Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope — Attraction in Sydney

Two disappointing incidents that occurred this week, which I believe highlight areas where the Centre could improve its customer service and booking system. Incident 1 – Booking Cancellation Without Adequate Notice I had made an online booking for badminton on Monday, 22nd September 2025 at 9:00 AM, which was successfully confirmed through your online portal on Saturday, 20th September 2025. Based on this confirmed booking, I arranged a day off work and coordinated with friends for a leisure activity. However, at 8:30 AM on the day of the booking, I received a call from the Centre informing me that the booking had been cancelled due to another event being held at the venue. I was told this was due to a system fault. Unfortunately, this is not the first time such a situation has occurred I’ve had previous bookings cancelled under similar circumstances with the same explanation. I understand that scheduling conflicts can happen, but repeatedly blaming the system suggests a need for a more reliable and up-to-date booking system. Last-minute cancellations not only waste customers' time but also affect their personal and professional schedules. I kindly urge management to review and upgrade the booking system to prevent double-bookings and ensure that confirmed bookings are honoured. Incident 2 – Staff Behaviour on Friday, 26th September 2025 On Friday, 26th September 2025, my friends and I had a badminton booking from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. As we were wrapping up our game at 9:59 AM, a member of staff approached us and abruptly told us to leave. When we explained that we were just finishing up, his tone became rude and he insisted, quite forcefully, that we "have to stop NOW." While we understand that time slots must be respected, the manner in which the staff member addressed us was unprofessional and lacked basic customer service etiquette. A more courteous approach would have been both effective...

There are both positives and negatives to this centre but overall it is average. I have been a swimmer for a lot of my life, so have visited a significant number of pools over the years. I attended during the lap swimming times so cannot comment on the swim school. The pool itself is certainly above average. The water is warmer than most freezing cold pools, there are ten lanes instead of eight and there are a couple of other pools which often keep kids out of the lap lanes. This is a good location to come to late at night or first thing in the morning but during the day it is too busy. The change rooms are very run down and often dirty. The reception staff are rude. My main issue is with the lifeguards that completely fail to maintain pool etiquette during busy times. There are kids and non-swimmers floating and playing in the fast lane. The lanes are packed which makes it impossible to do serious training. On one occasion I was training with a lane to myself and suddenly three additional lanes became closed as a football team had reserved them. I was forced into a lane with literally seven other people, all of which were not actually swimming. I had no choice but to leave. I understand public lap swimmers are not the priority but surely it wouldn’t take much to update the website with accurate lane availability so swimmers can avoid the pool at such times. This centre has so much potential if some basic changes...

The reception staff ( old ladies) are very, very rude and have no idea what is customer service !! Today I witnessed two staff members at the front desk talking to a member whilst the queue was going as far a the front door. On other occasions the reception staff seem to talk amongst themselves whilst the customers have to queue and wait until they finish their conversations. They never greet or smile . I spoke to the duty manager today and he has no idea on customer service is either. If two employees are required to assist one member of the gym whilst the queue is that long they should use their common sense and ask the lady to step aside until the gueue gets smaller.

These lines seem to delay those who need to access change rooms and as a result having to rush to booked classes. On the other hand, young staff seem to be more attentive however at times discrimination toward individuals of colour is present. Members have witnessed that there is a favouritism toward Anglo-Saxons, which I completely disagree with as we all pay similar fees!! I have contacted Blacktown Council on multiple occasions and still nothing has been done about this issue. Its about time the council gets rid of this front desk and put up self service ticket machines. Council needs to set up a customer service survey to get feed back from other members and the community !I hope someone does something about...