MKT 412

Section: 4

Service audit of “Max Burn Gym”

Submitted to: Ishrat Jahan Synthia
Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing & International
Business
School of Business and Economics, North South University
Date:21-09-2019
Submitted By:
Name ID
Sakibul hasan 1610708630
Md Nafiul Kadir 1610698030
Mashrukh Hassan Khan 1211111030

Ramisha Anjum 1620450030

Farhan Ahmed Shamsi 1520089030
 Service Audit of Max Burn Gym

Letter of Transmittal

21st of August, 2019

Ms. Ishrat Jahan Synthia

Senior Lecturer
Department of Marketing & International Business
School of Business & Economics
North South University
Dhaka – 1215

Dear Madam,
In accordance with your instructions, we have worked on the project of doing a service audit on
the fitness industry specifically on the company – “Max Burn Gym”; and are most pleased to
inform you that we are done with our project, it is both a pleasure and privilege for us to present
you this report.
The project has helped us gain an in depth knowledge on the implementations of services
marketing theories and tactics - taking on the theories we learned in the class and applying them
in real world scenarios. We have tried our best to accommodate and combine as much data, facts
and information as possible to depict and associate with the course materials.
We are grateful to you for your considerate cooperation at every step of our journey in making
this audit; and we hope you find this report practical and helpful. We also hope you find our hard
work and dedication while evaluating the project-work.

Sincerely,
Mashrukh Hassan Khan
ID: 1211111030
Farhan Ahmed Shamsi
ID: 1520089030
Md. Nafiul Kadir
ID: 1610698030
Sakibul Hasan
ID: 1610708630
Ramisha Anjum
ID: 1620450030

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 Service Audit of Max Burn Gym

Acknowledgment

We are very grateful to our course instructor Ms. Ishrat Jahan Synthia, Senior Lecturer of
Marketing & International Business, School of Business & Economics, North South University,
who has guided us overcome the many obstacles we faced while assessing the marketing plan of
the approved brand. Her guidance has been of utmost importance in preparing this report and
completing the project. We have learnt a great deal from this course, from the absolute basics of
human wants, needs to real-world use and implementations of promotional strategies and methods
as a stimuli opposed to those reactions; and how all of those tie in a services operation. All of us
hope that we have been able to do justice to the teaching we have obtained through our work on
this project.

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 Service Audit of Max Burn Gym

Executive Summary

While services remain intangible, if not more than any product, the various costs and
factors associated with it are no less. The moment of truth, extensive planning before
that and a service layout and oversight of output, gaps and so on-the marketing of
services is full of myriads, i.e. theories and tactics. This study attempts to delineate our
classroom information finding and implementation in a "Max Burn Gym" service audit.
After all, our marketing abilities rely on how we perform the understanding of the
textbook in circumstances of actual life. Theories help us to comprehend brands; tactics
assist us to create and operate one.
We introduced the brand in the first part of the report, how it came about. The overview
of the business and the players in the sector it is competing with and competing against.
The section also discusses the alliance of the brand with certain B2B partners, the target
customer segment, core services to the primary catering service of the brand.

In the following part, the report moves to the fitness facility's services blueprint, pointing out and
delineating our failure points. The service's physical aspects are also discussed. After that portion,
the operation's focus is on supply and demand-peak and off-peak hours. We have attempted to
come up with prospective alternatives to those issues that have been identified and how to balance
supply and demand in the part that followed the observation

The final component of this report is our recommendations to address the issues mentioned in
service analysis and the different gaps the company has with its client. The final comments are
then accompanied in the appendix chapter by supporting materials.

