Why Didn’t I Cancel My Gym Membership Ages Ago?

The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping up and down.

Rita Rudner

Several months ago I wrote a blog called Confessions of a Gym Rat about my struggle getting into a gym that I really didn’t like. It was in a basement, old, rundown, badly laid out and not cheap. I’ve been working out in gyms since the mid-70s so not going to a gym didn’t appear to be an option. Unfortunately this was the only gym close to my house since Goodlife bought the big, bright, well laid out gym that I was a member of and then closed it to drive people to the basement. Although I considered going to a gym that I had to drive to, realistically I knew that wouldn’t work. After many trials and tribulations I finally cancelled my gym membership and found a great alternative.

I live in mid-town Toronto in what I affectionately refer to as my 700 square feet of splendor so a big home gym setup was not feasible. However, with a little creativity I can now do as good a workout or better than I did in the gym in very little space and for very little money. I bought a frame-less step machine. It’s literally just the steps so it takes up very little space and it’s under $100 on Amazon. I learned how to train in an old body building gym so I’ve never worked out with machines, only free weights. I rounded out my “home gym” with a few sets of dumbbells (which also take up next to no space and are very inexpensive). Since I’m Jewish, guilt is a powerful motivator for me which is why I strategically placed the stepper and the dumbbells in front of the TV. Every day I find a one-hour TV show that I want to watch and hop on the stepper for the hour. Afterwards I do a weight and ab work out. I’m now working out daily and more efficiently than when I went to the gym. It’s easy to find the time at home and the shower is just a few short steps away. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I really love my home setup and would never rejoin a gym.

If swimming is such a good way to stay in shape, explain whales…

Unknown

Make someone smile today.

Geri

My Outstanding Customer Service Award Goes to Boyne.com

Customers long to interact with – even relate to – employees who act like there is still a light on inside.

Chip Bell, Founder Chip Bell Group

How often do you come across a company that understands the meaning of customer service? Sadly, we live in a world where mediocrity is considered a high level of achievement and we routinely put up with much worse because there are few alternatives. Every once in a while, if we’re very fortunate, we come across a company that truly shines; and for me and my friend Sue Boyne is that company.

Ten years ago my friend Sue and I were looking for a golf resort for a “girls’ week” in the summer. We wanted this resort to be within an eight hour drive of Toronto and we wanted unlimited golf. As luck would have it I was reading about one of the Boyne golf courses – the Heather – in Golf for Women magazine (now defunct and part of Golf Digest). The Heather was rated as one of the top 50 golf courses in the U.S. for women. And so the Heather brought us to Boyne. It’s in Northern Michigan, an eight hour drive from Toronto and it has unlimited golf (and unlimited golf carts). Everything looked great and we decided to book.

I remember calling to make the reservations 10 years ago. Right off the bat I was entirely shocked. The reservationist, or vacation planner as they’re called in the Boyne world, was outstanding. Her name was Kelly (Kelly is still there and has made many of our reservations over the years. No one ever leaves Boyne.) and she was outstanding – friendly, efficient and welcoming. When we finally arrived at Boyne we discovered that everyone at Boyne is friendly, efficient and welcoming, from the servers to the bag staff. One morning Sue and I were chatting with a member of the bag staff and we remarked on how wonderful everyone was. The Boyne staffer told us that when you join Boyne everyone has to go a three day course; it’s the same course whether you’re the VP or a member of the bag staff and over the three days they only teach one thing – when a guest leaves the property they have to know that this was the best vacation experience they’ve ever had. Sue and I are two guests who can attest to the fact that our holidays at Boyne are always the best vacation experiences we’ve ever had. Guests keep coming back year after year and many like our friends Gail and Bob (who we met at Boyne our first year there) from LA buy houses on the property. And it’s not just the guests that love Boyne; the staff never leaves either. We’ve met several Boyne staffers who’ve been there for 35 years.

