You Know You'll Never Reach Your Goal
Feb. 2nd, 2006 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eggwardsSo I signed up for the gym at work yesterday, and I'll probably carry a gymbag tomorrow to encourage myself to actually use the facility. Of course the place doesn't have a pool or anything, but it has circuit training machines, cardio machines, free weights locker rooms and the like. Except for tennis and racquetball courts, it's pretty much like the gym of the Houston City Club that I had a membership to for a while. Of course the city Club cost me $75 bucks a mont, and I never used the tennis courts or the dining facilities, so economically, it really wasn't a good deal.
The gym at work is $19 a month, no restrictions, quit at anytime. A pretty good deal, really. The problem is, it is a long way to drive on weekends and they only have memberships for people who work there. The other problem is that Chris can't join. It's not a discrimination thing, no partner/spouse can join, unless they also work for the company, at our campus.
Chris has been wanting to shape up a bit for a while, and has been thinking about joining a gym. Now I'm willing to participate in a joint membership because I would like to have a workout partner. It helps get me motivated. sure, it's an expense, but I think it will be good for the both of us.
Now Chris had found a coupon of sorts from the Discovery channel to test out Bally's for a few weeks, so tonight we went over there to see what the facility looked like. It's a lot further than a 24 Hour fitness location and several other privately owned gyms that are in our area. Still, there was this coupon...
now so you don't think that I haven't been around the block before, yes, I've been to a gym and gotten the sales pitch. Several years ago I went to Q, The Sports Club looking to get a gym membership, and suddenly I was being sold a package with multiple locations and options and all sorts of stuff. When they got me in their little car salesman room and wanted to get me on a contract and draft my account for three years, I knew that it was trouble, and I wanted to get out. The experience was a lot like car sales, where he even brought in his manager to "sweeten" the deal.
Here's some lines to avoid - "It pays for itself in a few months", "You can always leave after a month (but not telling you how to break the contract)", and the insulting "Well, you know you need this, how will you ever reach your goals?"
This is where you should run, not walk, out of thedealership fitness center.
So tonight we had Bobby who took us on a tour of the Bally Total Fitness location on Preston near Belt Line. The gym looked OK, and I have to admit, I liked the pool - though the smoothie bar and nutritional supplement center was unnecessary ("but you get a 25% discount on this stuff!"). Everything was going well, until we saw that we were going to go into that little sales room.
Yep, from here the spin started. Certainly we would want the full package, and we could try that out free for a month and it would give us access to many different bally's locations. Certainly this was better than the free Discovery Channel offer that would last for two weeks more than the one month offer! Oh, and we'll need your bank information for the full trial period (The one that you can quit after that month if you remember to shut down your checking account).
What was skeeving me out is that the guy kept talking and looking at me, not Chris. It was the classic couple divide and conquer technique where you sell the other partner on it and they can convince the main decision maker. Suddenly i was the easy to convince wife. I didn't much like this, and he wasn't going to get to me, because I already had a gym. It was all Chris' decision to make.
Seeing that he wasn't getting very far, he suddenly lowered the rate, though it was already on a second sheet that was already filled out with that special rate - oh, but we'd have to decide tonight, because "that rate isn't even supposed to be in the computer anymore!" Wow! Imagine our luck.
I had had enough, and pretty much shut up, while Chris tried to get another couple of questions answered, like what their real rate and enrollment fees were. Bobby, of course, deflected these inquiries. I wasn't playing the demure wife who knew we needed to get in shape, so why don't we pay this? When he asked me point blank if I needed to be working out, I said, "I'm really not making this decision, he is." I was now out of any further conversation.
Chris then asked for any paperwork we could take home, and Bobby said there wasn't any, so that pretty much sealed the deal. We asked if we could still use the "lesser" Discovery Channel trial, and leave it at that, and he begrudgingly gave us cards that we could use to get in on the freebee. Of course he shorted us a week.
