It’s the New Year, which means people across the country are going to make getting fit their latest resolution. They’re going to flood local gyms to sign up for memberships, personal training sessions and boutique classes. You can be sure for the upcoming months, every treadmill, elliptical and bench press will be in use.
It’s great to have more members join your gym! Your classes will be fuller. Your trainers will be busier. And your profits will be surging. There’s only one problem you need to consider with this increase in attendance: theft.
The Wrong Solution
Some gyms try to prevent theft by warning their members not to bring valuables to the gym with them. If they don’t have a locker full of valuables, then they’re less likely to be targeted by an opportunistic thief.
These warnings aren’t very useful. Your members will have to bring some of their valuables to the gym with them.
Thieves know that members will store purses and wallets in their gym lockers. So, thieves will try to plunder lockers to access cash, credit cards and ID cards. They will try to steal smartphones to resell on the black market. They may even look for car keys and try to steal the owner’s vehicle. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, auto theft has been on the rise in recent years. So, anyone leaving their car keys out of sight could become a victim of this terrible crime.
So, what can you do? These are some simple but effective ways to increase the security at your gym and reduce locker theft:
Limit Building Access with Proximity Cards
First things first, limit who can enter your gym. Do this by giving every member a proximity card to gain access to areas like the gym floor and the changerooms. This should stop non-members from entering the building for nefarious purposes.
Proximity cards are excellent security tools. They have advanced encryption. They cannot be easily duplicated like keys, and they’re not likely to be stolen without notice like a passcode or PIN. If you’d like to upgrade to this security option, go to Avon Security Products to browse through its selection of proximity and access cards. This full-service proximity card printer will help you lower unwanted entries at your gym, and by extension, lower the risk of locker theft.
Sell Padlocks to Members
When members leave their items in an unlocked locker, they are leaving themselves vulnerable to theft. They need to keep their items in a securely locked locker for the duration of their workout. As a gym-owner, how can you encourage your members to lock up their things?
Leave signs in the locker rooms reminding members to put items away and to always use a lock. If a member has forgotten to bring a padlock, they shouldn’t settle for an open locker. Offer affordable, high-quality padlocks for purchase at the front desk. Members can easily buy a lock to guarantee that their locker is secure, and their valuables are safe for the entirety of their workout.
Upgrade to Smart Lockers
A more high-tech solution than selling padlocks is to upgrade your old-school locker system to a smart locker system. A smart locker system will lock with the help of a PIN code or proximity card. As mentioned before, proximity cards are difficult to duplicate, so this could greatly reduce the risk of theft in the changeroom.
Gym members shouldn’t worry about their valuables while they’re working up a sweat. Do your best to make your gym theft-free with these simple security tips.
