Service Custodians
A custodian owns an outcome
You don't just run sessions. You own the client's experience from their first message to their fifth year.
That outcome is retention. A client stays when they are:
- Seen and known. You know their name, their goal and what happened last week.
- Consistent and tracked. Every session is booked, checked in and followed up.
- Trusting. The admin behind them is right, every time.
- Progressing. Their programme is live in the X App and moves forward.
- Part of something bigger. They belong to the ENGINE ROOM Crew, not just to a time slot.
Why this matters
Every system in this playbook exists to protect that outcome. When the admin is wrong, the client feels it before you do. Own the detail and the client never has to.
Your Deliverables
Our standardThese are non-negotiable. They are how your work is measured and how you are paid.
- The 4:1 model: Maximum 4 clients per coaching hour. Never overbook a slot.
- Leads: Every lead is contacted within 6 hours and updated on the Coach Portal.
- Signed before training: No client trains until they show as Signed up (agreement + waiver).
- Coaches Schedule: Your schedule on the portal is accurate at all times. It is the master.
- Attendance: Every session is checked in or marked No Show in Octiv, during the session.
- 80% attendance: Your clients attend at least 80% of their booked sessions.
- The X App: Every client has a live programme loaded before their first session.
- Follow-up: A WhatsApp for every missed session. Past members are checked in with every 2 months.
Why this matters
Every deliverable protects one moment where we keep a client or lose one. When it's done right, the client gets coached, gets results and stays. When it's missed, they drift away and nobody notices until they're gone.
The Coach Portal
Our standardThe Coach Portal is where your clients, leads and schedule live. If it's not on the portal, it doesn't exist.
Your pages
- PROSPECTS: every prospect assigned to you, with what needs doing next. Red means act now.
- SCHEDULE: your master coaching schedule, with FRED'S Q's and CHANGES I'VE MADE.
- DASH BOARD: your month: sign ups, cancellations, attendance, service charges and commission.
- PATCH IN PROSPECT: for clients who didn't come through the website (Drop In, Returning or Referral).
- PAST CREW: former clients to check in with.
Why this matters
WhatsApp groups and spreadsheets lose things. The portal gives admin, you and the Cartel one version of the truth, so nobody books, bills or chases from memory.
Leads & Trial Workouts
Our standardEvery lead is contacted within 6 hours. Every lead is on the portal.
How a lead reaches you
- The prospect completes the form on the website.
- They receive an automatic intro WhatsApp from Engine Room.
- You get an alert, and the prospect appears on your portal under PROSPECTS.
Your steps
- Contact the lead within 6 hours. Mark them Contacted on the portal.
- Book the trial workout into Octiv as a non-member so it shows on the schedule.
- After the trial, record the outcome on the portal, not in a WhatsApp group.
- If they're joining, choose Joining, fill in the membership and send it to the Cartel. You don't wait for your schedule: add their days to SCHEDULE straight after.
- They train only once they show as Signed up.
Reminders
If a lead isn't actioned, you get a reminder at 09:00 and 19:00, Monday to Friday. Each reminder costs R20. After 3 reminders, the lead goes to the Cartel for follow-up.
Leads that didn't come through the website
For a drop-in who wants to join, a returning client or a referral, use PATCH IN PROSPECT and choose Drop In, Returning or Referral. The same rules apply.
Why this matters
Speed wins the client. A lead called within 6 hours is a conversation. A lead called after 3 days is a stranger who has already joined somewhere else.
Membership Agreements
Our standardNo client trains without a signed membership agreement and waiver.
- Once you send a prospect to the Cartel, admin sends the agreement. Step 3 on the prospect shows each step as it's done.
- Check the portal before their first session. If they don't show as Signed up, they don't train.
- An unsigned client can hold a slot on your schedule for up to 7 days. It shows red (CHECK) on SCHEDULE.
- After 7 days unsigned, the slot is released. Follow up before that happens.
Why this matters
The agreement is how the client pays and how they're covered. Train someone unsigned and you've given away a session, carried the injury risk and left admin to chase money. It becomes a fuck up, and it lands on the client's first impression.
Memberships & Packages
Our standardKnow the membership packages, and know the prices on our website. Never quote a price, discount or end date that isn't on the website.
Membership packages
- 2 days per week
- 3 days per week
- 4 days per week
The 1-day package is not offered openly to new members, but an exception can be made if the coach asks the Cartel and justifies it.
Types of membership
- Prepaid Member: fees are collected by recurring card payment on the 26th for the following month.
- Discovery Vitality Member: their coaching times are secured for the month, and they book their free Vitality workouts through the Discovery app.
Why this matters
If you guess a price, admin either has to honour it or take it back. Both cost trust. If you're not sure, send the client to admin.
Changes & Cancellations
Our standardClients make changes and cancellations through the website forms. Not by WhatsApp, not by email, not through you.
Upgrades and downgrades
- The client completes the Change Your Membership form on the website: Members Portal → Change Your Membership.
- Admin processes it and updates Octiv.
- You update MY SCHEDULE to match the new package.
Cancellations
- The client completes the Cancel Your Membership form on the website: Members Portal → Cancel Your Membership.
- The membership ends at the end of the current billing month.
- Their slots stay theirs until then. Keep coaching them like they're staying.
Pauses
We don't pause memberships. Cancellations only.
What you say
"No problem. Everything goes through the form on our website so nothing gets missed. Here's the link."
Never confirm a price, a refund or an end date yourself. Point the client to the form and let admin confirm.
Why this matters
A cancellation told to a coach on WhatsApp gets lost, the client gets billed anyway, and we lose them twice. The form creates a record, and the record protects both the client and you.