Personally, I was pretty mad. I think this is the lousiest form of salesmanship around, and I wonder why this actually works with people. I know people buy cars under pressure, and they also sign these ridiculous contracts for these gyms, then never use them again, but can't get out of them. I had a co-worker who once did collections for another gym, and they were using tactics that would make loan sharks proud. Very few contracts are as iron clad as a gym membership.
I just wonder where they train these jocks on how to make these awful sales pitches. Certainly it's pretty intense, and it removes their hearts and conscience. Can you really think your really serving your customer, or just corporate greed?
Still, I'll take my fitness my way - but as Bobby says "If you don't come here at least three times a week, you'll never see results." He'd certainly know that insulting my commitment would do the trick to get us to sign. Of course, I'm convinced now. Just as convinced as I was by the guy several years ago at Q, who also told me that I had to have this, or the guy who tried to sell me a car at what ever payments were best for me without telling me the price of the car, or the APR percentage. Bobby also pulled the "so is this how much you expected to pay" line to see if we would cough up more information for his next pricing pitch. Sorry, i don't fall for the shifting price trick.
Really, if the guy had just been honest, and given reall answers, he would have gotten a lot farther. The he wouldn't have to convince the wife here of anything. We made a hasty exit after he delivered the cards to us.
Here's a tip, make sure you use your mental fitness before swimming with these sharks.
The gym at work is $19 a month, no restrictions, quit at anytime. A pretty good deal, really. The problem is, it is a long way to drive on weekends and they only have memberships for people who work there. The other problem is that Chris can't join. It's not a discrimination thing, no partner/spouse can join, unless they also work for the company, at our campus.
Chris has been wanting to shape up a bit for a while, and has been thinking about joining a gym. Now I'm willing to participate in a joint membership because I would like to have a workout partner. It helps get me motivated. sure, it's an expense, but I think it will be good for the both of us.
Now Chris had found a coupon of sorts from the Discovery channel to test out Bally's for a few weeks, so tonight we went over there to see what the facility looked like. It's a lot further than a 24 Hour fitness location and several other privately owned gyms that are in our area. Still, there was this coupon...
now so you don't think that I haven't been around the block before, yes, I've been to a gym and gotten the sales pitch. Several years ago I went to Q, The Sports Club looking to get a gym membership, and suddenly I was being sold a package with multiple locations and options and all sorts of stuff. When they got me in their little car salesman room and wanted to get me on a contract and draft my account for three years, I knew that it was trouble, and I wanted to get out. The experience was a lot like car sales, where he even brought in his manager to "sweeten" the deal.
Here's some lines to avoid - "It pays for itself in a few months", "You can always leave after a month (but not telling you how to break the contract)", and the insulting "Well, you know you need this, how will you ever reach your goals?"
This is where you should run, not walk, out of the
So tonight we had Bobby who took us on a tour of the Bally Total Fitness location on Preston near Belt Line. The gym looked OK, and I have to admit, I liked the pool - though the smoothie bar and nutritional supplement center was unnecessary ("but you get a 25% discount on this stuff!"). Everything was going well, until we saw that we were going to go into that little sales room.
Yep, from here the spin started. Certainly we would want the full package, and we could try that out free for a month and it would give us access to many different bally's locations. Certainly this was better than the free Discovery Channel offer that would last for two weeks more than the one month offer! Oh, and we'll need your bank information for the full trial period (The one that you can quit after that month if you remember to shut down your checking account).
What was skeeving me out is that the guy kept talking and looking at me, not Chris. It was the classic couple divide and conquer technique where you sell the other partner on it and they can convince the main decision maker. Suddenly i was the easy to convince wife. I didn't much like this, and he wasn't going to get to me, because I already had a gym. It was all Chris' decision to make.
Seeing that he wasn't getting very far, he suddenly lowered the rate, though it was already on a second sheet that was already filled out with that special rate - oh, but we'd have to decide tonight, because "that rate isn't even supposed to be in the computer anymore!" Wow! Imagine our luck.
