Lafayette, Colorado’s Bob L. Burger Recreation Center is the best community fitness facility I’ve visited in 45 years. And I’ve had some type of fitness membership—from private clubs to community rec centers and everything in between—during that entire time.
The delightful customer service experience was even more impactful given the current trend toward stupid, inattentive, ill-informed, and nasty customer service in so many places.
It started with registering for a 5-visit pass. Aidan and Katie treated me like gold. They were friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. At a time when community-based facilities are shorthanded and often staffed with any warm body they can get, Aidan and Katie shined as beacons of excellence.
The facility itself was welcoming, beautifully appointed, and full of perfectly functioning, state-of-the-art equipment. From the weight room to the cardio center, everything was top-notch. Having done this for upwards of a half-century, I know the good, the bad, and the ugly. This was great!
The senior price for five passes, $16, is a breath of fresh air amid an inflationary spiral.
In short, everything was designed to enhance the customer experience. How often does THAT happen these days?
The Center’s customer service focus started with its namesake. According to a 2015 Boulder Daily Camera report: “Bob Burger always kept a copy of the Bob L. Burger Recreation Center brochure next to his phone. That’s because people would often call the former Lafayette mayor, thinking they were calling the rec center that was named after him. Burger didn’t want to tell them they had called the wrong number, so when confused callers would ask about gymnastics or the pool schedule, he would just look up the information and pass it along.”
“‘He was always giving and always putting people first,’ said Curt Cheesman, Lafayette’s director of recreation. Burger died Sunday at the age of 85. The namesake of the city’s rec center, which opened 25 years ago, Burger served as mayor from 1980 to 1989 and was ‘certainly a legend,’ said current Lafayette Mayor Christine Berg. ‘We have these founding fathers and mothers of our city … and he was certainly one of those people,’ Berg said.”
Although I’m much closer to the East Boulder Community Center (EBCC) when I visit Boulder, I will likely spend most of my weightlifting, cardio, and swimming sessions in Lafayette going forward. EBCC is perfectly adequate, but the Bob L. Burger Recreation Center is something very special. It exudes positive energy, something we can all use more of these days!
Thanks Aidan, Katie, and the rest of the Center staff and management. You’ve got something really special. Keep it going!
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