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As you know, I just moved to California a month ago. Shortly after I got here I joined the 24 Hour Fitness that is just up the street from me. Well we recently secured office space, which is conveniently in a building with a small gym on the lower level.
So I thought it convenient to be able to grab a quick workout there when I need a 15 minute break or for on those rare mornings that I feel motivated to exercise early in the day (note: that is very rare…okay who am I kidding, it will never happen)
Anyway, I go into the gym and ask the guy at the front desk about membership options for people in the building. He told me about all of them, all of which included long term commitments…which considering I have the 24 Hour Fitness commitment, I told him I preferred a per visit drop in or something month to month.
He said they don’t have a punch card, and don’t sell drop in fees and DON’T offer a month to month option. I asked if I could pay for one month…the answer was no.
I said “Let me get this straight…The ONLY way I can work out here is to commit to a one or two year term?”
Yup
Interestingly, I had my wallet out and in my hand since I figured I’d be buying something. At this point in the conversation I was more intrigued than anything to learn why he wouldn’t take my money. So I kept pestering for the amusement of my newsletter and blog readers 
Me: “So I have money in my hand, and you won’t take it” (note: my tone was very sarcastic and condescending 
The moron: ”If you want to sign a contract I will”
Me: ”What if I paid you $30 per visit?” (keep in mind the monthly membership was only $30)
The moron: ”Nope”
Me: ”Are you the manager?”
The moron: (Now busying himself on the computer to hopefully get me to leave) “Nope, he’s not here”
Me: ”Would he approve of you refusing my money?”
The moron: ”Yes”
Me: ”You sure man? I have money right now that I’d like to pay you if you have any other options”
The moron: ”We don’t…sorry”
–
So now I ask you…what would you have done in this situation? Do you take the money and get me to try it out? Do you let me workout that day to experience it so maybe I’ll be convinced to pay for one of your membership options? Or do you stick to your policy and let me leave?
Trust me, I understand and advocate the need for structure and policy, but I feel if someone wants to work out, you need to find a way for it to happen. Once they’re a member, at any level, they are likely to buy more services. Especially since I work in the building and can walk down each day for a protein shake or bar, or any number of add-on sales.
Do you bend? Or do you stick to your guns knowing I’m going to take my cash to your competitor?
Our motto and what I drill into the staff…”never turn away money, WORK WITH THEM!” I’m sorry you had a bad experience at your local gym!
In this day and age especially! There are so many fitness competitors, I say just get them to try it…any way you can, then focus on impressing them to spend more and stay longer.
But I like your motto: “Never Turn away money”
Everyone should write that down
That is the difference between an owner and an employee. And that is why moron will always be an employee and never an owner.
I would definitely bend the rules a little bit for the potential client. This is the kind a stuff that made me start my own business. Sometimes I can’t stand big corporate gyms.
That’s until I become a big corporate gym of course
First of all I will commend the sales person for sticking to his guns, but that’s about it.
Where they completely FAIL, is not having an option for any situation. You wanted just one month to start, so if a regular term membership is $30 bucks, they could have charged you, lets say $50 for just one month. I bet you would have paid the $50, heck you would have probably paid $60 or $70, because you didn’t care to much about the money, you just wanted to buy one month.
They should always present the most popular options, and in your case they should have said, Curtis we do have one a month membership, but it’s not our most popular option, but it $60 bucks for one month. Let’s get you STARTED TODAY! Now they have you as a member, not a long term one — yet. That is where they went wrong, I am sure if you joined for one month and really liked it, you probably would have signed for a more cost effective membership later, or just kept paying the $60 a month, but now they will NEVER have that chance to sell you ANYTHING again.
It’s good to stick to your guns, but you have to an option for all situations.
I would have accepted the money or figured out a price that fit that members need. As an owner I personally cut prospective members a deal within reason just to appease them.
I would have suggested our 3 month renewable option with $49 down and $39 per month…If you’d said no to that I’d offer you the month to month at $59 per month, 10 visit punchcard for $69 then the week unlimited for $39 a week…or 3 visit punchcard for $29 or the daily rate for $15 but since you worked in the building I would have offered you a free 7 day trial 1st. I offer many different options to suit our members needs but I just don’t do the low balling or price matching to lure members that are shopping other facilities. There is a Gold’s Gym in my area that will sell you a membership for $99 a year to keep you from joining my club and a very high end club that will sell a membership as low as $250 year to keep a member from joining my club, even though they normally sell a membership fro $55 a month…any ideas how to deal with these clowns?
