New Personal Trainer keeps on cancelling or changing appointment times

[member5454]

Looking for insight from other Personal trainers

I recently met and hired a personal trainer who is coming to the gym in my apartment building.

MY first impression was a good one, she has a lot of experience, she had a great website and when we met - I felt very comfortable.

A full fitness assessment was done and they also took measurements, and said she would get a plan to me soon; she also prepared a personalized meal plan which she delivered within the time we agreed.

Week 1

We agreed to meet twice a week to start, at certain times of the week.

Session 1 - was great,

Session 2 - She had to reschedule to another day, which was fine.
I really liked her sessions.

Week 2.

1. Session 3 - She texted me I’m sorry my car broke down, ive had to cancel with 8 other clients today, she said she was so upset
2. Enquiry about the fitness plan, she said she is very busy but will have it soon
3. Session 4 – the day before the session, She says -there are so many road closures in the city, so I wont be able to meet with you, she was sorry.
4.
I paid her monthly, and she hasn’t offered make up sessions or a refund but she did say we would contact me for next week, I told her Id prefer to keep the time and dates the same, she said she will try her best but she is finding it difficult to keep all of her 34 clients happy with scheduling.

She has a pretty tough cancellation policy herself, I want to fire her but I do think she’s a great trainer but I have a feeling has too many clients…and she has a months worth of my money….

I really want to change my fitness and I am committed to this…

What do other trainers think of this??

[KyleAaron]

Your money is gone.

Find a new trainer, and leave this one a terrible review on the review service of your choice.

[member5454]

Your money is gone.

Find a new trainer, and leave this one a terrible review on the review service of your choice.

ha well if she doesnt give me my money back its a lesson learned, i won't be paying upfront for another trainer, its disappointing really as this my first time hiring a PT.

[KyleAaron]

I'm sure you've had bad haircuts, and poor service at a restaurant, or a crappy accountant or something. In any profession, someone's at the bottom end of the bell curve. This is one reason that a big source of clients and customers for all service businesses is referrals. If your friend liked them maybe you will, too.

Shop around. Be sceptical.

[member5454]

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.. as you predicted I was refused a refund and she asked why I cancelling the sessions I told her again why and then she went on to say the parts of the package she promised me will be ready on Monday..and that the reasons her cancelling were beyond her control.... for me first impressions are everything and this wasn’t a good one.... I’ll take your advice and look again, it took me a while to decide on this one and I’m sure it will for the next PT

[KyleAaron]

If you order a steak at a restaurant and they've run out, they don't simply take your money and send you away without any dinner at all; they offer you something else, and if you don't want something else, refund with apologies. The circumstances might be beyond her control, but you still didn't receive the service you paid for. At the very least you should get is make-up sessions.

What you have experienced is that the personal and the trainer parts are different skills, and that it's far more common to be good at the personal - "she's so nice!" - than the trainer - showing up on time, recording sessions, coaching movement, etc. She's just disorganised. Organisation is a skill and many people don't have or try to develop it. This is a big pain for me as a trainer dealing with clients who are always late, absent without notice, etc, but it'd be worse in a trainer; the disorganised client messes up just one person's day, the disorganised trainer messes up many people's days.

If she's that disorganised with her sessions then her finances will be a mess, too, she's probably too broke to give you a refund anyway. That's why I said just write the money off, give her a bad review and move on. Your bad review she will argue with publicly - just do your review and leave it there, don't respond, her argument with you will act as a second bad review she gives herself.

[Ronin4help]

When you have a set appointment (not tentative) the trainer should very rarely cancel it. That is not normal and it is not professional. However, if you want to keep her but the appointment time is too unreliable, find a time that will be less likely to be a constant issue. Also, find out for certain why she is canceling. Do not assume it's another client. It could be her ride over there or her chemo treatments or something else more forgivable than simply a client prioritization issue.

[klaximilian]

I never understood trainers who charge a monthly fee rather than per session, and the clients who actually fall for this.

[KyleAaron]

Clients who pay up front are more likely to keep training. They need to keep training to see results.

When you go to university you don't pay for it one lecture at a time. It's understood by both lecturer and student that showing up for the whole term is necessary to be able to complete the subject properly. Some unis will allow you to withdraw in the first couple of weeks, but after that you're in.

However, if the lecturer were unable or unwilling to continue to give the lectures, the university would find a replacement or refund the student the money. Mutual obligation, it's how society works and we get things done.

My clients pay for three month terms, however it's at semi-private rates so this is not too financially onerous, and it's the same rate whether they come once a week or five times. They'll get credit for up to 4 weeks' absence if they notify me, like "I'm on holiday July 14th to 28th"; if they just don't show up, they miss out. For their first three months, they have a guarantee: "If you show up at least 24 times in the 3 months and do not look, feel and perform better than before, you can have your money back with our apologies." And the first session is free for them to try out the coaching, the training style, and meet some of the crew.

