A New Idea

I’ve never liked people who criticize someone without offering their own ideas for a solution. It’s counterproductive and, on some level, cowardly.

Last week I said believe Planet Fitness’ low-priced membership strategy may cause long-term harm to the industry. Whether I agree with it or not, it is a valid attempt by a successful business to find a solution for a problem every club is facing: getting more customers in an economic crisis. And, in the spirit of my statement above, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer another possible solution for clubs looking to lower prices without devaluing their services.

Here is my idea:*

Forget the “Pay as You Go” membership model. What about “Pay as you DON’T Go”?

Clubs want to build loyalty, right? You want your clients to build fitness into their routines, value the services they receive at the club, want to spend time there. Why not reward them for doing exactly that?

Say each club visit is worth $5. You establish an “ideal” visit rate of three times per week, averaging out to $60 per month. So, the member’s base fee is $15 per week. If they go once a week, knock $5 off their dues. Twice a week, knock off $10. Three times per week, and that week is free. Your members are saving money by working out at your club.

And while these sensible members are at your club, sell, sell, sell. Sell personal training sessions, sell smoothies, sell weight gloves, sell private Pilates lessons. Sell the heck out of everything you’ve got without being too aggressive or annoying.

If you employ this model, you’re obviously taking a risk. What if members do exactly what you want them to and come to the club like clockwork? Perhaps you could establish a base fee, and the $5 per visit is on top of that. What if members stop by on their way to the grocery store, swipe their card at the front desk and count it as a workout? Perhaps you could require members to swipe in and swipe out, with a minimum visit length of 20 minutes. Problems will pop up, but so will solutions.

Now’s your chance to tell me why you think this idea won’t work — or why it will. The comments are open.

*Whether you love it or hate it, I promise this is my own idea. I thought of it at my dining room table while nursing an epic Easter head cold. However, if another club has already come up with a similar idea, please let us know in the comments section.

The Dollar Dilemma

Have you heard? Planet Fitness has devalued the fitness industry lowered its dues to an offensive amazing $1 sign-up fee and $10 monthly dues with no commitment requirements! Isn’t that awful great?

It’s not like I didn’t expect this. Businesses lower prices to compete. But even if this means Planet Fitness can keep its lights on for another month or so, what does it mean for the industry after the economy rights itself?

Will the fitness industry end up like the airline industry? Airfare wars have driven prices so low that I wonder how long it takes before somebody offers to pay me to fly, instead of the other way around.

A $10-per-month price-tag is ridiculous. I can’t see how this lowball strategy will help the industry in the long run.

What am I missing? How can this possibly be a good idea? I seek enlightenment in the FM Blog’s comments section …

Advice to Potential Members Can Help You, Too

As everyone knows, January is a big month for fitness centers. It is also a big month, it seems, for newspapers and blogs to give advice about joining one. The Internet is full of tips to consumers for what to look for when joining a fitness center. These tips can be used as guides for the facilities, too.

1. Have your membership contracts in order, and make sure they are legal in your state. Many sites advise consumers to read the fine print, and not to sign anything too quickly.

2. Hire and train great people. Consumers are being advised to see if staff members are friendly, approachable and well-trained/certified. Advertise your staff members’ credentials, and make sure they walk the fitness floor and talk to members.

3. Know your market. Do your members want childcare, group classes, a variety of equipment, or other programs and services? Potential members are being encouraged to check the facility out thoroughly, and ask lots of questions.

4. Don’t oversell. One of the most-common tips for potential members is to try out the facility during the time of day they will most likely use it. That way, they can tell if the locker room is too crowded, or they have to wait to use a machine.

5. Offer trial memberships. Hand out free weekly passes so potential members can get a feel for what your facility is really like.

6. Keep your facility clean. Almost every one of these sites tells consumers to check out the cleanliness of the facility, including looking for problems with the locker rooms and dust around the equipment.