I agree with Eric. You should stick to your policy otherwise people will always feel that your prices are negotiable. And that’s not what you want to be known for. But that said you need to have a price for every situation, even if they are unannounced prices. I would still present the one and two yera options, but if someone just couldn’t do it, I would have some other options up my sleeve.
And if the gym is struggling (or even if it isn’t), ownership should have done a better job communicating with their staff about how to handle that situation. Or at least they need to be giving commissions to their front desk staff so they’re more motivated to get your money. It’s common for a front desk staff to do their job without understanding that it is a business that must make money, not just a place for them to clock in to get a paycheck.
I agree completely. I can’t blame the guy at the desk. He was doing what he was told to do. So maybe his name should have been “Guy trained by moron”
It’s all about training. You should be training and roleplaying with your staff every single week. It’s a pain in the ass a lot of times, but so so worth it.
The problem is that unlike any other business model – gyms are KNOWN for bargaining rather than sticking to a reasonable price for a great product. Typically the staff doesn’t buy in to the value of the service and the potential member smells blood in the water and hears stories of this gym or that one dropping rates like a bad habit until the customer eventually buys SOMETHING… It’s a slippery slope…
Moron is the perfect term for him. I believe that you should bend the rules a little bit to get people in the gym. At least let you workout for the day to see if you like it. He could have called the manager/owner and ask to do another options.
I would have given him two options: 1) a $59/month rate for the month to month 2)ask him if he could find someone to take over the membership at the rate of $30/month for a longer commitment, then I will match his rate to $30/month without any commitment if he still wants to continue with the gym. He either pays us way more or become an “outside” sales person for us to find one more referal.
Many things disturbed me about this article Curtis. The main one being why you would join a 24 hour fitness in the first place??? I am a small gym owner – part of a franchise- but still an owner. Let me remind you that most of the people that read your articles and watch your show are probably part of a smaller gym. We are the entrepreneurs like yourself. I am disappointed that you would be a member of a big box gym that could probably care less who you are. Does the owner know your name? Does the owner know your story, ask about your family…etc.? On to the real subject of the article…yes, the kid is a moron BUT I think it goes beyond the kid to the decision makers. Why wouldn’t you have an option of a mini-membership. Most people are afraid of a gym commitment thanks to the big box gyms being so ruthless. In this economy and in business you have to bend the rules a bit when necessary.
Don’t worry small potato, I would never forget about the little guy. I typically just work out at a particular gym for no more than 3 months (which is how long I paid for the 24 Hr membership) so I can see what they’re doing. Often times, I’m a member of several gyms at once. I’m not at a gym to help the little guy or to keep it corporate. In fact, because I am not working IN a gym anymore, I need to stay fresh on what people are doing and how…and that includes corporate gyms.
You’ll be happy to know I also joined a dirty little boxing gym in the area. Someone told me they are absolutely killing it and I wanted to see what they were doing. So don’t worry, I’m not choosing GloboGym over Joes Gym, I’m simply continuing to try different spots to do my research…and of course to stay in shape. I don’t think any of you would respect me much if I had more than one chin
Take it easy. Let the guy workout wherever he wants. Put his needs ahead of your own…for him and everyone else.
MAybe it is the managers fault, we are only as strong as our weekest link. I have seen several clubs where one or two people know everything and everyone else is the mrorn in this case. We offer month to month and annual membership options, but we also have membership options for those who do not want to committ (at a higher rate.) Our daily guest fee is $20, now that will scare people away who are not truly interested, but if someone is visiting from out of town or just wants to use the club for a day, rent them the day at a higher rate – a good sales man would have overcome this and had you agree to a membership option that fit both of you and rewarded each of you.
Depending where you are in this country, in the fitness industry, you would be shocked at how many”moron employees and owner/managers”, there are. Simply put you must have structure, with flexible options for the demographics of the community. Working in the building, you would think that everyone who works in the building would have access to a free 7/day pass.
In Good Health ,Kenny
At our club we try to be welcoming and inclusive. We strive for “yes’s” instead of “no’s”. The only time I feel a policy is important to stick to, is if it helps you retain your identity. If you advertise that you are an all adult club, then you have to live by that. Length of time is not an identity. It is a “wish” and a “hope.” If we are doing our job our membership should “want” to stay, not “have” to stay due to a policy. How unfortunate that this gym has decided not to be accessible to individuals that may not fit into their perfect criteria. Very interesting story. Thanks Curtis.
Maybe he read you to be a cynical character and didn’t want you as a customer.
