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Post by Dale on Nov 29, 2016 16:51:30 GMT
Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why,Why, do they need to take $10 from us on these for a finders fee? ?? 30 day trial is the first thing you see on the website (just before the franchise opportunity screen). It's smack dab in the middle of the screen, can't miss it. WTF is our website fee for? They already get $8.95 for the trial. So let's say you get $34.95 for your single membership. You are actually getting $24.95 for the first 2 months of this membership or $12.47/month!!!!!!!!!!!! Corporate is getting $18.95. Does that sound fair? Does that sound in the best interest of the zee? Pure greed! Come on folks let's rise up on this one....hammer your FAM or whatever the hell they are now.
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Wish I Was Independent
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Post by Wish I Was Independent on Nov 29, 2016 17:23:02 GMT
OMG! You have got to be kidding me. This is actually WORSE for us than before. They actually made this 4-5 year old marketing program worse for the zee's. Unbelievable. As much as we loathed the program before at least we got the full amount of dues membership if they joined. Let's face it the ones that are going to join are going to join. Those that don't will have many opportunities to opt. out. Now we get jipped out of $10 for every one that does join.
Those crooks never cease to amaze me. Talk about kicking someone while they are down until we are hemorrhaging! What will be the straw that breaks the zee's backs? This may be it.
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Post by determined1 on Nov 29, 2016 20:21:45 GMT
The person automatically signs up at the monthly rate on your site. So if your current rate is $29.95/month for a single why not change this to $49.95/month. On the website you're already paying for why not encourage the prospect to come into the club to receive lower sign up costs and a lower monthly rate? I don't think anyone will want to continue the the $8.95 membership when they see how much it'll cost them in the long run.
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Post by greenergrass on Nov 30, 2016 17:57:08 GMT
Not only do we only get (averaged) $12.47/month for the first two months, you are also not collecting any joining fees. If you charge $20 to activate the access card, your net would be $10. If you charge an enrollment fee, but they stay after the trial, you have no opportunity to collect this. Even in my sluggish market, I'm getting $49 when a single sets up a membership. And nobody walks out without joining because they don't want to pay this.
I am so ready to leave this franchise.
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Post by fishstyxx on Dec 1, 2016 3:18:05 GMT
There's no reason this shouldn't be an opt-in program. Those that apply aren't properly vetted. It doesn't take too much smarts to figure out that it you put your information in and it tells you you're not eligible that it's simply checking one or more parameters. In the case of these thieves all it checks is the email address. Change the email address and bingo, you're in. Even if the physical address is still the same as the address on record, you're in. Then they let you play the bad guy. If it's not allowed then corporate should make the phone call to the member letting them know that they fucked up on purpose, because their main goal is to collect as many of the $8.95 charges as possible. Additionally, it takes about a week for them to get the card out to the former member. We alert them within hours of receiving the email. That should stop the process right there. However, in Snap's blatant disregard for doing the right thing they continue the process and mail out the access card knowing full well that the former member isn't eligible.
They've made the laughable statement:
Because we are a company that encourages and listens to franchisee feedback, we would like to appease both sides of this new initiative. ROTFLMFAO
They don't listen to anything said by the franchisees. As someone else on the board here stated (Dale, determined, snaplongtimer or cheryl) we could simply credited each account $35 and bypass their bullshit. If they really want to show they listen to franchisees, then make this piece of crap program an opt-in program.
This industry is notorious for copying the ideas of other clubs. If this program was even slightly beneficial it would be offered by every club out there. The other fitness franchises don't push it on their franchisees because they respect their franchisees and don't see them merely as a group to shake down and take advantage of. Th corporate clubs just view it as a stupid idea and doesn't make any sense in a non-franchise model. If it was such a great idea why wouldn't this be offered at 9round, steele and yogafit?
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Post by snaplongtimer on Dec 1, 2016 20:30:43 GMT
Maybe 3 parameters should be checked such as name, birth date and email. Any two of those that match makes it invalid. I've already had 2 invalid online trials this week that were sent to me. I had to call both and make an offer to re-signup instead.
Once we get the email for an 8.95 trial, corp tells me it has shipped already so too late on trying to cancel that order.
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Post by greenergrass on Dec 2, 2016 2:11:52 GMT
I saw on a board at a Kwik Trip today a flyer from Anytime Fitness: free week or 1/2 off enrollment. If I were looking at these two franchises today, I would pick Anytime Fitness. This 30 day trial is awful and the transition to a membership, no opportunity to charge card activation or enrollment, plus we get charged $10, is the worst deal for us franchisees. And corporate is just sitting back thinking of all the money they will make. Too bad more of us will close over the next few years or sooner because we are tired of this crap. I doubt corporate is worried about that because they will just convince people that 9Round is the new wave for fitness. And in a few years, the 9Round people will be regretting their decision when that fad loses it momentum.
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Post by fishstyxx on Dec 2, 2016 2:33:39 GMT
Well we know that's a bunch of crap. They mail the card standard US mail with standard postage, not the $3 they tried claiming years back. From MN that would take 2 days in CONUS. Members don't get the cards for 7 to 10 days. I've never had anyone get it sooner than 10 days. That's plenty of time for them to stop the process. We tell ex-members to reject the delivery, or write return to sender and dispute the charge with their credit card company. We provide a letter stating that the information was not properly vetted, because it only checked the email address and that we agree that they should receive a full refund.
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Post by snaplongtimer on Dec 3, 2016 17:45:22 GMT
Have to mention we are supposed to supply the lanyard since it is not shipped with the card, but you already know that.
