Do you agree with Gyms charging people that don't turn up

terley · 19 Mar 2017 at 12:56

Speaking with a couple of friends of mine that manage gyms, they say that at least 70% of their income comes from members that don't turn up..

As far as i see this causes a few problems

1) No incentive for the Gym to advertise the benefits of why they joined
2) Technically having too many members on the books than the gym could handle if all turned up regularly
3) Taking money out of peoples pockets for a service they are not receiving

Now i understand that if you sign up to a service and decide not to use it, then it is your fault.. You will continue to be charged regardless..

But are we creating a system of gym's that don't care about public health, one that does what it can to attract new members but not retain the continued return of its current members? Should a system not be put in to place to automatically start a withdrawal process of a member if they are absent for say 2-3 months, in that process a customer retention agent with the gym contacts the member to ask if they wish to cancel?

Give them offers for returning if they do choose to cancel, and if not tell them the benefits of being a member, and try and convince them to come back?

I just believe the current system is seriously flawed.. Any thoughts?

wesley · 19 Mar 2017 at 12:59

do you agree you pay for TV licence if you dont watch the telly for a day?

its called business

TS7 · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:04

Gyms are not a Public Health Service. It's a business. They need to make money.

terley · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:10

wesley said:
do you agree you pay for TV licence if you dont watch the telly for a day?

its called business

TS7 said:
Gyms are not a Public Health Service. It's a business. They need to make money.

Hence why i said

Now i understand that if you sign up to a service and decide not to use it, then it is your fault.. You will continue to be charged regardless..

terley · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:10

TS7 said:
Gyms are not a Public Health Service. It's a business. They need to make money.

And most Gyms are owned by the local council.

TheVoice · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:12

If I sign up to Netflix and don't use it for three months, I don't expect Netflix to offer to unsubscribe me because they don't want me wasting my money.

Glanza · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:17

You know what your getting into when you sign up at the start.

terley · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:17

Obviously i agree with everything you guys are saying, I'm not stupid, i recognise that a business is a business and they are in it for profit first and foremost.. But they could be run to better serve their community.

Netflex/TV license is not concerned with public health, most gyms in the cities/towns i have lived in throughout the years are owned by the local council, and charge very heavy fees, somewhere in the region of £20-40 per month for a membership that they openly admit 70%+ of their members don't use. TV license is £100ish a year, netflix is what £5-8 per month?

We are facing an obesity crisis in the UK, and i think gyms should do more to contact their members to return and use the service..

On the face of it, it seems illogical and if people are stupid enough to sign up and pay for months on end without using it, it is their fault.. But people a lot of people are stupid, or have things happen in their lives that may affect their motivation.

TS7 · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:19

terley said:
And most Gyms are owned by the local council.

Where you live, perhaps, but that is unusual.

We have two council run gyms in the whole city and they are dirt cheap but no one goes due to lack of facilities/run down.

All other gyms are: Pure Gym, The Gym, Bannantynes, Nuffiel Health Gyms, DW Gym and all the rest are independently (non-chain) owned gyms.

Diddums · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:20

terley said:
And most Gyms are owned by the local council.

No they're not.

terley · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:21

Diddums said:
No they're not.

From my experience, they are.

TheVoice · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:24

All you're really saying here is that people are irresponsible with their finances and it's up to the businesses to ensure people aren't spending money needlessly?

Don't get me wrong, perhaps a nice reminder email to say "We haven't seen you in a while" would be nice but to call the system "seriously flawed" just because people can't control their spending is a bit of a reach.

Kenai · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:25

The issue is, if all those people do turn up, the places will be unusable and yet if they weren't charging that many people, the regulars would have to pay about £250 per month to make the business viable. It can only be sustained by taking advantage of those who are carefree with their finances. Is it right? Probably not. Will it change? No.

paradigm · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:27

terley said:
From my experience, they are.

Your experience must be limited to whatever rock it is you live under.

Other than the classes run at the leisure centre, none of our local gyms are council managed.

Lopéz · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:28

I don't think I've ever seen a Council run gym. Leisure centres which have gym facilities, yes - but I can't think of a standalone gym that I've seen that's council run - most of the ones I see are David Lloyd, Nuffield, Virgin Active, Gym Group, Pure Gym, Simply etc.

Glanza · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:31

Lopéz said:
I don't think I've ever seen a Council run gym. Leisure centres which have gym facilities, yes - but I can't think of a standalone gym that I've seen that's council run - most of the ones I see are David Lloyd, Nuffield, Virgin Active, Gym Group, Pure Gym, Simply etc.

Council run gyms tend to be the most expensive, the only one we have is £35 a month where as the private gyms start memberships from £10 a month.

TS7 · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:31

Another point is that all the people not turning up are actually subsiding the cost of membership for the people who use it. There's are a reason why people can join a gym for as little as £14.99 with no contract, it's because of the business model which accounts for a large proportion of people who won't turn up.

I mean you can have a limited numbers gym, there's many in London but you'd be paying £100 a month.

Kenai · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:32

Glanza said:
Council run gyms tend to be the most expensive, the only one we have is £35 a month where as the private gyms start memberships from £10 a month.

Really? Places like Virgin and David Lloyd start from about £60 per month don't they?

Diddums · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:33

terley said:
From my experience, they are.

Your experience is wrong.

Glanza · 19 Mar 2017 at 13:34

Kenai said:
Really? Places like Virgin and David Lloyd start from about £60 per month don't they?

We don't have those round these parts

think the only 'named' one you'd find is a Bannatyne's and that's £40 but not exactly local.