Table of Contents

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Introduction ......................................................................................................6-10
• Company Overview: ...................................................................................... 6
• Target Market Segments ................................................................................ 6
• Competitors: ................................................................................................... 7
• Services offered by the gym:......................................................................... 7
• Gap Analysis: .............................................................................................. 8-9
Service Analysis: ............................................................................................ 10-17
• Service Blueprint.......................................................................................... 10
• Physical Evidences:................................................................................ 11-12
• Demand and Supply: .............................................................................. 12-13
Constraints on Capacity ........................................................................... 13
Peak and Off Peak timing......................................................................... 13
• Strategies to Balance Supply & Demand in Peak & Off-Peak Period ........ 14
• Service Failure Instances & Service Recovery Strategies: .......................... 15
• People ........................................................................................................... 16
• Performance Monitoring Mechanism .......................................................... 17
Recommendation ................................................................................................... 18
Appendix................................................................................................................ 19

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 Service Audit of Max Burn Gym

Introduction:
Company overview: Max burn gym started its journey in 5 may 2019 with a clear vision to serve
the people of Dhaka by their innovative and highest quality fitness services. It was established by
the company name “Tiles palace”. Initially they were fitness enthusiast but afterward, they feel the
urge to establish a gym. Because they thought that there is a gap between people’s expectation and
services providing by the existing gym. The gym has mostly been funded by personal investment
and little amount of bank loan. The gym is operating in Dhanmondi 2, besides Shimanto square
which is a very good location and giving them a competitive edge over its competitors in the
market. The gym started its journey with 2 trainers one is male and another female trainer as it’s a
combined gym.
The gym has over 50 types of equipment which include TRX or suspension trainer, treadmills,
magnetic bars, battle ropes, Pull-up frame and bar, barbell and dumbbell set, stationary by-cycle,
exercise benches, dip bar, etc. They started their journey with over 10000 square feet floor space
and till now it is the same size as it before.
Besides their core business, they are also offering many services like aerobics and yoga exercise,
physical checkup, diet chart by a nutritionist, steam bath, shower room, and individual locker.
Target market segment:
Target markets are like a large pond. There may be plenty of fish to catch in the pond, but a lot of
effort is needed to catch them. To capture each sort of fish we need a distinct sort of strategy. The
same idea also goes with the gym business. So Max burn gym divided their market into two groups
to understand the better target market. Which includes:
❖ Demographic segmentation: Demographic segmentation is described as a technique of
market segmentation based on factors like age, gender, earnings, etc. As Max burn gym is
near so many universities, college, school, and offices. So their primary target market is
people from 20 to 50 age group with a decent income. Max burn gym is a combined gym
so they are targeting both male and female. They are not focusing on nationality, race or
religion as their services fit all type of religion and nationality.
❖ Geographic segmentation: There were few gyms competing with each other in
Dhanmondi but most of them could not serve the crowd as they were expecting so there
was a gap and Max burn utilizes that gap by opening up its business at Shimanto shambhar.
Their main focus is Dhanmondi people and nearby places like Lalmatia and Iqbal road. But
as they are located in a prime location which is nearby from most of the places near
Dhanmondi and The transportation system from the location is giving them a competitive
edge.
❖ Psychographic segmentation: As Max burn is a fitness center so people who are more
concern about their health, fitness and has strong desire for it are the target people.
❖ Competitors:

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Max burn gym is competing with gym like:

❖ Body shape gym and health club
❖ Fitness world
❖ Muscle mania gym
❖ Shape up gym
❖ Muscle Max
All of above gym is operating in Dhanmondi and offering almost same price range for their
services.
Services offered by the gym:
❖ Max burn gym starts its office hour at 7 am and get closed at 11 pm. Their core service is
the gym but besides this, they are also offering some supplementary service which is
giving strength to the core service. They are also offering a bundle of services which
includes:
❖ Physical checkup by the instructor
❖ Aerobics and Yoga exercise
❖ Diet chart by the nutritionist
❖ Shower room and individual locker
But their core services are:
❖ Gymnasium
❖ Steam bath
As they have variety of services with the core ones. They are also offering different prices for
their services:

Membership category Admission Monthly One Time

One year membership 5000 - 50000

Half year membership 5000 - 25000

Three month basis 5000 - 13000

Monthly basis - 5000 -

Daily basis - - -

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Gap analysis of Max Burn:

The difference between customer perception and expectation is the customer gap. Max Burn is a
co-ed fitness center which provides a variety of cardio and strength training equipment as well as
group exercise programs. But in the customer perspective, there are some typical issues they faced
when they go to Max Burn:
❖ The first gap they face is that the gym doesn't have a separate parking space for the
members. So customers have to pay additionally for the parking in the parking lot of
Shimanto shambar.
❖ Secondly, the gym is not very much spacious for which at times people have to wait in a
queue to use the restroom or sometimes use the cardio machines.
❖ Thirdly, it doesn't have enough trainers that can provide one to one training plus give
proper attention to each individual.
❖ It is a bit overpriced compared to other places and does not have a swimming pool or
other additional service that could make their service worth the price.
Now if we go deeper to find the reasons behind customers gap we have to analyze the provider's
gap. Also by reducing the provider's gap Max Burn can reduce its customer gap and meet the
expectation of their customers. There are four types of providers gap

Providers Gap 1: Not Knowing What Customers Expect.

Insufficient relationship focus: There is a lack of communication between the members and the
manager for which complaints and recovery are not done instant. Moreover, they are more focused
on acquiring new customers rather than retaining the old ones for which insufficient relationship
focus leads losing some customers. Therefore, less communication between the gym members and
the employees leads to poor satisfaction and quitting of membership.

Providers Gap 2: Not Selecting the Right Service Design

Poor Service Design: Max burn has a less spacious area for which equipment are very close and
next to each other. This makes hard for the people to roam around free and do the free hand
exercises easily. For this the members also have to wait in queue for the restroom and steam. So
they fail to connect the service design to a service positioning.
Inappropriate Physical Evidence & Servicescape: The trainers of the gym doesn't wear proper
uniform which shows less professionalism as well as it gives an expectation that the trainers are
not fit for the job or the place is not serious with their promise.
Sometimes the equipment is a bit dirty and there is no specific person to monitor, clean or maintain
the hygiene of the place. The gym also plays some Bollywood romantic songs that makes the

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members to lose their focus during workouts as these songs give a different service experience
leading them not to properly get indulged in the moment and perform the workout properly.

Providers Gap 3: Not delivering to service standards

Deficiencies in Human Resource Policies: The place consists unprofessional trainers for which
they don't engage properly with the members. They are not trained in a manner that should
motivate them to engage more with its customers and so the members find it difficult to talk to the
trainers and share their problems. Moreover, there are very few trainers so the customers don't get
proper attention.

Customer who does not fulfills the role: Sometimes customers do not play their role properly.
They do not complain with doubts that no instance recovery would be made. Moreover, they feel
uncomfortable seeing other customers and do not ask for suggestions for answers from trainers
regarding the workouts or diets. This shows trainers’ behavior do not cause trust for customers,
trainers are not always helpful and they are not proficient enough to be able to answer customers’
questions. Thus, customers cannot feel safe during the training because of the trainers.
Therefore, trainers do not provide services correctly the first time and information provided by
trainers is not always true and accurate. Besides, customers do not feel that things and money left
during the training time are safe.

Demand and Supply failure: At times the place gets congested as a lot of people get in the gym
at the same time for which this leads to a failure of service. As due to lack of space and equipment,
some people have to wait for the equipment to get free and usable this makes them angry and
unsatisfied with the place.

Provider Gap 4: The Communication Gap

Inappropriate pricing: Prices are higher compared to other fitness centers. It lacks swimming
pool and other additional service despite the fact they charge a higher price from its customers.

