피트니스센터의 서비스 접점은 어떻게 고객 경험을 결정짓는가? : CIT를 활용한 경험 요소 도출 및 개선 방안 분석

초록

Purpose: This study categorizes fitness center users’ positive experiences, negative experiences, and service improvement demands through the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), and inductively derives key experience factors and improvement directions at each service encounter. Method: Data were collected from 411 customers who had maintained memberships for at least six months at membership based fitness centers in the Seoul metropolitan area through online and offline surveys conducted between March and April 2026. Results: The results were as follows. First, positive experiences were primarily associated with human service, the physical environment, exercise outcomes, and the usage environment, with staff professionalism, friendliness, cleanliness, and facility quality emerging as the most frequently reported factors. Second, negative experiences mainly involved poor cleanliness and hygiene, staff unfriendliness, excessive personal training sales pressure, and inappropriate member behavior. Third, service improvement needs focused primarily on the improvement of cleanliness and hygiene, the maintenance and expansion of exercise equipment, and the enhancement of service quality. Conclusion: These findings indicate that both human service and the physical environment play central roles in shaping customer experiences in fitness centers. These results provide practical guidance for designing customer centered service management strategies that enhance experience quality across service encounters.

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