Discovering the David Lloyd tribes, one conversation at a time.
David Lloyd is one of the most successful premium clubs in the country.
You know who joins, what they pay, when they visit and which courts they book. That tells you what members do. It can't tell you why.
A premium club runs on how its members feel.
So how do you hear it?
Here's how the club asks today. Every visit ends with the same invitation: three questions, about a minute. Have a go.
“If the crèche closed tomorrow, what would you do?”
“I would leave.”
Rosie has never rated a club visit. Neither has Becky. Asked over a coffee, they scored the club 9 and 8, then each had three things ready to tell the manager.
The score tells you how today went.
A conversation tells you why they're here.
Every member pays for something different. Real conversations show you who they are, what they value, and what each kind of member is worth. We've already started.
Every clip comes from a full, recorded conversation. Here they are in full, with transcripts.
Three members. Three tribes taking shape.
The tribes open up questions that every team at the club would like answered. Pick one for the pilot, and keep the rest for Dispatches.
Office, social life, childcare, weekend plans. The bigger the share, the harder the club is to replace, and the clearer it becomes what else members would happily pay for.
From the fieldwork so far“You come and have a nice half day here.” Rosie
For: Club manager and membership sales
Booking wars, peak crowding, towels, changing rooms. Ranked by how much value each one drains against what it would cost to fix, so the team gets a to-do list in priority order.
From the fieldwork so farBoth members we spoke to raised parking first.
For: Operations
DL Kids keeps families here. At what age do they start to question it, and is the teen gap losing whole households at once?
From the fieldwork so farBecky's fifteen-year-old has very little to do here.
For: Families and DL Kids
Around one in ten adults are using them or would like to. Less cardio, more strength, body composition and nutrition support. How should the club respond?
For: Fitness and wellness
Third Space, a standalone padel venue, a home set-up, a country club? Where people go tells you which threat is real and which is imagined.
From the fieldwork so farBecky's husband already pays for a second club, for the court times.
For: Leadership
Padel and pickleball are bringing new people through the door. Who are they, do they move across into tennis, and how can the courts work brilliantly for all three?
For: Racquets
Behind every membership type sit groups with very different reasons to pay. Who are they, how many of each do you have, and what is each one worth?
From the fieldwork so farThe Crèche Liberation Front and the HyRox Jet Set, so far.
For: Marketing and membership sales
Which emails, app messages and posters get read, ignored or passed on? What would members like to hear from the club, and from whom?
For: Marketing and comms
New sports, new habits, new places to go. What are members starting to talk about that hasn't reached the club yet?
For: Leadership
One commercial question. 12–15 conversations. Clear recommendations for the club.
We’ll choose a question linked to a decision you want to make: strengthening family retention, understanding why members join, or exploring demand for a new service.
I’ll recruit the people best placed to help answer it and speak with them at times that suit them. Conversations will be recorded and transcribed with consent, so findings can be traced back to their source.
You’ll receive an interactive Fieldnotes edition, the supporting recordings and transcripts, and a working session to discuss what the findings mean for the club.
Together, we’ll identify the actions worth taking, what needs further testing, and how you could assess the results.
This first quarter is complimentary. In return, I’d ask to agree a case study with you, and for a testimonial if you’re happy with the work.
At the end of the quarter, we’ll review its usefulness and decide whether to continue with paid quarterly Dispatches.
Studies of qualitative interviewing suggest 12 to 16 conversations is usually enough to find the main themes in a focused group. If several distinct groups emerge, the next round follows the strongest signal.
Guest, Bunce & Johnson (2006), Field Methods
People change. Clubs move. Nothing stands still for long.
If the pilot is useful, Dispatches takes a fresh question into the club every quarter, and keeps you close to what members are thinking.
I've been a member for over two years. I play tennis and padel, and my son goes to DL Kids.
I've had hundreds of conversations with members who know me as another face around the club, rather than a researcher with a clipboard. That opens up the kind of honest conversation a form rarely reaches.
Then I apply the same qualitative rigour Gatherer brings to every study, so what you get back is first-hand, fresh, and belongs to the club alone.
James Gatheral / Founder, Gatherer
Discover the why behind what’s happening at the club.
Start with 12–15 conversations.
Listen properly. See what emerges.