Curtis,
Interesting article and one that I think is very relevant. I think the main point here is that consumers want choices and flexibility to choose fitness programs that fit their specific needs in terms of budget, time, location, skill, etc…
I believe that the suppliers of fitness services that get ahead of this trend will be set to really benefit.
Wow, There’s a lot to be said for having staff work on front reception delivering great customer service on their very first shift instead of sitting them down and reading a policy and procedure manual.
Customer Service is often all backwards for Moron’s. Get the task completed first and deliver customer service second!
Yes I bend and find a solution that suit you (the customer) and the business.
Cheers,
Mat
Funny story, and I totally agree with Curtis that this guy is a moron, the least he should have done was call his manager and see if something could be worked out without a doubt, but as someone else said that is the difference between an employee and an owner, the guy behind the desk obviously doesn’t have much initiative at all, so he will never go anywhere. If it was me, I would have taken the initiative and done something for you to get you in the door and working out in the place. After all if you are good to your customers and treat them right they will bring you more business so its best to work with them, not turn them away because something doesn’t fit the policy.
Pretty harsh to say “the guy doesn’t have much initiative at all so he’ll never go anywhere”. Should his initiative be to not do what he’s been told to do? I think he should have taken your name and told you that he would talk to the owner/manager and get back with you. Then tell the owner/manager the situation, and suggest that there may be other people who felt the same way and that maybe he/she should consider having other membership options. Then call you back and let you know either way. Then at least you’ll know who the moron is or isn’t.
Bending the rules, or cutting a deal, is never a good idea. It was good that the guy stuck to his guns. The problem was that the guns (rules) were stupid. You can never please everyone with membership options, but certainly you should have something shorter than a year. Every gym should offer a month-to-month membership but have pricing to discourage it.
Curtis,
Come on over and work out at my studio. I will gladly take your money and put you on our referral rewards program after your free week trial. Then I’ll offer you some personal training at a steeply discounted rate if you are willing to be my human billboard and shuttle referrals through the door. We can even set you up on EFT and you can cancell any time you feel you are not getting the results you deserve!I just need you to fill out 4 pieces of paper, a waiver, PAR-Q, EFT paper, and of course a media release for your awesome testimony when I have you ripped up with an 8 pack!
Sounds to me like inaccessible manager syndrome, the moron is only doing what he’s empowered to do (i.e. nothing). He’s probably still a moron for working there rather than finding someone decent to work for, but I expect that the problem with the club is the attitude from above.
Gym managers need to be visible, to staff and members alike, not hidden away all the time. Floor walking is as important for them as it is for the fitness professional, and will help communication throughout the club, and perhaps even create leadership…
Ohhhh I love the passion! Here’s my 2 cents. Clubs need to have set policies for operational consistency and as Eric put it Sticking to guns is a good trait for people to possess. But we must also empower our employees to make decisions. If we are playing w/ guns then don’t be afraid to pull the trigger and collect some short term money if it allows us to continue the dialog. View it as Curtis paying you to market to him in person for the next 30 days. Then service the heck out of him make a friend and eventually point out the inconvenience of going to 24 hr fitness when you can hop on the elevator. Or trade out some time for valuable gym marketing advice which you come to find out the guy you just turned away has in spades. Of course you never find that out unless you ask the right questions because you are too busy reciting the procedure manual
I too like to see the passion on this topic. I think Curtis put this post up here just to get us fired up
As for the guy, yes his name should be moron because even though there is policy and he should follow it, I picture a punk kid getting paid $8 an hour who just cost the business several hundreds of dollars because he was rude and didn’t put the business’ interests first.
Thats the problem in most businesses (especially gyms) today. The front line could care less about the bottom line. They are there to do their job, not to understand what effect their actions have on the revenue of the gym. I think it was Curtis who said that we need to stop paying these “kids” minimum wage or even $10/hour. The face of your gym and the first/last person who has influence on your members should be someone who has loyalty to the gym, to the members…and if nothing else, loyalty to a higher paycheck! Pay them more, expect more, get more.
I’d love to practice what I preach lol but right now I AM the owner, trainer, cleaner, and front desk person (and unfortunately still making minimum wage HA) For all the mistakes we make, this is still the best industry in the world.
Gyms would be wise to follow the McDonalds approach of offering multiple options – regular, medium or supersize. Upsell the supersize and customers often buy the regular or medium. Sell only the supersize and they say no thanks.
Sorry for the McDonalds reference in a fitness related post!