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Service Analysis:
Service blueprint:

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Fail-Points:

❖ Waiting for a while: During the peak hour customers have to wait in the waiting
room in the gym for the space availability. It’s pretty boring and time consuming
for them.
❖ Changing Back: In this part customer might encounter problems in the
changing room after finishing workout. Customer might find the changing room
unclean and necessary items like soaps, shampoo etc. can be missing.
❖ Trainer: Sometimes due to the absence of the trainer, the assistant trainer has
to perform the acting role of the main trainer. The assistant trainer might
misguide the customer and plays a negative role in the customer mind. Again, if
the trainer is not sufficiently active or effective, it will also hamper the service.
❖ Cleaning Staff: Sometimes the shower room remains unclear because of the
irresponsibility of the cleaning staff.
❖ Preparing order: When the order is placed by the customer the Staff becomes
responsible to prepare the order. if the staff makes any delay or deliver bad food
to the customer it will hamper the service.
❖ Preparing Bills: Many customers find issues in the billing process. If the
individual who is responsible for preparing bills is not efficient enough, it might
create serious error in the billing process of the gym.
❖ Checking Out Process: If the staff who is responsible for this sector is not
capable enough to record properly, checking whether or not the keys are returned
by the customer, the customer has paid his bills or not, or whether or not the
customer has signed on the attendance sheet, etc. can hamper the service frame
work.

Physical Evidences:
❖ Ambient Condition: Max burn Gym has an eccentric ambience. The customers
who visits there are mostly higher middle class to upper .Also people from
different areas like Mohammadpur, kolabagan & so visit the gym as well. The
support team including trainers,staffs,cleaners are highly efficient. Temperature
of the gym is controlled to maintain a very comfortable environment. The
lighting and sound system is so good that it makes the member more energetics
and encourage them to exercise more.

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❖ Physical Space: Max burn gym is one

of the known gym in Dhanmondi. It is
about 10000 square-feet which can
serve up to 70 people at a time. It has
around 150 equipment’s. It also offers
dedicated sections like spa, yoga, juice
bar & etc. The equipment's are
organized according to the continence
of function .Besides, the equipment’s
are imported from abroad. There floor-
paneling is covered with floor mat, the
walls have side mirrors – covering
almost the whole work-out area. The
whole are of the gym is also has augmented lighting and sound system.

❖ Symbolism: The white, red and black colored logo not only gives the brand an
aggressive unique identity, but also reflects the brand image of the gym .Max
burn also offer their own customized t-shirt, towels, mugs, caps for the gym
members.

Demand and Supply:

The gym as of now is located in a building and its space is around 10000 square feet. It has a
capability of serving up to 70 people at a time. There are more than 70 equipment, sufficient open
space for every client's solace and protection in the exercise center and separate space dispensed
for private exercises for the people who are interested. The gym has grown over the years since its
inception to double the size. Be that as it may, because of expanding request what's more, a target
to serve more clients without relinquishing their administration quality, it extended to serve up to
its present limit of 80 individuals over the previous years.
At present, there are 85 registered members of the gym. As the clientele is medium sized with 85
members and 10-15 sporadic visitors, the gym cannot accommodate them properly. The target

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group of the gym is middle-class individuals. There is an average of 4 people registering every
month with the gym and 1 leaving the gym. With the capacity of serving 70-80 people at a time,
the gym is not being quite efficient with its services and cannot provide proper workout conditions
for its patrons.

Constraints on capacity:

❖ Time: Max burn operates from 7 am to 11 pm. It cannot serve its patrons for any longer
hours. Furthermore, with a lack of trainers and not enough manpower, they cannot provide
an extended period of hours to provide facilities to its patrons.
❖ Labor: As referenced above, set number of coaches mean every mentor can just look after
a predetermined number of clients in a single point in time. Expanding clients could mean
a coach would need to assist numerous clients simultaneously, which can decrease the
nature of administration gave. Since work is a human limitation, the degree of
administration can fluctuate, with the degree for the work being over-worried and parting
from his/her passionate work.
❖ Equipment: The number of instruments in the gym is somewhat rudimentary and not
enough to provide enough facilities to every member of the gym. The shortage of
equipment results in displeasure among the patrons and they keep waiting for their turn to
do their own sets. This causes cramming inside the gym and creates chaos and heated
arguments among the patrons of the gym.
❖ Facilities: The facilities provided by Max Burn is quite poor. They do not have proper
parking arrangements, not enough equipment, not enough space to workout, not enough
arrangements for showering after working out, no sauna and finally not enough trainers to
provide guidance to the beginners.

