The gym I work at now has a 24 hour cancellation policy - as long as a client calls before 24 hours of their training session they don't get charged for that session, if they call under 24 hours it is up to the trainers if they charge the client or not.
Well your gym management is pretty lame- let you be the bad guy, and charge the client for what he/she didn't get. (or let you be the "sucker" panning your time around things that don't happen and you get paid for).
Talk to management about that lame policy. 24 hours imo is pretty short notice- it would be very hard to schedule a replacement session in that time- or to suddenly go away for the week end because that one Saturday session suddenly cancelled- charge them for it.
Most clients do not think in those terms (unless they do consulting/tutoring/music lesson, etc) so the logic behind it should be explained. I think that if your client see the reasoning behind it they should be understanding about that.
cheers
peter
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Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
Pete, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.
I actually have a very similar policy with my clients. If they let me know by the night before, I don't charge them. If they call the day of, I charge them... with certain exceptions. If someone has been a good client and they wake up with the flu, get a flat tire, their kid gets in trouble, etc. I'll let it slide. I'm running a business, but I'm not a nazi.
The 24 hour policy is actually pretty standard in this industry. I'm with Ian, whereas, depending on the emergency I will make a judgment call based on the problem, client record, and effort in contacting me.
okay, thanks guys. i had been wondering about that, because i have 1 client that i can almost count on to either cancel or call to reschedule for a different time every week!! and after about 3 months of training her i feel bad for charging her for all these sessions when she's actually only showed up to about a handful. i guess that is her own fault though? i let her know every time when i am charging her for the session.
I've had a few of those clients too and somehow they never get results
In other words they aren't respecting your time so I never feel bad about charging them, and sooner or later end up having a talk about what they are getting out of training.
Though my gym has a 24hr policy I generally do 12hrs. As Ian does, if a longterm client that rarely cancels has something come up I let it go.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
okay, thanks guys. i had been wondering about that, because i have 1 client that i can almost count on to either cancel or call to reschedule for a different time every week!! and after about 3 months of training her i feel bad for charging her for all these sessions when she's actually only showed up to about a handful. i guess that is her own fault though? i let her know every time when i am charging her for the session.
Some would think that she is a good client as you get paid for doing nothing but in some ways she could be making you look bad.... 3 months no results.... people do notice these things.
Pete, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.
I actually have a very similar policy with my clients. If they let me know by the night before, I don't charge them. If they call the day of, I charge them... with certain exceptions. If someone has been a good client and they wake up with the flu, get a flat tire, their kid gets in trouble, etc. I'll let it slide. I'm running a business, but I'm not a nazi.
What I am say - or trying to say - is that the management should have a STRAIGHT up policy that does not put the option of not paying if notice is shorter than 24 hours on the trainer.
SO when the client cancels on short notice, management seems to be saying you have to pay unless your trainer says it is OK not pay. SO rather than protecting the trainer with a policy they are making the trainer the "heavy".
Basically - it is the trainer who has to say to the client - sorry you reason is NOT good enough I am going to charge you.
++++++++++++++
We had a flood a few years ago so our company was closed for a few days. Water was chest deep (direct hit with a major typhoon and high tide) - great reason to cancel work- But I would have been screaming if they said they weren't going to pay me.
++++++++++++++
I think that management should be the heavy and say no refunds but in special circumstances they will consider a refund (then management asks the trainer and management say NO- not the trainer).
My son takes swimming lessons - whenwe cancel WE pay
Guitar lessons - the same
are trainers less professional that swim instructors? or music teachers? Then why are they treated with less profession respect and why do they not DEMAND more?
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Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
Hmmm, I think I see what you are getting at. But in my opinion, a trainer garners more respect and is more professional when he/she gets to make the call.
I work with a great setup... the gym I train in takes their percent but then is completely hands-off. Of course, there are only 4-5 of us there, and we all know each other well, so it's different than a corporate gym. So all policies are created and implemented by me. I vastly prefer this to having the manager involved and telling my client whether or not they have to pay me that day.
I believe my clients have more respect for me and what I do because I interview, assess, take payment, book and implement policies on my own. In a corporate gym I realize they won't allow all of those things... but at least they get to make the call on cancellations.
Just to add my bit in, I have a 24 hour policy too. Very standard here in teh UK. All my clients sign up to the policy when they come on board and know that if they cancel within 24 hours they will have to pay.
Most clients will call before 24 hours or if they do not, they give me as much notice as possible. Then I just ring around and see if anyone would like an extra training session, more oftern than not i will fill the slot. If not there is always marketing, paperwork, or something to do that will use the time effectively to grow my company!
The 12 hour cx policy is pretty reasonable and have used it with great success. It sucks if you have a 5:00am client who does a no show. For that reason cx policy covers your butt when you're sitting around waiting for them to show. By charging for no shows, they are lest apt to do it again. You have to figure out how much your time is worth. One option is to give all your new clients an actual card that is a "get out of jail free". They get one excuse and that's it. It's a nice reward to give them on a birthday, 1 year renewal, etc. Doesn't cost you anything, but as a client it's nice to know that you have an ace up your sleeve if something rolls around.
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