I had had enough, and pretty much shut up, while Chris tried to get another couple of questions answered, like what their real rate and enrollment fees were. Bobby, of course, deflected these inquiries. I wasn't playing the demure wife who knew we needed to get in shape, so why don't we pay this? When he asked me point blank if I needed to be working out, I said, "I'm really not making this decision, he is." I was now out of any further conversation.
Chris then asked for any paperwork we could take home, and Bobby said there wasn't any, so that pretty much sealed the deal. We asked if we could still use the "lesser" Discovery Channel trial, and leave it at that, and he begrudgingly gave us cards that we could use to get in on the freebee. Of course he shorted us a week.
Personally, I was pretty mad. I think this is the lousiest form of salesmanship around, and I wonder why this actually works with people. I know people buy cars under pressure, and they also sign these ridiculous contracts for these gyms, then never use them again, but can't get out of them. I had a co-worker who once did collections for another gym, and they were using tactics that would make loan sharks proud. Very few contracts are as iron clad as a gym membership.
I just wonder where they train these jocks on how to make these awful sales pitches. Certainly it's pretty intense, and it removes their hearts and conscience. Can you really think your really serving your customer, or just corporate greed?
Still, I'll take my fitness my way - but as Bobby says "If you don't come here at least three times a week, you'll never see results." He'd certainly know that insulting my commitment would do the trick to get us to sign. Of course, I'm convinced now. Just as convinced as I was by the guy several years ago at Q, who also told me that I had to have this, or the guy who tried to sell me a car at what ever payments were best for me without telling me the price of the car, or the APR percentage. Bobby also pulled the "so is this how much you expected to pay" line to see if we would cough up more information for his next pricing pitch. Sorry, i don't fall for the shifting price trick.
Really, if the guy had just been honest, and given reall answers, he would have gotten a lot farther. The he wouldn't have to convince the wife here of anything. We made a hasty exit after he delivered the cards to us.
Here's a tip, make sure you use your mental fitness before swimming with these sharks.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 06:28 am (UTC)Salt Lake County has excellent workout facilities that are owned by the COUNTY though so there's no pressure there. It's a miracle, really.
Most places seem to be stuck with commercial companies to fill that void (of which, we have plenty here that use the pressure - Gold's, Bally's, 24 hour Fitness).
Unfortunately, there is no YMCA here, but the YWCA does have a health facility for all...
I may just use the facility at work, even though it's really small. I've wanted to go on a tour before I decide.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 06:54 am (UTC)Why do you think he thought of you as such?
no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 01:13 pm (UTC)oy gevalt.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 04:30 pm (UTC)Reason I ask is that the city of Carrollton has some rec centers that have gyms. Memberships per household are $100. Have never been to one of their gyms, but it might be worth checking out
no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 02:58 am (UTC)It wasn't a chain, but a Mom & Pop style place. Yeah, parts of it were a dive, but frankly, the owner was cool and he gave discounts to city police and fireman... The eye candy alone was motivation!
Sadly, they moved about a mile further away from the house. Before, I had no excuse for not going. Now, I could find a million. :(
Depending on my employment status, I may rejoin.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 08:14 am (UTC)Sometime around 2000, whatever powers-that-be at Bally's decided to make a big shift toward the "fitness" part & away from any of the "lifting" part. I know the image is that it's not a hard-core chain when compared to Powerhouse or World Gym, but the music is the tell-all: when a gym goes away from having a local station broadcast the music to music that's, as best as I can describe it, a pre-planned closed-circuit corporate-ordained broadcast (stay there more than an hour & you're guaranteed to hear a song twice), it's not good. But this shift with Bally's was more than music & marketing: soon after you have good trainers leaving & also good members leave as well. Eventually you get stuck with a bunch of kids that socialize instead of work out, members that don't re-rack their weights, equipment that stays broken for a long time, and trainers that are more concerned about selling memberships than training. How bad is Bally's? Well, there's one within walking distance of my apartment, yet I will take a 15-20 minute subway ride to the BYMCU (kinda like a Y) downtown because I won't have to put up with all that shit.