So, you're shopping for a health club. The first thing that 99% of consumers do is to call local gyms and ask "what's your price?" Now, I could tell you that's sort of useless because
all gyms are NOT created equal. You should visit any club you are interested in. Try it out. Meet the trainers. Take a class or two. Determine the value of the facility to you before you worry about the price.
But, sigh, I know you don't really want to do that. You want answers and you want them now. So, I'll tell you a secret. Try this...
What's your cancellation policy?
Not only with that freak out the gym employee (nobody ever asks that), but it will tell you quite a bit about the facility you are calling.
I know it might sound odd to focus on how you'll end this relationship before you've even decided to start one. Sort of like writing a pre-nup before you've even gone on a date. But, here's what you're looking for...
1. how far in advance does a cancellation have to be submitted?
2. how long do I have to be a member before I can cancel?
The answers to these questions will tell you how customer-friendly this facility is. The answers may also help determine how much you'll spend with this gym, perhaps more so than the monthly price will tell you.
For instance, I once spoke with a club owner who told me that his club has a month-to-month membership...but they also have a 60-day cancellation policy. So, their month-to-month membership is really a rolling 3-month commitment, and just considering the monthly price is misleading.
Or, let's say you join a gym with inexpensive monthly dues, but it has a one-year contract and a requirement for 45-days written notice, sent via U.S. mail, in order to cancel. So, your total investment will be at least a year's worth of dues. Then, if want to cancel, your letter will have to arrive 6 weeks before your contract is up. If your letter doesn't arrive on time, you will likely be obligated to pay another month, or whatever your contract says will happen after your first year.
Is there anything wrong these scenarios? Absolutely not. As long as a gym makes clear its policies, and honors the process, then it will be your responsibility to manage your account.
But, from a consumer's perspective, 14-day lead times are better than 60. Written notice in email is easier than certified U.S. mail. Monthly contracts are better than annual contracts.
Understand how a gym allows you to end your relationship and you'll be closer to understanding if you even want the relationship!
*For more help with finding a health club that's right for you, please consider downloading our free special report How To Choose A Quality Health Club.
You're lacking motivation...or your workouts aren't want they could be...or you just don't want to think when you're at the gym. So, you've decide to quit. No, I'm just kidding! You've actually decided to hire a personal trainer. (but first, name this quote: "I want to quit the gym!")
There are a myriad of factors to consider when hiring a trainer, such as the trainer's education, certifications, personality, ability to relate to your personal challenges, and many more. You certainly need to find a "love connection" with this person who will get to know you so well.
One factor often overlooked by training clients is the employment status of the personal trainer. Is he or she an employee of your health club, or a contractor? There is no right-or-wrong status, but it's important that you know.
Contract trainers work independently from their host health club. They might pay rent for the privilege of training, or they might pay a percentage of their revenue to the club. They come-and-go as they please, set their own prices, and have the freedom to work anywhere-and-everywhere they'd like. They typically do their own scheduling and often manage payments from their clients. In short, they are independent business people working for themselves.
Employee personal trainers are part of the same team that you see every day at your gym. The trainer works for the gym, and you are a client of that gym who happens to have a particular trainer. Prices are set by the club's management, the trainer has a boss, scheduling is likely done through the front desk on behalf of the trainer, and the trainer gets paid when services are rendered.
There are upsides and downsides to each relationship. Contractors have total flexibility in how they charge you, and where and when they train you. But they have nobody managing them, and if you think you'd like to try a different trainer, you may be on your own to break the news to your current trainer and look for a new one.
Employee trainers have to play by rules that they don't set, so they can't negotiate prices or payment terms for their clients. But, they will likely have closer management to help guide and develop their skills, and there will be a "higher authority" for you, as the client, to raise any concerns or problems that occur. Employee trainers are also likely part of larger team so that if you want to experience a new trainer, you can likely find one.
Again, there are no right or wrong business relationships among you, your trainer and your club. Just make sure you understand those relationships and think through the impact they might have on your relationship with your new trainer.
It may seem like one of those things that "would never happen" to you or your kids...but there is real safety issue in public pools that are not compliant with a law that was enacted at the end of 2008.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is named after the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker, who died in a pool drain entrapment accident in 2002. The law stipulates that all public pools and spas must be outfitted with approved safety drain covers.
The problem is that older public pools have all sorts of drain covers, and corrective covers were not readily available when the law went into effect. Also, for some pools, the expense required to retrofit the covers can be substantial. Industry reports indicate that enforcement agencies have been slow to force compliance among pool operators...but the risks of non-compliance are very real.
In Pennsylvania in the summer of 2009, a 38-year old man was killed when he was trapped by a non-compliant pool drain. The fact that an adult man was trapped by one of these drains demonstrates just how significant the risk is when pools have not been retrofitted.
In fact, Aquatics International reports this month that:
"Many, many pool owners are doing nothing," [Mike] Stinson said [owner of Mike the Poolman in Folsom, Calif]. "They're calling the bluff of the inspectors because they've heard there aren't enough [personnel] to go around."
Please do yourself and your kids a favor by making sure that any public pool you utilize is in compliance with the law!
For more information, please visit PoolSafety.com and the Pool Safety Council.
Photo credit: DieselDemon