Can Our Industry Capitalize on the Recession?

Now that we’re officially in a recession, and scores of people are cutting back on their finances, the New Year is upon us. What does this mean for the fitness industry at a time when the greatest jump in membership sales typically occurs? We’ve always been able to count on those New Year’s resolutions!

But, over the Thanksgiving weekend, as I was watching the Fox News channel, it became ever more clear that those New Year’s resolutions may not pay off for our industry this year. While interviewing shoppers about their spending plans for the Christmas holidays and beyond, more than one individual mentioned their fitness center membership as one of the items that would be eliminated as their belts were tightened. The gym expense is considered by these people as “discretionary spending.” Even USA Today reported that cash-strapped customers have cut spending on spas and gyms.

This is not the first blog the FM staff has written about how our industry is going to hold up during what seems to be a never-ending economic downward spiral. And we are far from the only ones taking a look at this issue. Each day, a new story appears in some city paper about the problems our industry is, or in some cases, is not, facing. During Thanksgiving week alone, articles appeared with the following titles: Fitness Centers Work Out Deals; Fitness Clubs Fight Unhealthy Economy; Gyms Weather Economic Storm. And, those are just a few examples.

What’s interesting is that many noted industry experts have claimed, and are still claiming, that the fitness facility industry is recession-resistant. But, is this true? In the above-referenced articles, many facility owners are saying that they are not being affected by the recession, yet many others are saying they are.

Unfortunately, economists are saying this is one of the worst economies we have seen in a long, long time — long before fitness memberships were a part of the American family’s budget. So, with times as hard as they are, it’s logical to assume that we’ll hang on to many members, but we’ll also lose others, and we certainly may not gain many new ones.

To survive, then, our industry needs to respond in a variety of ways. Many are discounting their services, whether that is wise or not. Others are providing guarantees. See the article, Personal Fitness Training Franchise Introduces Bold New Fitness Goals Guarantee.

But, perhaps the most important response we should consider is how we can change consumers’ perceptions of “fitness.” The main thing that should be stressed in our marketing and communications to the public is that fitness is a “necessity,” rather than a “commodity.” As the writer of the article, Fitness Clubs Fight Unhealthy Economy, states, our services need to be “touted as stress-reducers, not indulgences,” and we need to highlight the economic benefits of “wellness.”

Full Disclosure

Brianna Godfrey was miffed when the personal trainer she’d hired at Gold’s Gym was replaced with no explanation. Wilfredo Rivera was, by her account, a true professional. “He was very motivating, very encouraging, he knew what he was talking about — really a good guy,” Godfrey told a KUTV reporter.

She was even more miffed when she found out why her trainer went missing. Rivera didn’t call in sick or quit. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and rape.

This news was upsetting, to say the least, but what upset her most was that she didn’t hear the truth from Gold’s Gym. Instead, she found out her trainer was a wanted criminal — captured thanks to a nationwide manhunt called “Operation Falcon” — from a story on the local news.

Perhaps Gold’s Gym management hoped that by keeping its mouth shut about the circumstances of Rivera’s absence, they’d avoid the fallout. Instead, the club lost a customer and its reputation.

It’s possible that management was embarrassed. Indeed, they should have been. Not only was one of its personal trainers arrested for a violent crime, but he had previously served time in a federal prison for drug and weapons charges.

Gold’s Gym had the chance to prove itself as a forthcoming, up-front business when Rivera was arrested. Management could have stepped up and been honest about the circumstances of his disappearance, and reassured members that the charges weren’t brought by another member. Instead, management kept its mouth shut, leaving Godfrey feeling confused and betrayed.

And why’s that? Apparently, Gold’s doesn’t hire its trainers. Instead, it contracts them through a separate agency called Professional Fitness . “A spokesperson for Gold’s Gym said he was assured background checks were being performed, and that every trainer had come up clean,” reported KUTV. “Now he says they are evaluating if they will continue their relationship with Professional Fitness.”