In less than one month we’ll be leaving for our 10^th golf holiday at Boyne. Kelly made our reservations and we can’t wait to leave. As soon as we see the sign “Welcome to Boyne”, we’re home and looking forward to the best vacation experience of our lives – at least for one spectacular week.

Customers may forget what you said but they'll never forget how you made them feel.

Unknown 

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Online Dating Sites Refuse to Protect You From Scammers or Predators

It’s right there in the name. It’s not ‘Great Cupid’ or even ‘Good Cupid’. It’s OK Cupid.

Helen Hong, Comedienne

Let’s get real; online dating sites are in it for the money, whether they’re paid or free sites. And, they can be monetized in a multitude of ways including:

• Paid Memberships

• Premium Content or Add-On Features

• Advertising

• Affiliate Networks

• Live Events

The bottom line is that they’re all looking to make as much money as possible. And in order to make as much money as possible they have to show value. How do they show value? By the number of registered members of course! Remember, social media is just a numbers game and the one who has the most, wins. Online dating sites need to boast as many registered members as possible to attract new members, advertising dollars and the like. So even if they know that members are scammers or predators, it’s not in their best interests to delete their profiles from the site because that reduces their numbers which makes them less attractive to new members and advertising dollars.

The easiest way to identify scammers and online predators is to drag and drop their photos into Google Image Search. In fact I do that with anyone that contacts me on an online dating site, whether or not my alarm bells have gone off. And I have identified SEVERAL scammers and online predators who were either impersonating someone or using someone else’s photo. On every occasion that I identified one of these creeps, I reported them to the online dating sites and provided iron clad evidence - the URL to the person they were impersonating or to the location of where they absconded with the photo. NOT ONCE were any of these scammers or predators booted off the sites. Online dating sites don’t care about you or your safety; they only care about the money you can generate for them.

The moral of the story is that you have to look out for yourself. Be diligent and always do a Google Image Search. It’s free, easy to do and can save you a lot of grief.

Today, if you own a smartphone, you’re carrying a 24-7 singles bar in your pocket.

Aziz Ansari, Actor

Make someone smile today.

Geri

I Was Hustled By Fitness Depot

I believe that every human has a finite amount of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.

Neil Armstrong

A few weeks ago I went into Fitness Depot on Yonge Street to pick up a new stability ball and two sets of dumbbells. They had the stability ball in stock but they didn’t have the weights in the sizes I wanted but said they’d order them for me. I asked if they needed a deposit and the chap serving me said that if I didn’t pay in full up front I’d have to wait until the next order, which could be several weeks; but a prepaid order comes in much quicker. Fitness Depot is a reputable organization so I paid in full up front. When someone says that I’ll be getting something “quickly” to me that means a few days to the maximum of one week. I called after one week – nothing. I called after two weeks – nothing. I called after three weeks and low and behold their regular shipment had just arrived, my dumbbells included. Clearly paying up front in full had not made a damn difference and the person that served me had to know that. I was plain and simply hustled.

However, Fitness Depot managed to add insult to injury. When I called after three weeks to inquire about my dumbbells, I expressed my displeasure to Sarah, the person who answered the phone. She was disinterested and rude. Her only comment was that I shouldn’t take it out on her. In fact I wasn’t taking anything out on her; I was merely expressing my displeasure at being asked to pay in full up front for no reason. I asked who I should be speaking to and she said that I should speak to Sam, the manager. I asked her to have Sam give me a call and she hung up on me. Sam never called me. Clearly Fitness Depot has zero interest in customer satisfaction.

Then I went to Fitness Depot online and they have a live chat feature. I relayed my story to Alex, the online chat person who told me that she would relay my experience to the Regional Manager because Fitness Depot is all about customer service. Well, you guessed it; I never heard from the Regional Manager either.

I will go to Fitness Depot sometime this weekend and pick up my dumbbells and that will be the last time they’ll see me again. Hustling me for the price of two sets of dumbbells is pathetic.

Accidentally consumed five biscuits when I wasn’t paying attention. Those biscuits are wily fellows - they leap in like sugary ninjas.

Charles Dickens

Make someone smile today.

Geri