The Customer Face Slap

I have been working out at the same gym for six or seven years – Balance Training in central Stockholm. As one of the more expensive gyms in Stockholm, my monthly fee has not been cheap, but getting in early saved me the high prices new members pay now. However, I have always been very satisfied. They have very nice staff, it’s clean, good equipment, good opening hours and so on. In short, I was very happy with the whole experience.

Nonetheless, I decided to try something new, and it was CrossFit at CrossFit Nordic. And since that isn’t cheap either, I wanted to cancel my membership at Balance.

And here comes what is standard practice, but what still surprises me. Balance has this 30 days notice, meaning I have to pay for one month more than I want to train. I cancel today, and want to quit training, but have to pay for one more month. Why?

It is strange that an experience that has been 100 % positive for me all of a sudden gets a bad taste. I don’t see any logical administrative reason for it. They will even charge for the days in next month that running are up to the 30 days after my call. It just seems like a last effort to squeeze some money out of a client.

It’s like a slap in the face to the customer who decides to leave, even if they were perfectly happy and would recommend the place up until then.

I don’t think I will ever understand businesses that put these kind of rules in place. Phone companies are even worse, usually with a 90 days notice.

No one likes a slap in the face! Got it?