Today’s “B” Session: Club Service (Still) Sucks

I cancelled my gym membership today. It shouldn’t have taken me so long to take this step, as I’ve been thinking of cancelling for more than a year. But, I kept thinking “things” at my club would get better.

I’d been a member of this facility since I first moved to the area, almost six years ago. When I joined, it was a small facility located within a physical therapy clinic. Because of its size, the facility had a kind of local appeal to it, and I got to know the owner, the fitness director and a couple of the trainers. A few years later, the owner decided to build a new 20,000-square-foot facility next door. The original fitness director and trainers went their own way, and new faces were hired. With the new facility, there was more opportunity to provide additional types of programming, such as aquatics, racquetball and group exercise, and, I must admit, I was excited. I run outdoors and have my own weights at home, so I only use the facility for two reasons: 1) when the weather is intolerable, and 2) to participate in group exercise and maybe swim a few laps now and then. With this new facility, I would definitely be spending more time there.

But, to my dismay, rather than working out at the new facility more, I began to go less. First, it was about familiarity. I didn’t seem to know anyone anymore, and none of the staff seemed to care who I was. And, I wasn’t the only one. On two different occasions while running on the treadmill (due to inclement weather), I had to provide assistance to people who were clearly at a loss about how to operate the equipment. One woman stared at the console so long that I jumped onto the side rails, took of my headphones and asked her how I could help. She just wanted to know whether she should use the pre-programmed options, and how. Another woman tried and tried, unsuccessfully, to figure out how to turn the personal television screen on until, once again, I removed my headphones and told her how to do it. Where were all the employees? And, why didn’t these people get any sort of orientation on how to use the equipment?

I could get over the staff issues, however, if it meant I could participate in some fun group exercise classes. Unfortunately, the facility failed to hire any real group exercise instructors, and instead relied on personal trainers to fill the void. We all know that personal trainers do not make great group exercise instructors. And, to top it off, their most exciting classes are weight training and boot camp. There are no fun dance classes that offer high-energy excitement, which is what I want — and, I discovered in conversation with other participants, that’s what many of them want, as well. (See my blog, “Where Did the Fun Go in Group Exercise?”) So, I emailed the fitness director to voice my concern, and even made some suggestions, including attaching some of the articles we’ve published in the magazine. Can you believe that I wasn’t even given the courtesy of a reply?

For the past eight months, I’ve used the facility exactly three times — twice due to inclement weather and another time to try another group exercise class, which was disappointing. At $39 a month, I’ve calculated that I paid $104 for each of those visits. Those are some expensive workouts!

So, you may be asking, what am I going to do now in the event of inclement weather? Well, I’m joining a chain fitness facility (I won’t mention which one) that just opened last month. It may be 10.1 miles from my home versus 4.3, but I’ve been told by a couple of friends that the facility offers some really fun and exciting group exercise classes taught by real group exercise instructors. Heck, I figure if I’m going to be ignored anyway, which I surely will at a large chain, then at least I’ll get some good workouts in for my dues! And, guess what, it’s cheaper, too!

What I can’t get over is the fact that I would have expected this kind of poor customer service from a large chain, but, given the history of the facility I just quit, I didn’t expect to be treated the way I was there. If you’re an operator or fitness professional at a locally owned fitness center, you need to ask yourself whether you have members who feel like I do, and if you do, I suggest you take a long, hard look at how you can improve your customer service, your staff and your programs.

Do You Negotiate?

It’s a famous plot device in nail-biting hostage movies: A stone-jawed president says, “We do not negotiate with terrorists!” — leaving the hero to figure out how the heck to get those hostages back (one of whom, naturally, is his wife/girlfriend/child) without giving an inch. In the movies, things usually work out, thanks to lots of explosives and a studio system that requires happy endings. But, in real life, no-negotiation policies don’t always end happily.

So, do you negotiate? On your membership prices, I mean. To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that this was a possibility until I read a blog entry by a woman looking for advice on how to find a good deal on a fitness center membership. Her readers advised her to negotiate the membership fee, and claimed the only type of facility that won’t bite is YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs.

Reading this, I couldn’t help but feel foolish. I’d compared membership fees before, and I always seem to get the short end of the stick. Some self-satisfied schmuck on the treadmill next to me pays half of what I do a month, making me resent him, the club and my own lousy business sense. I dread going to car dealerships for the same reason — playing hardball with a salesman is not my idea of a good time — and I don’t want to feel the same way as a fitness facility prospect. And, by the way, the enlightening blogger has a book deal, so you can bet she’ll reveal her own gym search experience in print before too long.

Interestingly, with two large chains and a YMCA competing for her business, the blogger chose the Y — and for reasons that had little to do with the membership fees. It was about the way she felt in the facility, and how she perceived the Y’s commitment to identifying and meeting its members’ needs.

So, maybe negotiating on price isn’t the answer. Maybe fitness centers can afford to play the role of stone-jawed president and focus on building an atmosphere that members want to pay to experience. And, you don’t want your members to feel like I did for not negotiating a better deal for their own memberships.