Um … evaluating? Is that a joke? How about terminating its relationship with Professional Fitness? That seems a more appropriate response to the situation.

But then, I think we can all agree that there was nothing appropriate about how Gold’s handled any of this.

Everyone makes mistakes; but, informing your membership when an employee has been arrested on suspicion of committing a violent crime? That’s a no-brainer.

Dream Members

What is a dream member? Cynical types would say it’s the member who joins, pays dues on time and never shows up at the club. Of course, those cynics don’t realize that that doesn’t describe a dream member at all. Think about it: The only way members will yap about a fitness center’s awesomeness is if they show up, work out and get fit. Otherwise, they’ll just complain about what a waste of time a gym membership is. And that’s the stuff of nightmares, not dreams.

Dream members are active, invested members of the fitness center. They care about the facility, its staff and other members. They want more than to secure their own health — dream members want the club to be healthy, too.

Take the two Canadian members who sprinted down a would-be car thief outside their fitness facility. One member heard a car alarm blasting in the parking lot and spotted a suspicious man. When the man bolted, the member ran after him. Another member joined the pursuit. The two chased the suspect until they caught him, then held him until police arrived.

Sounds like someone deserves a comp on a month’s worth of membership dues.

An Oak Park, Ill., exerciser owes his life to a few dream members. When Richard Prescott collapsed at Fitness Formula, eight members and Manager Jeff Long started CPR, called 911 and used an automatic external defibrillator before paramedics arrived. Let’s hear it for David Muzic, Amy Mozina, Max Vanmany, Joe DiCianni, Lisa Gregorich, Kristen Stafford, Dave Harrat and Chris Jaeger.

They’ve earned a few free personal training sessions, wouldn’t you say?

You’ve probably got a few dream members at your fitness center, too, but you just don’t know it yet. And that’s probably a good thing, since they seem to come out in emergencies — and it’s best for everyone to avoid those.

Some Perspective on Dues Value

Fitness facility operators are pretty smart when it comes to membership dues pricing. At least when compared to most members who sign up for club memberships.

Our industry has talked for years about how to make people understand the “value” of their memberships. It’s said that the industry has underpriced its services, which has led to the perception that a membership is really not worth that much. But, are memberships really worth the average $50 or $60 a month being charged?

In recent years, there has been more and more talk about charging users on a pay-as-you-go basis. Most facilities offer the option of paying $10 for a visit, without signing up for a membership. Others are starting to offer some or all of their services as pay-as-you-go only. But, wouldn’t it seem logical that fitness facilities would make much more money by charging people that $10 usage fee for every workout?

Not so. According to a paper published in 2002 by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, when people purchase a membership, they actually believe they will go to the club more often than they do. So, they assume that the monthly rate they are paying is a good deal. But what the researchers found was that most members only use the gym an average of 4.8 times per month. If the monthly membership dues are $60 a month, that means that the average member is paying about $17 per visit. That’s $7 more than the $10 daily use fee.

Another study performed in the Boston area and reported on in January in the Chicago Tribune turned up the same findings. Researchers looked at 8,000 fitness center memberships over a three-year period, and found that most people never make it to the gym three times a week (like they thought they would); instead, they only work out about one time per week. These researchers also figured it to be about $17 per visit, and concluded that 80 percent of the people studied would have been better off paying the $10 daily fee instead of purchasing a membership.

Fitness center operators know this. Read my blog entry The Big Fat Truth About Health Clubs. So why, then, at all of the industry trade show seminars on customer service, are the speakers always recommending that staff get on the phone and call members who aren’t coming in? Health club operators know that that would be foolish. Even an article in the Financial Times this past January highlights why fitness center dues structures rely on those members who sign up and never use the facility. They don’t want to remind these members that their money is being wasted.

So, the whole argument about value is really not true. As the UC Berkeley researchers conclude, most health club members either make “time-inconsistent choices” or they have “limited cognitive abilities.” Pretty smart on the part of club owners, huh?