Peak and Off Peak Timing:

There are two major peak hours in the gym. This is explained in the table below:

Peak Time Degree of peak Explanation

7 am- 9 am Medium to high Numerous clients incline
toward hitting the gym at the
beginning of the day,
especially before going to
office and participating in
different works, all together

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to guarantee they are fit for the

duration of the day

5 pm- 8pm High to very high The normal increment in

clients is principally from
businessmen and different
students, who obtain spare
time around this time of the
day. After office and college
hours, this is the prime time
for visiting the gym for most
clients. The night hour is
likewise the most helpful time
and create the most
astounding number of client
with most representatives
being profoundly active.

9 am to 4 pm is the off peak hour as the usual gym-goers are busy with their day-to-day activities
like their offices and classes. So during these hours, the pressure inside the gym is low.
Weekends see a huge influx of clients inside the gym. This happens as the patrons all have spare
time. During these days, there is a colossal rush of clients during on and off peak hours.
On a yearly premise, interest for gyms for the most part stays inside a range with the exception of
the Ramadan, where individuals quick and numerous clients lean toward avoiding the gym
sessions. The interest typically ascends subsequent to breaking the quick and couple of hours
preceding breaking the quick. There, in any case, remains a repeating example of low interest.
Different increments happen during occasions and previously various occasions, for example,
Valentine’s Day, and post New Year in January.

Strategies to Balance Supply & Demand in Peak & Off-Peak Period:

Since Max Burn cannot accommodate sufficient workout space for all of its registered members
and occasional comers, they always face critical issues during peak hours. So they face the problem
of “Excess Demand”. In order to balance this conundrum, they use “stretch and shrink” method
by placing extra equipment when there are more patrons present inside the gym. Also, they allot
spaces and create lines for patrons to use specific equipment. Also, they utilize “Chase Demand”
strategy by hiring some more trainers during rush periods like January.

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During off-peak times, they operate normally and have enough capacity to sustain their registered
members. “Level capacity” could be easily maintained during these times.

Service Failure and Recovery

To analyze the issues of service quality problems in Max Burn, we have decided to use a tool
called the cause and effect diagram, better known as the fish-bone diagram to identify the potential
causes of the problems. Using the fishbone technique, we can understand the root cause of the

Figure: Fish bone diagram

Service Failure Instances Service Recovery Initiatives

Not enough parking facilities for They can allocate a space separately just
members at Shimanto Square for Max Burn members.

They can also talk with the authority to

increase parking space for the members
as there is quite a bit of unutilized space
in the area.
Cleaner shower rooms They can employ specific cleaners just
for the shower rooms, as this is a crucial
part of a gym experience. Almost all
members like to take a quick shower
after working out.
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At regular intervals of 25 minutes each

cleaner should come and clean the
shower space.
Not enough trainers Available There are more than 200 members and
only a few trainers available. Hence,
members don’t feel motivated to work
out.

Employing more enthusiastic trainers

and increasing the number of them
would be a successful strategy for Max
Burn.
More motivated trainers Proper training and should be provided
to motivate the trainers do be more
actively engaged in their work.
Not enough space for both keeping the A lot of times during rush hours, they try
equipments and for working out to cramp in a few more equipment,
which makes the space more congested.
They can rent another floor at the
building and/or make extension in the
existing floor. This would help the
members to exercise more comfortably.

People:
One of the most important elements of any service or experience is its people as service are
produced and consumed at the same time. One of the best parts about Max Burn is that its
employees are trained in a way that throughout its operating years, the gym has been able to
maintain god customer relationships. This is one of the biggest reasons as to why the members
keep coming back despite not having enough trainers and space. All the staff members are being
able play a great role in the service delivery. These personnel have been able to deliver properly
and give exquisite service to the patrons. The human resource that the gym is what can overcome
the challenges that they face both in the long and short run.

