I’ve just started reading Robert Cialdini’s Influence: Science and Practice, and it’s reminded me of something I wanted to share. So before I get any further into the book, I want to write about my experience joining Fitness First, the international chain of “fitness clubs” two weeks ago.
Twice before I have been a member of gyms (Club BJ on Kessels Rd, MacGregor and Movements Fitness Centre at Buranda): both were great with good facilities, reasonable rates and the helpful staff with more help like personal training available if you want it. OK my experience at Movements was pretty limited; I only visited twice in my six-month membership. But I had friends who went there as well and they liked it :).
So lately I’d been thinking about joining another gym, most likely I was going to rejoin Club BJ because I’d been there before and it wasn’t too expensive. Then I get a call from “Ben” at Fitness First in Fortitude Valley (not at all close to home) who tells me my buddy Glen has joined there and that he’s referred me and would I like to come in and check the place out etc? So I agree to go in, thinking that:
- I can join that Fitness First and then go to any other one, ie the one 5 minutes from my house
- I’ll join if it’s not too expensive
- It’s convenient, I didn’t even need to go out of my way to find a new gym — it found me!
So off I go at the appointed time to Fitness First Fortitude Valley, where I meet Ben, a guy of slight build who is definitely lean but in no way looks like a fitness fanatic as you’d expect from a gym representative. When I’d been shown around the other two gyms it was by fitness instructors, who would show you around and then you would go back and see the same person in a few days and they would write out a workout plan for you to get you on your way. All inclusive, by the way. But this was different. Ben talked smooth and fast and made me say yes a lot (do I like the shiny plasma screens? Yes. Do I like the sauna and steam room? Yes. Do I think the classes might be good for me? Yes. Do I think the gym looks like a great place? Yes.) and while he asked a lot of questions about my previous fitness experience like gym memberships and what exercise I do and a little bit about my goals, he was onto the next thing almost before I finished. It seemed odd, I was expecting him to be helping with my fitness soon so why didn’t he care?
Well I soon found out. After leading me so far up the yes ladder I’d forgotten what “no” was, we sat down to talk at a little table with comfy seats. Conveniently, my mate Glen who’d referred me to the gym turned up and sat at our table, where we chatted a bit. All very cosy.
Here’s where it gets interesting, and the tricks start to play out.
I had some inkling that Glen was going to get a discount if I signed up, and the system Fitness First have is that the person who refers you to the gym is there when you sign up, which really made me feel the pressure to sign up because if I didn’t then Glen didn’t get his discount. Now this is a friend you’re doing out of $5 a month, not just some random bloke, so it adds a bit extra pressure not to say no.
Ben leaves Glen and I to chat while he goes to get the “options”, a nice euphemism for “how much it’s going to cost you”. Soon he returns and lays out firstly the most expensive, casual option, which is nearly triple what I’ve paid before for gym memberships. Then he moves on to the 12 month plan which is like a contract. This is still quite expensive, but in a way I can see where the money goes — the facilities they have are very nice and modern and there’s plenty of equipment. There’s a large up-front joining fee, an administration fee, a fee to have three sessions with a personal trainer, and then there is the fortnightly membership fee which is still fairly high. I remind Ben of the first-time members’ incentive for which Ben has some acronym I can no longer remember, and he proceeds to basically cut the up-front fees in half, which seems like a very good saving, and take maybe 15% off the fortnightly fee. This does seem quite good and I reason that:
- Glen will be going to the gym so I will be able to go with him sometimes for extra motivation
- It’s a very nice gym so I should feel motivated to keep going — and they have plasmas!
These were my logical thoughts, trying to rationalise the decision I could feel myself making. As I said earlier, I had basically decided before going to the appointment that I was going to join, it was just a matter of the fees not being too high and I would do it — but they were too expensive! Even when Ben reduced the prices, I still wasn’t really comfortable with the prices. So why did I join?
In a word, it was pressure.
I’d been saying yes about how great everything at the gym was, I’d gone to the effort of getting there and looking around, and I really did honestly like the place. Then there was my mate Glen sitting there waiting to sign the forms so that he could get his discount off the fees, and what kind of a sport would I be if I backed out now? We wouldn’t be going to the gym together then either! It would be like a wedge driven between us and destroying our friendship. OK, perhaps not.
So to summarise this badly written Fitness First joining experience, here’s some key points that I may or may not have covered already:
- the guy who walks you around the place showing you everything is a sales guy — not general gym staff or a personal trainer or anyone at all interested in your fitness goals. They just want your cash.
- the joining fees are expensive ($150) even after being reduced by around 50% as an “incentive” or something
- unlike at other gyms, you join and that’s it — it’s just you and the equipment, unless you pay extra for personal trainer sessions. I’ve since been to one of these and it’s really good, more than just being setup with a workout routine; but you still have to pay for it if you want any help
- they do have a 15 day cooling-off period if you do decide you were pushed into something you don’t want, but they may keep your “administration fee” which for me was $60
- they do have free DVD hire for members!
This post isn’t meant to be a whinge, it’s more of a comment on the clever way Fitness First get you to join their clubs. I did want to join, and I did like their facilities, but without their cleverness I wouldn’t have paid what they were asking.
So, enough about fitness and back to the book.