‘Biggest Loser’ Results Unattainable for Most

If ever there were a television show that would make you feel good about yourself, it’s The Biggest Loser. Unlike the usual stick-thin actors who are on TV, participants on this show are obese, and are shown struggling with their weight just like most “normal” people. The show also highlights the dangers of being overweight, and may inspire viewers at home to get on the exercise bandwagon.

However, the benefits of the show, at least for viewers, stop there. With Season Five in full swing, there are many copy-cat competitions being held around the country in fitness centers, corporations and among friends. And, although everyone agrees that losing weight is difficult, not many people know what really goes on behind the scenes of The Biggest Loser. What they don’t know can hurt them.

What viewers don’t know, according to an article published in the New York Times, is that contestants on the show work out up to five hours per day. They spend an hour or two on resistance training, an hour on a high-intensity cardiovascular exercise, and up to three hours walking on the treadmill, using the elliptical trainer or riding a stationary bike. Combine that with a low-calorie diet (1,100 to 1,500 calories a day for the women, and 1,500 to 2,300 calories a day for the men), and they are bound to lose weight. Lots of it.

Viewers at home may become discouraged when they see contestants losing up to 30 pounds per week, while they are only losing 2 pounds. Says the article, “If you’re losing 2 pounds a week and you’re watching The Biggest Loser, you probably think your diet is going horribly. If you lose 2 pounds a week and you’re not watching the show, you probably think your diet is going great.”

The show, which offers a feel-good story about fat people changing their lives, can actually be quite depressing for some viewers who are also trying to lose weight.

If you offer a Biggest Loser-type promotion at your fitness center, make sure you point out the differences between reality TV and actual reality. If members have unrealistic expectations, that could lead to drop-out if those aren’t met — or, worse, unsafe practices to try and lose those unwanted pounds.

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.

Don’t Ruin Your –or the Industry’s - Reputation

January is a big month for most fitness centers — a busy time when people join with the best of intentions. During these critical first few months of the year, don’t blow it for everyone else in the industry by using hard sell tactics or ignoring members once they hand over their money.

It is no secret that the fitness industry doesn’t have the best reputation among consumers. People can feel ignored, confused or embarrassed as new members, or cheated when they have a problem with their membership. Remember that Friends episode when Ross tried to quit his gym and they wouldn’t let him? The industry’s reputation precedes you.

The Better Business Bureau ranks consumer complaints by category. The category “Health Clubs” was in the top-25 of U.S. businesses that had the most complaints in 2006 — out of almost 4,000. (In Canada, Health Clubs ranked No. 7!) Health Clubs was also one of the categories that received the most requests from consumers who were looking for reputable companies (in the top 100 of categories requested). Again, people are weary about joining (and they’re doing their homework).

With so many new people coming into your fitness center this January, make them feel welcome not only into your facility, but to the fitness industry as a whole. Get to know new members, ask them how their workouts are going, create a clean and welcoming environment, take complaints seriously, and be up-front and professional about your membership contracts, initiation fees and dues.

People don’t like to feel like they were tricked into doing something, or to find out that someone else got a better deal for the same products and services. Fitness centers, like used car dealerships, have the reputation for “hard selling,” and then leaving the customer out in the cold after the deal is made. We all need to help change this image. When the new year comes around, let’s make new members feel welcome and wanted, and not just one more sucker who helps pay your monthly utility bill.

The "Big Fat" Truth About Health Clubs

If knowledge is power, and I believe it is, then fitness facility operators will want to know that their secrets are out. A new book titled, “The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie,” by Craig Pepin-Donat singles out the fitness industry to show consumers how they have been leading lifestyles of doom by not having the facts about addiction, supplements, diets and health clubs. Yes, health clubs. Pepin-Donat devotes an entire chapter to spelling out the techniques fitness center salespeople use to get consumers to purchase memberships, why they and management couldn’t really care less whether consumers come to the club once they buy, and how much more money, in addition to the monthly dues, it really is going to cost members to accomplish their goals.

