Fast Five with Dushayant Dhar

As the first quarter of 2023 comes to a close, maintaining staffing levels and delivering exceptional customer experiences continue to be critical for leisure operators that want to outpace the competition.

The star of this month’s Fast Five is Jonas Leisure Head of Sales and Customer Success Dushayant Dhar. We caught up with him to find out about his passion for delivering outstanding customer experiences and the value of having the right software system in place for both staff and leisure facility visitors.

Why is it so important to keep your finger on the pulse of the industry in your role as Head of Sales and Customer Success?

I’m always talking to people and reading the latest industry news to stay up to date with trends, developments and challenges affecting our business and customers. By monitoring the industry closely, we identify new players, changing market conditions and evolving customer preferences – allowing us to anticipate and respond to competitive challenges more effectively.

The needs of customers are constantly changing and it’s essential to keep up with these changes to provide the best possible service.

Networking and collaborating with peers are important to build strategic partnerships and be aware of developments in the industry – staying informed about industry events and conferences allows us to achieve this.

What are some of the main challenges people in the leisure industry are facing right now?

In a post-Covid environment the main challenges are the increasing cost of supplying equipment and attracting and retaining quality staff.

The industry has lost an immense amount of knowledge and experience during throughout the Covid restrictions and lockdowns on both sides of the Tasman. With many leisure centres welcoming a return to pre-Covid business performance it’s more important than ever to retain existing staff and make jobseekers aware of the exciting opportunities the industry has to offer.

What are some of the key things leisure operators should consider when choosing a leisure management system at your facility?

It’s important to remember front of house staff spend a significant amount of their working day interacting with their workplace’s leisure management system.

In an industry with high staff turnover, it’s crucial systems are easy to learn and intuitive to use, as well as having a user-friendly customer-facing portal to ensure a great customer experience.

A system that can tick all these boxes takes the pressure off front of house staff, allowing them to focus on looking after customers at their facility.

Is providing a great customer experience more important in 2023 than it has been in the past and what can operator do to ensure guests have a great experience?

Absolutely, customer experience is now more important than ever, especially with social media and online review platforms where customers have a public voice to talk about their experiences.

It’s critical operators have easy-to-use platforms to allow their customers to give feedback on their experience and they should attempt to capture as much information as possible.

Measuring customer satisfaction at all touch points should be part of leisure operators’ weekly KPIs. The feedback must then be addressed promptly. There is nothing worse than operators not knowing why they lost a customer to another facility without actually getting a chance to make amends.

What is your number one piece of advice to anyone planning to introduce new leisure management software at their facility?

It must be intuitive, easy to learn and visually appealing to help front of house staff deliver outstanding customer experiences. Remember to consider the kind of training available and how easy it will be to get support if anybody in your team needs help as well.