Why I hate gym sales people...

[johnny_on_the_spot]

So in my root to better myself, I decided to go to a few gyms yesterday to check them out, because the "fitness center" at my apt complex is pretty crappy...

First gym i went to was a Washington Sports Clubs in Fairfax, VA. The place was nice, nothing special, normal run of the mill gym. So the guy shows me around and then we go back to his office to talk about pricing, which wasn't to bad, in retrospect of the other gyms i went to. 150 down/ 50 month for a 1 year, 149 down/40 month for 2 year. But thats when the guy started being not as nice to me anymore. First I asked if they had a month to month option. His first reply was, "why would you want to do that?" -- what the hell does it matter why I want to do it, that is of my own concern and no one else's, I just want to know the price! so after a little he tells me (150 down/60 month). so then I tell him im still looking around and then the speech about how he can lower prices comes up and what not, he slashed 100 bucks off of the initiation fee if i signed up right then an there. (I should have mentioned, I'm gonna work out during lunch, and this gym is like 5 miles from work, which is a haul in NoVA traffic, prolly like 15-20 minute drive.) So this gym was like my last choice in general, but he was basically hard selling me the gym, telling me all this crap and what not, but basically went from a very nice guy to an ass in like 3 seconds...

So the second stop was Lifetime Fitness in Fairfax, which everyone here raves about LF in general... so went there, was actually surprised that a meat head didnt show me around, it was an older guy and very thin, but shows me around, it was very nice, very impressive, then finally we get to the office where we talk about price. So he lays it on me, 260 down/60 month. Thats actually not too bad considering the facility. And he was a real nice guy, but what caught me off guard was when i told him i still was looking, he started with the whole 30 day money back garuntee, and that i would be smart to just join there and continue to look. which i obviously said no to, and then made up an excuse that i would have to move some money around in bank accounts and what not. he took that excuse for about 30 seconds, then he throws out the "you know we take credit cards" line... its like the fangs come out when you want to leave... again, didnt sign anything because i knew i was a dead duck if i did...

So now comes the best one of all, Golds Gym in Falls Church. So I get there and fill out the paper work and then the guy (meat head) comes to meet me. first he asks me all these questions about my purpose for joining a gym (loose weight, gain muscle, same as every general guy) so then he starts asking about my diet and water intake, which completely suprised him, because what i found out later is that he was looking for any reason to push the personal trainers on me, like he asks how much water i drink in a day, and i start adding up in my head and he smirked a little (i didnt realize why until afterwards, he thought i was gonna say like 10 ounces) but i drink like 100-160 ounces a day, then he asks if i eat fast food - no - the last time i was the way i wanted to look - freshman year of college, before all the 12 ounce curls and killing of braincells - stuff about my diet, which i eat fairly well, so that stiffled him again, but then he got me ----- do i have any injuries?? well, i fell last week, completely unrelated to lifting and fitness, slipped on some ice, hurt my back a little and partially torn tendon in my ankle -- but i have horrible ankles and have herniated a disc in my back before, i know how to handle them, how to lift with them and around them... ive been dealing with it for over 10 years now... so thats when the whole "you should have a personal trainer" thing starts up, but just a little, like he just mentions they are very well certified and that they have them and stuff... so he shows me around, points out their protien shakes, because i drink protein, and i dont have 2 huge tubs of it at home... but shows me around, plates are a little older, but the machines look new... so anyway we get back to his desk and then we get into prices --- he starts showing me their different plans, on the one sheet it says "Base plan: if your happy with your body, you know what your doing, and something else that is very generic" but he recommends their higher up plan because I'm not happy with my body, and i need assistance or some stupid shit, then he gets the trainer, who is telling me that some people lift without realizing where there standing and something, i dont know, i used to lift a lot of heavy weights, if i was doing what he said i could be doing, i would have fallen over... ive been lifting for over 10 years, i used to be cut, before i went to school and got lazy and ate burgers all day and drank booze all night, i know what im doing... but aparently not--- if i wanted the trainer, 65 a session, 53 a month and 0 enrollment, if i just wanted to membership, 55 month, 0 enrollment... i dont know, it just pissed me off how they think everyone is a moron and has no clue what to do...


anyway, i think i might go with lifetime, the place was really nice, it was pretty close to my work and i miss rock climbing and swimming, which they have a pool and a rock climbing wall in the centerville location...

any thoughts on other gyms in this area?

