Kool-aid tasting
There happened to be a fantastic LivingSocial deal on a local CrossFit gym that came across my desk today. So of course I had to message the other 2 gyms within a mile of my place to set up interviews as well so I could make an InformedChoice. Two (including the one with the deal) got back to me today. I checked out NotDeal this evening and the results were mixed.
I did like the coach I ended up working with. I feel like he knew form, was able to help me correct my mistakes, and had a respectable background. The gym had a wide range of people there (from teenagers to 60+) but the class was modestly sized, only a dozen people. He was only modestly pushy about signing up NOW.
On the down side I got a pretty poor first impression. The owner said to arrive a little early to sign paperwork but no one was there when I was 10 minutes early. When folks did start showing up it took a while for a coach to come over to me and walk me through the paperwork and then I was handed over to a second coach for my first 'class'. None of the clients came over to say chat or introduce themselves (though there was a bit of chatter between folks in the class so I may have been sending off "Do NOT Want" vibes). The owner, whom I had been emailing, was there but never came over to introduce himself or chat me up at all. Basically a poster case of how NOT to handle a new client, especially if I'm looking at dropping almost $200/month in your lap.
Finally because they are NotDeal they are a bit pricey (~$190/month) especially compared to DealGym ($30 1st month + $135/month after). I want to like this gym, it has all my check boxes in theory but such horrible customer service that DealGym now has a definite fighting chance. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
I did like the coach I ended up working with. I feel like he knew form, was able to help me correct my mistakes, and had a respectable background. The gym had a wide range of people there (from teenagers to 60+) but the class was modestly sized, only a dozen people. He was only modestly pushy about signing up NOW.
On the down side I got a pretty poor first impression. The owner said to arrive a little early to sign paperwork but no one was there when I was 10 minutes early. When folks did start showing up it took a while for a coach to come over to me and walk me through the paperwork and then I was handed over to a second coach for my first 'class'. None of the clients came over to say chat or introduce themselves (though there was a bit of chatter between folks in the class so I may have been sending off "Do NOT Want" vibes). The owner, whom I had been emailing, was there but never came over to introduce himself or chat me up at all. Basically a poster case of how NOT to handle a new client, especially if I'm looking at dropping almost $200/month in your lap.
Finally because they are NotDeal they are a bit pricey (~$190/month) especially compared to DealGym ($30 1st month + $135/month after). I want to like this gym, it has all my check boxes in theory but such horrible customer service that DealGym now has a definite fighting chance. We'll see what happens tomorrow.