Gyms and dirty tricks

According to a survey it has been found that complaints about gyms have increased to more than 90 percent in the past five years. It is easy to join a gym but difficult to get out of it without some sacrifice.

This is mainly because of a so called contract which you usually have to sign at the time of joining a gym. Some people are so careless that they sign the contract without even reading it. This approach can bring difficulties for them in future. You can’t blame gym managers for designing long contracts with a lot of legalese because you are the one to sign them.

Many gyms offer three years, five years and life time membership contracts and people go for them because they are being offered on cheaper rates. People face difficulties because of these contracts when they are unable to continue their exercises at the respective gym because of certain reasons such as moving away or lack of time. There are many people who have to pay money to the gyms although they have left them, mainly because of the contract. This is why the long time contracts are not good because a person has to pay for extended period of time even if he is not training at the respective gym.

As marketing is an art and people related to this field don’t usually expose bad side of their product and you discover it after falling for that thing. So, people related to gym business won’t tell you the drawbacks of a long time contract. You have to rely on your common sense and experience of other people to judge evens and odds of a long time contract.

Another very important thing to mention here is the fact that many people continue to pay their gym fee although they are not training there regularly because they think that very soon they will find time in their daily routine for regular training. In this way they continue to waste their money on a vague hope of finding time for regular exercise.

I, myself, as an owner of a few taekwondo schools, used one year contracts in the past with new students mainly because of the reason that a contract brings stability. I always inform people that this is a one year contract and if they leave the school early, they will have to pay the full fee. As a customer, it is important for you to read a contract thoroughly before signing it. This will save you from a lot of trouble later on.

Yours,
Markku Parviainen
www.markkuparviainen.com
www.ledarskaspakademi.com

Markku Parviainen has studied Taekwondo (WTF) over 30 years and was member of Finnish national team for 10 years. He has a Coaching degree from the Finnish sport institute and has coached the Finnish junior national team. He competed in over 100 tournaments and his best results were a Bronze medal in the European championship and numerous national and Nordic titles. His students have received medals in World championships and European championship games. Currently he lives with his family in Sweden and runs his Taekwondo School in the city of Gothenburg.