Coaching Schedules
Our standardMY SCHEDULE on the Coach Portal is the master schedule.
- Make every change on SCHEDULE: new clients, moved slots, clients leaving.
- Each change appears under CHANGES I'VE MADE.
- Admin updates Octiv and marks the change Done.
- Until it shows Done, Octiv hasn't caught up. Check before the session.
- Maximum 4 clients per hour.
- Unsigned clients show red (CHECK) and hold the slot for up to 7 days.
- Not sure how to do something? Ask in FRED'S Q's.
Why this matters
An accurate schedule shows exactly where we have space. If someone has left and is still on your schedule, that slot is blocked, so a new client can't get a time and you lose business. If a slot is wrong, the client feels it: they get double-booked, can't find their slot, or turn up to the wrong session. Keep it accurate so every open slot can be sold and every client gets the service they pay for.
Attendance Check-in
Our standardEvery client is checked in or marked No Show in Octiv, during the session.
- Open Octiv → Schedules → select the slot.
- Tap Check In for every client who is there.
- Tap No Show for anyone who isn't.
- 30 minutes into the session, message every no-show:
Hi [Name], just checking in. Everything okay?
- Every missed session gets a WhatsApp. No exceptions.
- Vitality clients also check themselves in through the Discovery app or the iPad QR code.
The target
Your clients attend 80% of their booked sessions (checked in ÷ booked). Your DASH BOARD shows it, client by client. A client who drops below that is on their way out.
Double bookings
If a client is booked twice, keep the correct booking, remove the other and let admin know.
Why this matters
Attendance is the earliest warning we get. Clients don't cancel out of nowhere. They miss one session, then two, then they're gone. The message at 30 minutes is where you keep them.
The X App
Our standardEvery client has a live programme in the X App (Trainerize) before their first session. You manage it every session.
- Load the client's programme before they walk in for session one.
- Before each superset, check the client's history in the app.
- Prescribe the weight from that history. Never guess.
- Give the client a target for every set: weight, reps or tempo to beat.
- Make sure the client logs what they actually did, so the next session starts from real numbers.
- Progress the programme as they progress.
Why this matters
The X App is the backbone of progression-based coaching. Without the history, you're guessing. With it, every set has a purpose and every session builds on the last. The client sees where they started and where they are now, and a client who can see their progress doesn't need convincing to stay.
Discovery Vitality
Our standardAs an accredited Discovery Vitality fitness facility, Vitality members can book free workouts with us every month. With our ENGINE ROOM 4:1™ client-to-coach ratio, coaching is personal and places are limited. When a Vitality member joins, we secure their coaching times for the month so they can book their Vitality workouts with us. They then follow a progressive programme with an expert coach who delivers every session.
Coaches need to know the Vitality member process and how to use both Octiv and the Discovery app. The guide is on the website: Members Portal → Manage Bookings.
Vitality member process
- The member cancels their secured recurring Octiv booking.
- They book the same session in the Discovery app.
- They check in through the Discovery app or the iPad QR code.
Non-members using Vitality
They show in Octiv with a pink V. Treat them exactly like a trial: welcome them, coach them and add them as a lead on the portal. Explain the benefits of becoming an ENGINE ROOM Crew member.
Why this matters
Discovery has strict terms for our accreditation. If we lose it, the members lose the benefit and the coaches lose the members.
Drop Ins
Our standardA drop-in trains only if their booking shows in Octiv.
- The client goes to the website → Menu → Drop In.
- They pay R300, accept the disclaimer and book their session.
- Check that the booking shows in Octiv before they train.
- No booking in Octiv means no session. Send them the link.
- If they want to join, use PATCH IN PROSPECT → Drop In.
Why this matters
The disclaimer covers them and us, and the booking is how you get paid. Both happen online before the session, or the session doesn't happen.
Past Members
Our standardCheck in with every past member on your list every 2 months.
- Open PAST CREW on the portal.
- Send a WhatsApp straight from the page. Keep it personal.
- If they want to come back, use PATCH IN PROSPECT → Returning.
"Hi [Name], it's [Coach] from Engine Room. Been thinking about you. How's training going?"
The list is refreshed on the last Friday of every month.
Why this matters
A past member already knows us. They're the easiest client you'll ever win back, as long as you're the one who reaches out.
The Coaching Experience
Our standardFour clients, one coach, everyone coached. Nobody trains alone in a 4:1 session.
- Be on the floor 15 minutes before the first client arrives.
- Greet every client by name.
- Know their goal, their programme and what happened last session.
- Coach every client through every set. Correct, encourage, progress.
- Finish every session by telling them what's next.
Why this matters
The client chose small-group coaching over a cheaper gym because they want to be coached. Deliver that every session and retention takes care of itself.
Take Ownership
Our standardEverything above on one screen. Know it without looking.
Leads
- Contact within 6 hours
- Mark Contacted on the portal
- Trial booked in Octiv
- Outcome recorded on the portal
Signing
- Joining? Send it to the Cartel straight away
- No training until Signed up
- Unsigned clients hold a slot for 7 days max
Schedule
- MY SCHEDULE is the master
- 4 clients per hour max
- Check that CHANGES I'VE MADE shows Done
Attendance
- Check In / No Show in Octiv, live
- Message no-shows at 30 minutes
- WhatsApp every missed session
- Target: 80%
Packages
- 2 / 3 / 4 days per week
- Know the prices on our website
- Never quote anything else
Changes
- Website forms only
- Cancellations end at the end of the billing month
- No pauses
- Never confirm prices or dates
Own the detail.
Keep the client.