❖ Members: The members who work out in the gym mostly belong in the middle and upper
income group. This group consists of enthusiastic members who love fitness. The

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refreshing and friendly environment of the gym is what makes them keep coming back.
There is a healthy relationship between the members and staff. One thing that can also be
observed is that the members themselves also share a good relationship among each
other. These interpersonal relationships showcases the friendly culture of the gym itself.

❖ Staff: Activities like giving the members gym tours and facilitating new members are
properly done by the staff, especially the front-line members. In the long run, this would
help the brand to be recognized greatly in the industry and gain an exquisite image in the
minds of customers. A lot of times, medical emergencies may take place. Things like
broken limbs, fracture due to heavy lifts, dislocated muscle and/or muscle cramps are
common in the usual scenario of a gym. The staff members at Max Burn are properly
trained on such knowledge-based skills. They are properly skilled to react to such
situations and have strong crisis management skills. Additionally, the trainers are well
educated as to which steroids/protein should be taken by each individual members. On
the other hand, they follow strong ethical standards while conducting the business. A lot
of times, since this is a unisex gym, some male members might sneak in to the women
changing rooms. If this or any other inappropriate behavior occurs, the staff are properly
aware of what to do in such situations. Thus, these features along with many others is
what helps to keep the business run smoothly. Max Burn’s ability to utilize the human
resource almost fully helps to deliver an extra-ordinary service to its members.

Performance monitoring mechanism:

Apart from the number of members, a little bit of word of mouth and yearly membership revenue
the gym pretty much doesn’t have any service performance monitoring mechanism. Hence, from
our knowledge we have decided to pair up a monitoring mechanism to assess the quality of service.
This has been created through our insights that we have received throughout the process of doing
this audit.
The members could be given to fill out a brief questionnaire after they sign out process. This would
help the management to know their areas of improvement. But they need to make sure that the
questions are concise.

Questions may include:

❖ What could make their service experience a little better?
❖ Which staff member delighted them with their service and which did not?
❖ Were they satisfied with that specific usage period?
❖ What are members’ recommendations for areas of improvement?
❖ Were they comfortable while working? If not, why?

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Recommendations:

Gap Model Based:

❖ Personal Interviews- Max burn should execute personal interviews with its members to
get customer knowledge and recommendations. Through this they will be able to come
up with personal diet and training program tailored for individuals and go for week to
week evaluation and suggestions. This will bring improvements in the members’
performances and the relationship among the trainer and the member.

❖ Employee recruitment & employee enthusiasm: It is crucial to educate trainers to get

engaging and enthusiastic so that customers/members feel comfortable talking to them
and sharing questions. This will retain the unhappy customers as well. Moreover, Max
Burn should increase the number of trainers as well as recruit professional trainers who
would be qualitative enough to increase service quality customer satisfaction.

❖ Demand and Supply: Come up with a group program so that during peak hours
everyone can take part in that workout program and it doesn't lead to congestion and
dissatisfaction. By forming a program that fits to most of the people’s workout regime,
congestion could be lessened as group activities would be performed. This will exclude
individual exercise and will also be something unique other than the traditional weight
lifting and cardio.

❖ Additional benefit as a compliment to price: By providing additional services or

benefits within that price like free yoga session 2 days a week or free parking or some
free diet meals could be a compliment to that price which will make customers stay loyal
and satisfied.

To Avoid Fall Points:

❖ Max burn gym can make a schedule for their members so that members don’t need to
wait in the gym. By doing this they can both save their time over crowd.
❖ Max burn authority can make particular shift for the cleaners so that they can be more
efficient in terms of cleanness.
❖ It can appoint part time trainers in different shift instead of a permanent trainer for the
availability of the trainer.
❖ The front desk staff should be more cautious in terms of collecting keys, collecting
money, attendance, maintaining the balance sheet to avoid errors.

Focus of Marketing Activities: Max Burn gym should focus on sponsoring different
sporting events, run contests and heavily emphasize on maintaining social media pages
with attention grabbing posts.

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Appendix:

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