Consumer Reports Takes on the Fitness Industry

If you read my blog entry from a few weeks ago about the Better Business Bureau, you may see a pattern: how outsiders view the fitness industry. Now, the ultimate in consumer guides has, for the first time, rated fitness centers. Consumer Reports recently released its guide for consumers (your potential members) on the types of facilities that rate the best, and what to look for when deciding where to join.

The ratings are based on responses from more than 10,000 ConsumerReports.org subscribers who answered an online survey. Responders rated fitness centers on classes, crowds, locker rooms, billing issues and more. In addition, Consumer Reports sent 12 mystery shoppers to branches of the major chains in nine states. (To view the entire report, you must be a Consumer Reports subscriber.)

Results found that members don’t need a big, fancy facility to be happy. Responders gave higher marks to YMCAs/JCCs, community centers and corporate fitness centers than to most of the big chains that were rated. Yoga, Pilates and dance studios also outscored most of the chains.

In addition to the type of facility members preferred, they were asked about membership fees. Among respondents with paid memberships, 16 percent had a problem with their contract or fees, such as an unexpected dues hike or inability to suspend their membership temporarily. And, many members had difficulty canceling a membership. Thirty-eight percent of respondents who had canceled their membership in one of the big chains had at least one problem, such as receiving bills after cancellation, or excessive time and effort to cancel.

Should you care about this report? Absolutely! Even if you are not one of the big chains reviewed (Bally’s, Life Time Fitness, Curves, Gold’s Gym, 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness and Town Sports International), your category of facility is most likely included (independent, YMCA, corporate, etc.). Also, the guide gives tips to potential members on what to look for in a facility, including staff, cleanliness, value, equipment and programs.

Now, in addition to cars and vacuum cleaners, Consumer Reports helps customers make informed buying decisions about fitness centers. The industry should take guides such as this to heart, and find out what current and potential members want and need in a fitness facility. According to this report, it’s not all about brand or having the best equipment. Members are happy with great service, a good value and fair business practices.

It’s Not My (Weight) Problem

This is the week of New Year’s resolutions. Hoards of people who want to lose weight will join a fitness center, determined to achieve their weight-loss goals. The problem is, these people are only a fraction of those who really need to make that New Year’s resolution. Because most people who need to lose weight refuse to believe they are overweight; they are in denial. The tragedy about this is it’s not just adults who are in denial about their own weight; these adults are also in denial about their children’s weight — a problem that is destined to cause a ripple effect among generations to come, exacerbating the U.S. obesity epidemic.

What can fitness professionals do about this? Well, one can only help those who are willing to help themselves, right? But, perhaps more individuals would be willing if we had more segments of society making sure that these people own up to the fact that they are, indeed, overweight.

According to a recent study by the National Consumers League (NCL) reported on by Medical News Today, there is a “startling disconnect between the way people perceive their weight, and their actual weight category based on the body mass index.” The NCL study of 1,978 U.S. adults reports that “52 percent of respondents referred to themselves as overweight, and only 12 percent as obese, severely obese or morbidly obese. But, based on actual BMI calculations using self-reported height and weight information among the 96 percent of respondents, … 35 percent are actually overweight, whereas 34 percent are actually obese, severely obese or morbidly obese. Among respondents who are obese according to BMI, 82 percent consider themselves to be simply overweight.”

Another survey reported on by MSNBC on December 24, found that many people in the U.S. whose children are obese do not see them that way. The survey of 2,060 adults, which collected children’s height and weight from their parents and then used that to calculate BMI, found that, among parents with an obese, or extremely overweight, child ages six to 11, 43 percent said their child was “about the right weight,” 37 percent responded “slightly overweight” and 13 percent said “very overweight.” Yet, based on what the parents reported, 15 percent of the children ages six to 11, and 10 percent of the children ages 12 to 17, were obese.

Unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control, while there are an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults who are overweight (33 percent) or obese (33 percent), the Medical News Today article reports that the NCL study showed that only 12 percent of U.S. adults say they have ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional that they are obese. In addition, it points out that individuals’ denial about their weight may also be a result of the social stigma associated with being obese: “Most U.S. adults (61 percent) report … that obesity is considered taboo in society today, and half attribute the condition to a ‘lack of will power.’” Parents’ lack of forthrightness about their kids’ weight can also be attributed to this problem. “Because of the social stigma, it’s not something that parents are willing to admit to readily,” says Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

While the social stigma associated with obesity is clearly an issue, this cannot be made an excuse to ignore the problem. It’s one thing to hurt ourselves, but to hurt our children, too?

As an industry, we can be a part of helping these individuals. By understanding the denial about weight, perhaps fitness professionals can implement some awareness programs alongside the New Year’s resolutions programs planned this year. Even a marketing campaign discussing this trend of denial and how fitness facilities can help — no stigma attached — might help bring some of those who really need to make a New Year’s resolution into your facility this year.