But, believe it or not, this is not a bad thing that Pepin-Donat has done. This book is actually good for both consumers and for our industry. Pepin-Donat’s goal is clearly to help the consumer to understand how to lose weight and get in shape, and he does not discourage fitness center memberships. In fact, he encourages them. But, he warns that fitness centers have to earn consumers’ business. “There is nothing wrong with a salesperson trying to help you make a decision to purchase their product or service,” he says. “The only thing you need to be concerned with is how they do it. If the salesperson comes across as being overly aggressive and negative in any way, walk out. If the company cannot at least train their sales force to be professional and courteous, they haven’t earned the right to get your business.”

The mess fitness facilities have made of customer service needs to be cleaned up. Pepin-Donat provides some good, solid facts about how facility operators run their businesses. And, it’s not all negative toward fitness centers. He gives some good explanations for why facility managers do the things they do, for their business’ sake. The key is that by making consumers aware of this, and why, perhaps consumers can get past the obstacles of joining a facility. For instance, he explains why salespeople have the attitudes they do (“Unfortunately, many fitness salespeople do not care about you or your goals.”), and why most facility managers don’t make it a practice to communicate regularly with their members outside of the facility or to get inactive, paying members back to the club to work out (“most clubs avoid sending direct-mail communication to their current member base because there is always the fear of awakening the sleeping giant of members who are not using the club.”).

Consumers need to exercise to lose weight, and Pepin-Donat has clearly painted a picture that one of the best ways for them to do that is in a fitness facility. He is quite frank about what consumers should look for in a facility, making a comparison of the equipment and amenities in a Curves vs. a “quality fitness club,” and, in a separate chapter, decrying the quality of some home fitness equipment and the gimmicks companies use to sell it. But, as he says, “In order to get results from joining a fitness center, you have to use it consistently, and most club joiners never come close.” Because of this, he makes no bones about what it takes to make a commitment to succeed. “If you don’t really know what you are doing and have limited or no fitness experience, joining a club without assistance and guidance can turn out to be a total waste of time and money.” This is where personal training comes in. Pepin-Donat spells out just how much more expensive getting fit at a fitness center can be, and, if consumers are going to buck up for the extra cost, what they really should look for.

Most of you know that the truth told about fitness centers in “The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie” comes from a credible source. Pepin-Donat is known as a seasoned operator in the health/fitness industry, having operated more than 450 fitness centers in 11 countries. He left his last job in the industry prior to publishing this book, saying, “There is no way I could convey this information while being employed within the health and fitness industry. I would be fired.” And, when warned about alienating an industry he has worked in for more than 25 years, he says, “Why would anyone be threatened or alienated by the truth? The answer is that the truth can hurt the profits of companies that rely on the insecurity and vulnerability of consumers.”

Consumers who read this book will likely not be turned off about fitness facilities. And, those fitness center operators who read this book and are turned off — well, I guess you know why. Either way, this truth could just help you to make some changes in your business where possible. But, more importantly, it may empower you to know that the next person walking through your door may know more about your business than you once thought. You could use that to your advantage — or not.

Key Board Security

Whatever happened to cat burglars? They were the Cary Grants of the burgling profession, suave and sophisticated, gliding into fancy soirees to delicately lift a heavy jeweled necklace off Grace Kelly and make off with her fortune.

Now, they’ve been replaced by a new breed of burglar: the less elegant, but just as effective car burglars. The Venice Gondolier Sun reports that car burglars are sly and swift, walking into fitness facilities to casually lift members’ keys off a key board and make off with their keys, cash and ID.

Lifestyles Family Fitness, Venice, Fla., and a local YMCA were targeted, and both provide a master key board where members can leave their keys before working out.

