First of all, I'm a trainer for body of change, which is now changing its name to pro results to get away from the negative rep. It has gotten using the body of change name. I'm not actually an employee at that location, i'd rather not say where i'm at because i know my bosses read this.
One thing that i want to say is that for the most part out trainers are very good at what they do. I know the staff i work with are all certified through very credible companies such as ACE, Cooper, and ACSM. The managers on the other hand are not certified, and are given a scripted workout to use when they give thier assessment to potential clients. Most of them don't even know what they're talking about, they just go on what the sales script says to tell the client to make them buy a training package. A lot of the time the managers ask the trainers questions about fitness because they have no clue what they're doing.
Secondly, the money issue really kills me. It is now pretty common knowledge that the trainers are only making $6 per session, $12 an hour if they have 2 sessions in a row. The problem with that is the clients are paying anywhere from $40-$60 for every session. The manager who sells the package gets a 5% commission on the total amount of the package. And the vp's and owners who do absolutely nothing get the rest. Check out this scenario and tell me how it makes sense:
Customer buys training package with 8 sessions per month at $40 per session for one year. That totals out at $3,990 (after the $150 membership fee). The commission on that is $199.50. Then the trainer (s) get a total of $576, assuming that all the sessions are used. That means that only $775.50 goes to the people who associate with the client, and the remaining $3,214 goes to the managers hourly wage, and the vp's and owners of the company who never even talk to the client. Now tell me how it makes sense that i, the trainer who works with this client 2 times a week for an entire year, only get $576, while the owners and vp's who never speak with my client get to split the rest. Now just imagine that amount of money (on average) spent by at least one person per day at every single club. Ridiculous right.
Another thing that makes me mad is that the managers expect me to go around and rack weights or get them sets when i don't have a client. Keep in mind that i'm getting paid nothing at all when i'm not training. That would be free labor, and i don't know about you, but i don't work for free, thats why its called work and not volunteer. The managers always like to say that if i get them a set and they sell the package we'll split the commission, to which i reply if they don't sell the package i just worked for nothing. Plus i've gotten many managers sets and they like to put the whole sale in their name so their numbers go up and they get their bonus, and they say they'll give me cash, but then forget and i never see a cent. How is that fair to me?
The only thing i can really say to defend the company is that a lot of people like to sign the contract without reading it which is the dumbest thing EVER! I know that the managers like to skim the contract and say they're explaining everything, but they often fail to mention the charge of 50% of the remaining contract balance if you want to cancel your contract. They also leave out that the contract automatically renews itself after the the contract ends, unless you send in a letter to corporate 30 days before the next is charged if you want it to end. But like i said, its smart to read before you sign, otherwise if that happens its your own fault for not knowing.
Any rebuttles by anyone, agreeing or disagreeing with me, are welcome, and i'll be glad to respond to them and answer any questions.
Trainerelite
lewisville, Texas
U.S.A.
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