I'm not interested in quibbling over a session or two here or there someone didn't come to, been there, done that. no thanks.

[KTownManiac]

You're getting scammed, imagine how much free money she is getting from 34 clients paying on a monthly basis, where she skips 80% of their sessions ! holy!

[KyleAaron]

I'd be extremely surprised if she had many clients, KTown, or if any of those she has are long-term. Supposedly she cancelled on 8 clients; either this was a bootcamp someone else recruited for, or she's pumping up her numbers, there's no way a trainer this disorganised would get and keep even 8 one-on-one clients.

During my first job interview the manager asked me, "So, how would you arrange your shifts and PT sessions?"
"Um... I have a diary."
He nodded and smiled.
After I got the job I asked about that. "I thought it was a trick question or something."
"You'd be surprised how many people have no answer," he said.

Many people are not well-organised. Lack of organisation in a client means they don't get results. Lack of organisation in a trainer means they have no career. As I have said many times, if you as a trainer can,

1. show up, and on time
2. not hurt them
3. coach a squat and a plank
4. record their sessions
5. progress their effort over time

then congratulations, you're in the top 10% of trainers. And apart from #3, none of these are skills, they are just common sense and a decision - so even a trainer who finished their course yesterday and is now working with their very first client can do it. Experienced trainers will confirm what I'm saying.

[getbigordie18]

Looking for insight from other Personal trainers

I recently met and hired a personal trainer who is coming to the gym in my apartment building.

MY first impression was a good one, she has a lot of experience, she had a great website and when we met - I felt very comfortable.

A full fitness assessment was done and they also took measurements, and said she would get a plan to me soon; she also prepared a personalized meal plan which she delivered within the time we agreed.

Week 1

We agreed to meet twice a week to start, at certain times of the week.

Session 1 - was great,

Session 2 - She had to reschedule to another day, which was fine.
I really liked her sessions.

Week 2.

1. Session 3 - She texted me I’m sorry my car broke down, ive had to cancel with 8 other clients today, she said she was so upset
2. Enquiry about the fitness plan, she said she is very busy but will have it soon
3. Session 4 – the day before the session, She says -there are so many road closures in the city, so I wont be able to meet with you, she was sorry.
4.
I paid her monthly, and she hasn’t offered make up sessions or a refund but she did say we would contact me for next week, I told her Id prefer to keep the time and dates the same, she said she will try her best but she is finding it difficult to keep all of her 34 clients happy with scheduling.

She has a pretty tough cancellation policy herself, I want to fire her but I do think she’s a great trainer but I have a feeling has too many clients…and she has a months worth of my money….

I really want to change my fitness and I am committed to this…

What do other trainers think of this??

My advice is to find a new trainer from a good gym. go to the gym and workout on your own for 1-3 months and then when you get to know a trainer hire them. I dont think you need a trainer at the beginning. I have done this all on my own. If you research your info you can achieve the results you want. A personal trainer can be beneficial if you can afford it. Other than that, you can read information in books and on good websites.

[Sergexzx]

Looking for insight from other Personal trainers

I recently met and hired a personal trainer who is coming to the gym in my apartment building.

MY first impression was a good one, she has a lot of experience, she had a great website and when we met - I felt very comfortable.

A full fitness assessment was done and they also took measurements, and said she would get a plan to me soon; she also prepared a personalized meal plan which she delivered within the time we agreed.

Week 1

We agreed to meet twice a week to start, at certain times of the week.

Session 1 - was great,

Session 2 - She had to reschedule to another day, which was fine.
I really liked her sessions.

Week 2.

1. Session 3 - She texted me I’m sorry my car broke down, ive had to cancel with 8 other clients today, she said she was so upset
2. Enquiry about the fitness plan, she said she is very busy but will have it soon
3. Session 4 – the day before the session, She says -there are so many road closures in the city, so I wont be able to meet with you, she was sorry.
4.
I paid her monthly, and she hasn’t offered make up sessions or a refund but she did say we would contact me for next week, I told her Id prefer to keep the time and dates the same, she said she will try her best but she is finding it difficult to keep all of her 34 clients happy with scheduling.

She has a pretty tough cancellation policy herself, I want to fire her but I do think she’s a great trainer but I have a feeling has too many clients…and she has a months worth of my money….

I really want to change my fitness and I am committed to this…

What do other trainers think of this??

Look into getting another personal trainer.

At the end of the day, its about you. Find someone that takes your goals as personal as you do.

In my service agreements I have a 24 hour cancellation policy. The same applies for me. If I cancel the session within that time frame, I'll give the next session for free.

Take it from someone that manages over 40+ trainers.