Gondolier Reporter Tommy McIntyre says, “Police advise members who use fitness centers to keep their car keys with them while working out, if possible.” I don’t know about you, but the sound of car keys jingling in my pocket doesn’t exactly motivate me to train longer. Heck, I don’t think my gym shorts even have pockets. But, thankfully, the Venice police offer a solution for that particular wardrobe shortcoming: A waistpack.“If the waistpack is not comfortable while working out, throw it over your shoulder as you go from machine to machine and set it down where you can watch it,” the article suggests. Sounds convenient for members. Keep track of your heart rate, your hydration and your valuables.

Why don’t these facilities provide a safe, secure area for members to leave their keys while they’re working out? Are key boards, fannypacks or gym shorts with pockets really the only options?

Does your facility use a key board? If so, why? And how do you keep it secure?

Beating the Competition the Smart Way?

Competition is good for business, right? That’s what most businesses will tell you. Albertson’s wants Stater Bros. and Ralphs to open up across the street to make the area a supermarket hub. Jack-in-the-Box wants McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. to open up next to it to create a fast food alley. So why, then, is it that fitness facility owners don’t seem to view competition in the same vein?

Recently, Mark McPeek, owner of the Bay Area Athletic Club, Coos Bay, Ore., filed a suit against Southwestern Oregon Community College, which opened a $7 million fitness center in October. The suit alleges that the college is using the school’s non-profit status to gain an unfair advantage over private clubs in the area. The college charges $10 less per month for its membership than Bay Area Athletic Club.

This profit vs. non-profit battle has been raging for decades. But, is it necessary? I certainly won’t dispute the argument that one facility has to pay its bills while the other’s bills are footed by the public. This discussion isn’t about the right or wrong of that issue. What I would like to point out is, this issue continues to be battled in courts, with no apparent long-term resolution. So, rather than the continuing legal battles, perhaps fitness facilities that feel most threatened by this competition need to focus on how they can survive on their own merits, despite the profit/non-profit model.

I would suggest that these facilities would fare quite well against non-profits if they honed in on something that made them stand apart, thus competing based on expertise, programming, service, etc., rather than mere dues rates. We’ve done enough reporting on non-profit facility programs and services in Fitness Management to know that they often can’t compete against facilities that offer first-rate service and programming. Sorry, non-profits! No offense, but the for-profits that make an effort to stand apart from the competition seem to do a better job.

Near my home, there is a Stater Bros., Albertson’s and Vons grocery store — all within 1 mile of each other. I’ve tried them all, and I’m loyal to Vons. Why? Because I can’t visit the grocery store without being asked by employees, at least two or three times, if I’m finding everything I need. I can’t go to the meat counter without an employee stocking the shelves and telling me what’s on special that day. Sometimes, the weekly sales ads that come in the mail tell me that Albertson’s has a better deal on bagged salads that week. Well, the way I see it, the deal I would have gotten on the salad is probably going to be a wash after the deal I get on service and other items on sale at Vons.

Want to bet that most fitness consumers wouldn’t feel the same way about a $10 difference in dues, if there were a real difference in the facilities?

Do You Discount?

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota recently conducted a study that revealed two things: Your facility’s convenience/proximity is important to prospective members, and discount programs fuel memberships.

Check out the article for yourself. It’s OK – I’ll wait. … You’re back? Good. This discount program stuff was news to me, but some facilities are apparently already knee-deep in discounts, like the Southwest Area YMCA, Eagan, Minn. Executive director Gussie Monks says, “We have seen the discount program as a huge incentive driving people to join and work out more, with the support of their jobs.”

The statement is interesting, as is the study, because it doesn’t make much of what is likely a big deal to you: Unless you want to eat the cost yourself, discount programs require the support of a member’s employer.

