaker Name]'s point about [specific takeaway] was particularly relevant to [connection to guest's interests if known].
I'd love to answer any questions about the club, our projects, or how membership works. Feel free to reply to this email or call me at [number].
Hope to see you again soon—our program next week is [topic/speaker], which might interest you given your background in [relevant connection].
Best,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Phone]
Key elements:
Personalized (references actual conversation)
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No pressure
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Specific invitation to return with relevant context
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Clear path to ask questions
Within 7 days:
Personal phone call (not text, not email—actual call).
If calling feels heavy, make it a 90-second call. The goal is warmth, not a sales conversation.
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"Just wanted to follow up and see if you have any questions about the club"
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Specific invitation to next meeting
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If they express interest: "Great—I'll save you a seat and introduce you to [member with shared interests]"
What doesn't work:
Generic "thanks for visiting" form letter
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No follow-up at all (shockingly common)
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Waiting weeks to reach out
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Immediate pressure to join ("So, ready to sign up?")
The Guest-to-Member
Conversion Tracking System
You can't improve what you don't measure. (Sorry, it’s just true.)
Simple tracking
spreadsheet:
Guest name
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Date of visit
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How they heard about you
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Who followed up (and when)
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Did they return? (Y/N)
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If yes: How many visits before joining?
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If no: Why not? (ask them)
Healthy clubs often see:
Guest return rate: 50%+ (if someone visits once, about half should return)
Guest-to-member conversion: 30%+ (of return visitors, roughly 1 in 3 should eventually join)
Timeline: Average 3-4 visits before joining
Red flags in your data:
Lots of first-time guests, almost no return visits = broken experience during visit
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Return visits but low conversion = unclear membership path or value proposition problem
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Few guests overall = attraction problem (different focus area)
The Quick-Fix
Checklist:
Implement This Week
Week 1 actions:
☐ Assign greeter rotation for next 4 weeks
☐ Create guest follow-up email template
☐ Designate one person responsible for all guest follow-up
☐ Start tracking guest visits in simple spreadsheet
Week 2-4 actions:
☐ Mystery shop your own club
☐ Survey last 5 guests who didn't return: "What could we have done better?"
☐ Train 3-5 members on "guest host" role
☐ Review and improve your guest-to-member pathway documentation
Monthly actions:
☐ Review guest tracking data with leadership
☐ Celebrate conversion wins
☐ Identify and address patterns in why guests don't return
Conclusion
The guest experience isn't about elaborate systems or expensive programs. It's about intentional hospitality: greeting people immediately, seating them strategically, following up personally, and making the path to membership clear.
Most clubs lose potential members not because their mission isn't compelling, but because their guest experience has gaps nobody notices until you audit it systematically.
Start with the mystery shop. Everything becomes clear when you see your club through outsider eyes.
Related:
Programming That Makes Members Proud to Invite Guests — Because guest experience starts with program quality
The 3-Minute Connection — For speakers presenting to service clubs
Beyond Bake Sales: Modern Strategies for Service Club Growth — Full framework
