what a wonderful problem indeed!
at our club members can pay a little extra for the ability to reserve space in Les Mills classes from 6am the day of the class. Members are assigned a spot # at the time they call - they pick up the card w/ their # 20 minutes before class or 20 minutes before the first class if they are taking two back to back. when the class fills up, it fills up - but members can check the class status in advance instead of having to wait in line. folks at our club are very courteous about calling to cancel their reservation if they can't make it and the front desk staff lets in as many last minute folks as they can if people no-show for their reservations.
attendance at class time is controlled by an assitant - someone who is not paid, but is guaranteed a spot for free every week. they put out benches, unlock the weights, help instructors spot first timers, and take cards from members on the way in. we can start class on time and the assistant takes care of "those that come late" *shudder*. on the way out, the assistant helps put away and lock equipment and returns the cards to the front desk to be reused the next day.
the club benefits by knowing how many people to expect for a given class way in advance. sometimes they have extra desk help before a class if they know it's full. We track not only which classes are packing, but also when they're packing (an instructor that can pack a 7pm class by 7am must be doing something right, eh?)
as an instructor, i benefit because there are NAMES associated with the #'s. Sometimes I show up early and help check members in so i have names to faces. sometimes i make a mental note of someone's class # and look up the name later. it's a great way of solving that "i should know your name and now it's too late to ask" problem.
hope this helps a little. i'd love to hear what other clubs do to control and track class #'s. we can all learn from each other.
best,
matty
where there is no challenge, there is no achievement