It sounds like a good deal for the employer. Employees who used a fitness center at least eight times a month for at least nine months throughout the study year were healthier than non-participants. Their claim costs were 17.8 percent lower (after adjusting for health status), emergency room visit rates were 38.7 percent lower and hospital admission rates were 41.4 percent lower.

But, the discount program was also a boon for the facilities. Part of the study involved a survey of Blue Cross’ 4,000-plus employees; 43 percent of responders who said they use the discount program also said they joined a fitness facility because of the discount.

Do you have relationships with local employers to offer discount programs? Has it helped your business? I suspect there is more to this arrangement than meets the eye, but it sure looks good on paper.

All In the Family

It’s been a long time since the hysteria of gays coming out of the closet has surfaced, and quite frankly, I thought most of us were pretty much over this whole issue. Live and let live. Heck, even the military was able to turn the other cheek about gays with its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

But, as is life, not everyone is able to keep from criticizing, judging or condemning others whose behaviors and/or lifestyles are different from their own. Many business owners even feel the need to set policy that will force others to conform to their way of thinking. This has been, and is still, the case in the fitness industry.

Just recently, a suit was filed against the Rochester Athletic Club by a lesbian couple who share the same last name and are raising a daughter together. The suit claims that the couple was discriminated against when denied a family membership because the couple is not “legally” married. This is not the first time that this has happened in our industry. In January 2006, it was reported that a Detroit same-sex couple, together for 18 years, were considering legal action against the Warren Community Center in Warren, Mich., after being told that Michigan’s constitutional ban on gay marriage made them ineligible for a family membership. And, back in 2002, another same-sex couple raising a daughter together were denied a family membership at the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.

Is it right for fitness facility operators to decide what the definition of “family” is? If our industry’s goal is to make our society healthier, while at the same time reaping profits from it, should we care whether a family consists of two men or women versus a man and a woman? My vote is no.

Hear Your Members ‘Loud’ and Clear

Leave it to the Internet to get people to speak their minds — or just to get people to say anything about everything. I guess that’s why we, the people who use the Internet to share information, were named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Think about it: It’s extremely powerful, how the Internet has changed the world.

In May, we published an article titled Ego-Surfing for Improved Customer Service. The article showed examples of complaints found on U.S. websites about health clubs. Recently, one of FM’s staff members stumbled upon a website called Loud Campus. The site is hosted by Cornell University, and allows its students to voice their opinions on the university and issues across the nation. Students can click on any number of topics, one of which brings up a host of comments about Cornell’s fitness facilities. Cornell has several fitness centers, about which we wrote an article in January 2004 titled Why Stop at One?

The site made me think what a great opportunity it would be for facilities to have a Loud Club site open to members only. This could accomplish several things: 1) It could be a way for members to meet each other by finding others with similar interests, thus growing your club’s community; 2) It could act as a forum for members to express their compliments and complaints about your facility and 3) Because you are able to view what your members, and your members only, have to say about you, you have the ability to improve things! I wonder if there are any facility operators out there doing something like this already? And, if so, have you used it to your advantage?

Mirror, Mirror

Forget, for a moment, your constant quest for new members. Step onto the fitness floor and take a look at the members you already have — the ones who have been with you for a while, and slowly but steadily made changes in their appearance and their lives. You can see the difference between the person they were when they joined and the person they’ve become, but can they?

We’re our own worst critics, and there are few people who look in the mirror without picking out one (or 10) things they’d like to improve. Helping your members actually see their success is a challenge, but it’s one that can help keep them coming to your fitness center.

Get creative
In the United Kingdom, nine women who collectively shed almost 500 pounds sought a physical representation of their success — and they found it at Colchester Zoo. The women adopted a baby hippo weighing roughly what they had lost to serve as a constant (and cute) reminder of their accomplishments.

Your facility can do the same thing for your members. What about teaming with the local animal shelter to host an adoption drive? List each animal’s weight, along with other pertinent information, and give your members the opportunity to lavish love on an animal that represents their hard-earned success.

