Serious question, that horrible gym membership call taught me something

So I called to freeze my gym membership because I hurt my knee last month. The guy on the phone put me on hold for like twenty minutes, then came back and said their computer couldn't process it until next billing cycle. I was pretty mad, and everyone always says gyms are the worst for this stuff. But listening to him, he sounded just as frustrated as I was. He explained that his screen was locked and he had to get a manager, but no one was around. Yeah, it sucked to pay for another month I couldn't use, but he did try to add a free month at the end. I think we jump to hate the rep too fast when the real problem is their broken systems. He was stuck with bad tools, and that's not really his fault.

2 comments

2 Comments

nelson.max5d ago

I've been a member at my gym for eight years and used to get so mad at the front desk staff over stuff like this. Your story about the twenty minute hold and the locked screen really hit home, though. I always blamed the person on the phone, but you're right, they're just stuck using the same terrible software we hate. Hearing that the guy sounded frustrated and tried to add a free month makes it clear he wanted to help. I'm starting to see the problem isn't the rep, it's the whole broken setup they're forced to work with.

martin.jana5d ago

Totally feel that. We're all just trying to work around garbage systems, right?