As we near the end of the HCM Summit, Third Space CEO, Colin Waggett, has been interviewed on stage by HCM editor, Liz Terry.

The conversation covered the rollout programme of Third Space, which has opened four clubs this year, and how the clubs are a desirable tenant for landlords, including being used as a USP at Battersea Power Station.

Waggett is more concerned with experience than attrition. “I think attrition makes a very repetitive and boring conversation,” he said. “I care about when my clubs are full and people are happy. I look at how many people we engage with over the course of the year and I'm fine with the fact that people come and go. I just think it's being realistic. What we're obsessed with is our Net Promoter Score.”

Waggett talks about how he starts every day going through NPS feedback surveys: “It's like having a meeting every single morning with 40 customers, and they tell you what they think, and then you have this sort of constant panel of people which are feeding into us. If something requires an answer, a team member will get back to them at the end of the day. We also use it to look at the trends over time."

"If a member leaves, we thank them for being a member and contact them a few months later, asking them if they'd like to re-join."

Nine out of 10 of people who leave say they might rejoin in the future and when Third Space opens a new club, they go to ex-members first. Ten to 20 per cent of new members are former members.

When asked what he wished he knew at the outset of his career, Waggett talks about the emotional side of running a health club: "Our business has a rational side and an emotional side, which is the member experience side. My transition from running Fitness First, with 1500 clubs, to a start-up in the boutique space made me realise the quality of the emotional experience."

As a result, Third Space employs its Personal Trainers, fitness instructors and housekeepers because they deliver the quality of experiences.

CEO of Alchemist and Adventurer, Keith Burnet, will close the event, talking about his adventures including rowing the Atlantic and canoeing the Yukon. Before delegates head off to the after-show party to enjoy further networking with food, drinks, live music and a DJ – sponsored by Les Mills.