[pliny_2001]

My advice for which gym: whichever has the combination that will keep you going there. If it's proximity, machines, rockwall, cute girls, whatever -- just choose the one that will keep your attention.

Gym sales people: a situation where working on commission makes you an annoying person - this goes double for the selling of supplements. When I first moved to NYC, I checked out a number of gyms. At one (a Bally's, I think), the salesgirl called over a trainer to suggest everything that they could do for me. I'd already decided not to join (the lap pool that they advertised, and was my sole reason for looking at the place, appeared to be - maybe - 10 meters long, which I think officially qualifies it as a unusually cool, oddly-shaped hot-tub), so I decided to puff up my credentials a bit (water-polo club became NCAA swimmer, occasional 5k's became part of my Olympic-length triathlon training, 3 years of dedicated weight-lifting became "something I've been working on for a little over a year," etc.). So the personal trainer, after not listening to my not-accurate credentials, then launched into a spiel about how several sessions would change my physique, and how their 'special supplements' were amazing. My only response? "Ummm . . . are you an example of your own advice?" He was an obvious example of the fat trainer syndrome (FTS).

My advice for joining a gym: tell them to waive the enrollment fee, and pay for 4 months in advance, w/ an option for yearly renewal. If you like the gym for the 4 months, then stay. If not, switch. I have a deep and abiding hate for the enrollment fee, and only paid it once (the gym was literally a two-minute walk from my apartment - I paid the fee and paid for the year in advance: the combo of price and location was too good to pass up, and the gym knew it).

[Carnitas]

That's what they do, they are salesmen. They try to get you to buy things you don't really need. If you already know what you are doing, just find the gym you like most, and doesn't charge you up the ass as well. I went with my dad a couple years ago before I got into lifting and we looked at the Powerhouse gym. The whole time they were trying to offer me a week free pass to check it out and after that, it would be 65 a month for the two of us, and I just said, I will stick with the Ymca where its 20 a month for my family of three. Just gotta find what fits you best.

[ppsuprise]

yea those sales are trained to trap you no matter what it takes, i should know i was one for a short time. i got outa it cause i dont thnk its morally right to be ripping people off liek that. also those free week passes are jsut ways to get you in the fitness center and push there sales on you, they are in no way to give you a free week to try out the facitlity.

[illiniballfan112]

eh, i work in sales and it's unfortunate but that's what we're supposed to do. the funny thing is that most sales people are trained with a particular script they have to use depending on the company. also, no good sales person will ever take "no" as the first answer, that being said, that explains why they always use the slash the price technique.

essentially, sales people have a job to do, just like everyone else who does a job on a dialy basis. sales people also get "shopped" all the time and if they ease off their pitch, they can get a bad shop score, get disciplined at work, and even lose their jobs. sales people that do everything by the book usually close at a high rate and eventually make manager, as is what happened with myself.

what i'm saying is that you don't like people who go into your work and prevent you from doing your job or think badly of you when you do do it correctly. if you're going in somewhere looking to make a purchase, you have to understand there will be a salesperson who is trying to not only make a sale, but also feed his family (as most of us don't get very good base salaries) and move up the corporate ladder. many people who do sales are looking to do other things but are stuck with sales because that is the most common "entry level" position in most companies. sales people and the corporate philosophy to "convince" you to buy are the backbones of our entire economy whether people like it or not.

my advice is to embrace the salesperson, respect what he's trying to do, and if you're not ready to buy be polite yet firm with your no's. any good salesperson will be able to respect he can't close everyone, and will try harder to make a good impression on you before you leave.