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For gym or studio owners · Back office

Find a sub when a coach cannot teach

One clear sub request to the coaches who can teach the class, a confirmation for whoever takes it, and a thank-you for the rest.

By Aaron Byrne, KeenHand

The prompt

Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and fill in each part in [BRACKETS]. Studio owners and head coaches who manage the teaching schedule.

I run a gym or studio. A coach cannot teach a class and I need someone to cover it. I want one clear message to the coaches who can teach it, so I am not texting people one at a time.

What I have:
- The class, day, time and room: [CLASS TO COVER]
- What the sub needs to know about the class: [CLASS NOTES]
- The coaches who are able to teach it: [COACHES WHO CAN COVER]
- How they say yes, and who gets it if two say yes: [HOW TO CLAIM IT]
- How I sound with my team: [MY TONE]

What I want:
1. Write a short group message with the class, the day and time, and what it involves in the first two lines.
2. Tell them exactly how to claim it and what happens if two people say yes, using my rule.
3. Write a short confirmation for the coach who takes it, with the class notes they need.
4. Write a one-line thank-you for anyone who offered and did not get it.

Rules:
- Write a draft for me to read. Do not send anything.
- Use only what I gave you. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing.
- Never promise pay, a bonus or future classes I did not give you.
- Do not say why the coach is out. Just say the class needs a sub.
- Leave out card details and anything about a member's or a coach's health.

Give me back:
- The group message
- The confirmation for whoever takes it
- The thank-you line

When to use it

A coach tells you they cannot teach a class, often the night before or that morning, and you need someone who can cover it.

When not to

Do not use it to decide pay for the cover, or to reply to a coach who is out for an injury or a personal matter they shared with you. Handle those yourself.

What to paste in

  • [CLASS TO COVER]: The class name, day, time and room.
  • [CLASS NOTES]: The format, the level, how many are booked, and anything about music or equipment. No member names.
  • [COACHES WHO CAN COVER]: First names of the coaches who are able to teach this class.
  • [HOW TO CLAIM IT]: How they say yes, for example a reply in the team chat, and your rule if two say yes.
  • [MY TONE]: Three or four words for how you sound with your team.

Never paste

  • Member names from the class roster
  • Why the coach is out, if it is about their health or something personal

A filled-in example

Sample. Fictional business, fictional client.

CLASS TO COVER: Thursday 6:15 pm Intro Strength, main floor
CLASS NOTES: 14 booked, mostly newer members. Usual warm-up, then the Intro Strength plan on the whiteboard. Keep it at the Intro level. Playlist is in the shared folder.
COACHES WHO CAN COVER: Jess, Marcus, Leo
HOW TO CLAIM IT: Reply in the team chat. First yes gets it, and I confirm in the chat so nobody shows up twice.
MY TONE: Direct, thankful, quick

What you should get back

  • A group message with the class, time and what it needs up front
  • Your rule for who gets it, stated plainly
  • A confirmation for the coach who takes it
  • No reason for the absence and no pay promises you did not make

What stays with you

The prompt writes a draft. You decide what happens to it, and nothing should reach a member until you have read it. Decisions about money stay with a person every time, and so do health questions and complaints. When KeenHand builds a routine like this, every message carries the same four decisions: Automate, Approve, Revise, Reject.

More: every prompt for gyms and studios, back office, and AI for gyms and studios.

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