Hold a food drive, and ask members to donate food items that total the number of pounds they’ve lost at your fitness center. Keep a running tally, and be sure to post it in the club where everyone can see. When the food drive is over, send out a press release to the local media so everyone can appreciate your members’ weight loss successes (and their generosity).

Partner with a local clothing store and present members with a $5 gift card each time they lose another 5 pounds. You’ll acknowledge their achievement and encourage them to reward themselves with a new outfit to fit their new bodies.

There are dozens of ways to hold a mirror up to your members’ accomplishments. How are you helping members take a moment to acknowledge the results of their hard work? What are you doing to encourage them to strive for even greater success at your fitness center?

Is Argibay On Another Planet?

I love it when people prove me right. In case you missed my editorial in the February 2007 edition of Fitness Management, I wrote about the well-hyped Planet Fitness incident in which a member, Albert Argibay, was ousted from the facility for grunting.

Argibay’s and Planet Fitness General Manager Carol Palazzolo’s accounts of the incident differ widely. I took Palazzolo’s side in my editorial for a couple of reasons. First, a facility should have the right to set policies that appeal to a target clientele and to enforce those policies. There are a lot of fitness facilities across the U.S., and I’m sure Argibay could have found one to work out in that permits grunting while lifting weights.

Second, Argibay was clearly out of line in his dealings with Palazzolo. He was abrasive, offensive and downright ugly. And, despite his insistence that Palazzolo’s account of the incident is a lie, his email to me regarding my editorial only goes to show how likely her account is true:

“This is Albert Argibay and I read your editorial. [A]pparently you are a bunch of liberals that did not take the time nor effort to do your homework. Carol, the gm at planet fitness, is a liar and her story had no truth to it. Planet fitness prides its self in being a judgement free zone, but yet it raises the bar on setting a double standard by sounding off an alarm and referring to policy offenders as lunk heads and let me remind you miss doesn’t have a clue editorial writer, this is a place that even the pioneer of bodybuilding himself arnold would not be welcomed. I am not a bully, but one that believes in standing up to his rights and voicing his opinions and I don’t have to hide behind some type writer trying to gain the approval of the average person that had sand kicked in their face or as I prefer to call them liberals. Planet witless is a place for the non serious weight lifter. So if you want a place to spend the night that is open 24 hrs, a warm shower and a place to eat pizza and bagels this is the gym for you. Grunt On!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Argibay is well-spoken, wouldn’t you say? Who wouldn’t want to have a reasonable, level-headed discussion with this man? Apparently, everyone who disagrees with him is a “liberal.” No doubt, he was equally calm, cool and collected in his discussions with Palazzolo when she asked him to stop grunting.

I think Argibay missed the point: Planet Fitness doesn’t want so-called “serious weightlifters”; its goal, as has been repeatedly stated, is to attract the family market. Planet Fitness, in its official statement to the press, says that, before this incident occurred, Argibay was previously a member of Planet Fitness, and terminated his membership, saying “This isn’t the right kind of place for me.” But, then he rejoined, and violated Planet Fitness’ no-grunting policy, despite the fact that he knew the rules. The logical question here is, Why did he elect to rejoin Planet Fitness? Is it possible that he was unable to find another fitness facility that would tolerate his behavior?

For all the publicity this incident generated, it surprises me that the only response I got to my editorial was from Argibay himself. And, I can only deduce that Argibay, not a fitness professional who would even be aware of Fitness Management magazine, located my editorial online only because he was ego-surfing. Is there no one in the fitness industry who has an opinion on no-grunting policies in fitness facilities, or about the incident that occurred at Planet Fitness? I wrote this editorial because it’s an important one to address, in light of the publicity it generated -- not, as Argibay states, to “gain the approval of ... liberals.” It would be nice to get some reasonable feedback from those in our industry -- negative or positive.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Argibay, we clueless editorial writers use computers these days, not typewriters; computers are much bigger to hide behind!