Not to set the pot to boil again, but...ever go back and read the terms and conditions on that 30 day? 8.95 prospect is allowed to bring a guest during staffed hours. Says nothing about if guest was a previous member/prospect or not. It's a two for one deal. In fact, the terms for the trial state nothing about if the person that signed up online was a previous prospect or not. Simple changes in verbiage may clean up some of the misunderstanding with a future prospect. I submitted my concerns over this. You should too..
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Post by fishstyxx on Dec 3, 2016 20:28:53 GMT
Almost every one of these $8.95 one month pre-pays signs up a guest when they register. Also, check the postmark on the card they send. You'll see it's typically not mailed out until 4 or 5 days after the person signed up.
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Post by determined1 on Dec 5, 2016 4:09:08 GMT
greenergrass: Where did you see that there's no access card or program fee. As we do now we'll continue to terminate every 30 day trial that signs up until they come in and sign the membership agreement. We're also charging every one of them $10 more per month for the first 4 months to counteract the negative effects of the "finders' fee" and lost revenue. They'll also have to agree that the program fee will be more the longer they wait to tell us they're converting. If they don't like it then no 30 day trial. If anybody wants it I'll provide the verbiage we end up using. Here's pricing we currently use Program fee based on week converted week 1 - $49.95 week 2 - $64.95 week 3 - $79.95 week 4 - $99.95 I'm also seeing a pattern forming. Everyone who converts does it in week 1. If they go beyond week 1 then they typically go the entire 30 days. Come in late at night a day or 2 before 30 days is up and leave the access card on the desk. We had one woman who came in 28 of the 30 days of her trial. She would work out for almost 2 hours each day. Sign up? Heck no. So sick of freeloaders, as well as people taking advantage of our club for a month. (By freelaoders I was referring to snap) It seems like the board has been rather quiet since 12/2. I'm guessing everyone must finally be happy with things at snap. Oh, wait. Stupid me, you're probably spending 24 hours of the day calling members to update their billing. But wait, isn't the decline recovery program taking care of that for you? Wanna hear a real kicker. One of my former employees had their card replaced. I called her to get the new billing, but she didn't pick up. Ran into her at a local restaurant and she told me that when the phone calls come in they show our number. Once she realized it was an automated call she hung up. After that she just refused to take our calls because she figured it was just a recording. So not only is no one paying using this program, but now they won't even pick up the phone when we call, and it's leading to many more delinquent/suspended and eventually terminated accounts. Proving once again SNAP HAS NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT THEY'RE DOING!!!
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Post by greenergrass on Dec 6, 2016 22:38:53 GMT
I am just guessing that the trials will roll into a membership with no joining fees or card fee. But maybe (however unlikely) they will say it is possible that there will be a fee charged just like they do with the online enrollments. Has anyone heard one way or the other? I think corporate thinks this is a great idea and their statistics for joining after a trial will be great! Too bad I think we will have a lot of pissed off people who will then start complaining.
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Post by Dale on Dec 8, 2016 14:21:27 GMT
corporate could really earn back a big chunk of respect if they would simply change the 8.95 by directing the prospect to come into the facility to get their access card and sign necessary paperwork vs. corp. taking 10 days to send the access card out. The club, many of them struggling, would get the 8.95 and the prospect would be served waaaay better by being able to start that day. Seriously, this would be MUCH better customer service and John, don't even attempt to say it isn't.
They also need to eliminate the new $10 fee for any that will transition to a member. This is horrible for the zee.
Come on snap....earn back that respect!
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Post by determined1 on Dec 8, 2016 16:05:35 GMT
But wait, how would corporate make their $8,95? That's the only reason for running it and having a virtually non-existing vetting process. I had a former member come in and we told him it was only for new members. He swore up and down that Snap verified him, he had his letter from Snap and he wanted in right then and there, but only if it was free for 30 days. Of course some of the people in the club stopped their workouts wondering what all the commotion was, and then him yelling out to everyone that they should all go online and get their 30 days free. The program is a fucking mess and simply an assault on owners.
They won't make it an opt-in program because only about 1% would opt-in. No one in their right mind wants this fucked-up program and no other fitness company is copying it. Why? Because it's useless and not needed.
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Post by greenergrass on Dec 9, 2016 22:20:54 GMT
Here is an interesting thought considering the Corporate opinion on the trial. If given the opportunity to vote on it and agreement that we go with the majority vote, one vote per location, would the majority be for or against the 30 day trial? Since this is an issue that affects all of us, we should have the opportunity to be part of the decision. As it is, the fact that I have no voice in a business I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, is completely ridiculous. And as much as I understand it is a franchise, the problem is the way this franchise has changed. It is the fact that so many locations have closed and more owners want to close because of the attitude of corporate.
I did a random search. I looked up Snap Fitness in Indianapolis just to see how we are doing in that market. Because remember that our strength is in the reciprocity. We want to attract the travelers and we need locations in good, convenient places where people travel. There used to be four Snap fitness locations at one time, I think. Today, there are TWO locations. Next, I look up Anytime Fitness. Wow. Cluster of AF. Not sure that they are thriving there though because there are also nine Planets.
So you all realize that corporate isn't really putting much effort into Snap Fitness. Why would any Snap Fitness even want to enter the Indianapolis market now. But 9Round. Now there you go. This is now the emphasis of corporate. So, let's look up 9Round in Indy. But first, I found an article (Club Solutions) from 2014 saying that "9Round announced its plan to open 15 additional gyms in the Indianapolis, Indiana, metro area. Currently, the franchise has two locations in the market." As of today, their website shows 7 or 8 depending on how far north of Indy you look.
So now, do you think they really care what we, the Snap Fitness franchisee, think or want.
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