South Downs Leisure operates a group of nine leisure facilities along the South Coast, serving a membership base of over 16,000 people. With a growing demand for instant support and a lean internal team, the organisation faced increasing pressure to meet customer expectations across multiple touch points, particularly in customer service and membership retention.
Prior to adopting HireBOB.ai, South Downs Leisure relied on a small team to manage customer enquiries and membership cancellations. One staff member handled cancellation requests across all sites, while general customer service queries were only addressed during standard Monday-to-Friday office hours. This led to delays in responses, particularly over weekends, resulting in lost opportunities to engage, retain, and convert customers.
In 2024, South Downs Leisure introduced HireBOB.ai to manage two key functions:
The team opted for a phased approach, starting with these two foundational services to test impact and value before scaling further.
1. Reduced Admin Load and Improved Customer Response Time
With HireBOB.ai handling customer enquiries 24/7, South Downs Leisure significantly reduced the time staff spent on administrative tasks. “Bob”, the AI employee, now responds instantly to common questions such as “Is the pool open?”, “How do I sign up for a membership?” and “Can I cancel a class?”.
Not only has this improved operational efficiency, but it has also enhanced the member experience, especially during out-of-hours periods.
2. Improved Mystery Shop Scores
South Downs Leisure saw a noticeable improvement in their mystery shopper evaluations. Scores jumped from around 70% to over 90% within a year, a transformation attributed in large part to the instant and accurate first-contact responses powered by HireBOB.
3. Smarter Membership Retention
Managing cancellations across 16,000+ members with a single team member was a bottleneck. HireBOB.ai helped bridge this gap with automated responses and intelligent routing, reducing the lag time that often led to member loss.
A standout result: Bob helped retain 248 members who initially intended to cancel by seamlessly transitioning them to an on-demand, online-only membership option. This flexible offer allowed members to continue accessing classes remotely, still led by the familiar instructors they knew from their local centres.
4. Lower Attrition Rates
Since implementing AI Employees, South Downs Leisure has seen attrition rates drop from 6% to as low as 3-4% at some sites, demonstrating the tangible impact of real-time engagement and retention-focused automation.
After renewing their partnership with HireBOB.ai for another year, South Downs Leisure is exploring new ways to integrate more of HireBOB’s features across their operations. With a strong foundation already in place, the organisation is excited to scale their use of automation to further enhance member engagement and free up staff to focus on growth initiatives
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Business Development Director, South Downs Leisure
