About a month ago when I decided to give this whole exercise thing a try, I looked into a chain of small gyms designed specifically for women. They are a national organization but each gym is individually owned and operated. That means that if I don't show up for a few days to workout, the owner will be giving me a call to check on me. Hopefully the accountability will keep me on track, right?
My mom and I decided we'd be workout buddies and sign up together. When we visited the gym for our appointment, Pat, the owner, gave us the sales pitch.
It was about two hours long. No lie. And it was kind of exhausting. A lot of the info I could have condensed into maybe 20 or 30 minutes. And not that it wasn't great information. It was just a lot of unnecessary information. I mean, we were just there to workout, and we didn't even get to do that on the first day.
The next day we returned and Pat showed us how to use all of the equipment so that we could begin the program.
Overall, Pat spent about three hours working with the two of us. In addition, we came back two more times that week to try out the gym.
Then we found out there was the exact same gym, the exact same distance from our house, but in a more convenient location. My mom and I decided we'd try that one out instead and ended up signing up over there due to the convenience.
That was about a week before I got the call.
"Are you coming back?" Pat asked on the other end.
I explained that we appreciated all of her time, but decided to sign up at another location due to convenience (it's on my way to school) and that I was sorry my mom did not give her a call.
"No, neither of you called me," Pat said.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said. "Mom must have forgotten." (Realty was Mom got the flu that week and yes, Mom forgot to call.)
"Did you tell them that you signed up for a free week with me?" she asked.
"Yes, and we told them how helpful you were in introducing us to the program."
"Are both of you going over there?" Pat asked with a forceful tone.
"Yes, I believe so," I said. Umm, we're workout buddies -- a mother/daughter team -- why wouldn't we go to the same gym?
There was about a four second pause. I didn't know what to say so I waited...
"Well, I guess I'll delete you both out of my system," Pat said, sounding totally peeved.
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| Photo found here. |
Okay, last time I checked, I was the customer. Is it my responsibility to call and let Pat know that we aren't coming back? Yes, Pat gave us several hours of her time. I get that. And I appreciate that. But guess what? That's the risk a person takes when running a business. Sometimes their time is wasted on a person that does not end up becoming a client.
That happens all the time. And promising to delete me out of your system pretty much guarantees I will not be coming back to your business. Ever.
And who knows? I might even blog about my experience for the internet to read about. Thanks, Pat.
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