My teacher says if you can’t pay come anyway …but her classes are filled and the studio is growing fast …
Cheers
From your original post:
[QUOTE=fernmanus;82456]I have lost a large number of classes over the years due to the practice of putting an expiration date on the classes. I paid the money, but if I don’t use the classes by a certain time, I am out of luck. Sure, some studios are flexible, but I think as students we should request that this business practice end. I should explain that the reason I lose classes is that I don’t tie myself to one studio.[/QUOTE]Please clarify for us … you say “over the years” then cite a specific case “$750 for 50 classes”. Is that latter just one of many cases?
You also state " I don’t tie myself to one studio" (as quoted above) then “unexpected travel” is cited in your more recent reply?
And if it is “over the years” then why, pray tell, are you continuing to consume the product(s) in this way thereby losing additional classes as time goes by? What has prevented you from amending your consumption behavior? I ask because an amended consumer behavior (stop buying that which is not satisfactory) is the fastest way to change merchant policy.
[QUOTE=fernmanus;82456]If you talk to students, this issue is one that has left a bad impression with a lot of regular and former students.[/QUOTE]I speak to students all the time, from my classes, other classes, other studios and as a topic of friction this comes up less than 2% of the time. However if a student comes to me with any issue of this sort I would absolutely hear it AND ask them for a proposed solution, presenting both side of the equation.
[QUOTE=fernmanus;82456]Don’t think that I have not heard every defense for this practice. Let me just tell you that none of them hold water.[/QUOTE] I have no interest in defending a reasonable policy established by a merchant. I don’t like not being able to bring my food and beverages into a movie theater but I understand their policy nonetheless.
[QUOTE=fernmanus;82456]I find it more than a little bit ironic that the only studio that I have come across that does not have classes that expire is Corepower yoga. Yes, here we have a large corporate yoga studio that really gets it. I find it interesting that so many studio owners talk about good karma and love, but they continue this most unfair and unkind business practice. If you love me so much, why are you ripping me off?[/QUOTE]Having a policy is not unfair. It may feel unfair and I get the feeling. But this is not a karma or compassion issue - though I’ve not attended your studios and cannot speak directly to their intentions and actions.
Also of note please: I said “we cannot take and take and take”. I did not say YOU. We. All of us. Students. Teachers. We get so much from a good studio and master teacher - our lives change in quantum ways. If there’s a case to be made for studio karma/compassion there is certainly an equal case to be made for student humility and gratitude.
I don’t see any problem with this. A yoga studio is a private enterprise and like any business should be able to offer a discounted service if the client pays in bulk. For the customer, there is the benefit of a discount rate and an incentive to return to practice without worrying about always having cash on them. This might not mean a lot for YOU personally, but I enjoy having ‘credits’ available at places at establishments which I frequent. For the proprietor, advance cash for services not yet rendered is like an investment. The money is immediately available as cash-on-hand for paying bills, buying new equipment, planning workshops and events, and handling problems that come up. Class passes with expiration dates also help in predicting class attendence. If ten clients buy ten classes worth of passes that expire in one month, you can plan to have at least 100 hours of classes available to meet the demand. This might not be accurate in itself, as some people won’t use them and others will go on to buy more classes, but it DOES help in building an estimable baseline. So in summary, I don’t see this as unethical. Why wouldn’t we argue that monthly subscriptions for unlimited classes were also unethical since some people end up being too busy to come back for a month and thereby waste weeks worth of money? I CERTAINLY have lost more money at many establishments by buying a month pass to something in a moment of self-overestimation, but I don’t think that it justifies ending their business practice. I look at it as though I just helped pay for the other customers who over-use the service. I am certain that if studios received more negative feedback than positive about their time-limited discount deals, they wouldn’t offer them.
In both circumstances you get what you sign up for and you use it or lose it based on the terms and conditions. If you don’t like the terms, then don’t pay for them!
[QUOTE=fernmanus;82621]
And meaning no disrespect, what are YOU giving in this? You say studio owners/teachers 'take, take and take.' And what exactly are they taking?
Lotusgirl,
Please read the thread. Inner Athlete inferred that I “take, take, and take.” I responded with a question. Who is doing the taking at $75 per class?
I am sure that you have a much more reasonable position when it comes to passes and therefore you have a more satisfied clientele.
I am probably wasting my time because the studio owners that really care about how their students feel are responding in a kind and responsible and manner when passes expire. The jerks will still be jerks.
Clearly, the studio owners that bothered to reply to my complaint are NOT jerks. They are caring individuals that provide a valuable service.
Please forgive me for my rant. I was upset with a minority, not the majority of studio owners.[/QUOTE]
Femmanus,
Exactly. You may have not made the initial comment of ‘take and take, etc.’ but your reply of “Who is doing the taking at $75 a class?” stated that. If I misinterpreted, my apologies.
If I may, instead of “complaints to the studios,” think of it and state it as “an offering.” Much more palatable and will yield far better dialogue.
In your mind, studios that adhere to expiration dates are jerks and ones that don’t are caring? You are also walking the same path that they are. To assume they are jerks is quite judgmental separates YOU from THEM. Yoga is union, not separation.
This is my offering to you.
In your mind, studios that adhere to expiration dates are jerks and ones that don't are caring? You are also walking the same path that they are. To assume they are jerks is quite judgmental separates YOU from THEM. Yoga is union, not separation.
Lotusgirl,
Your assumption is not accurate. I don’t believe that studios that adhere to expiration dates are all jerks. Nor those that are more lenient are not. Rather, I think of a jerk as a person that lacks empathy.
Your last sentence is mighty smug. That doesn’t impress me as an offering!
Here are a couple thoughts for studio owners concerning this issue:
- Do you run a report to review the customers that are no longer attending the studio? If you find a large number of these customers had passes that expired, but did not re-up, perhaps you should re-evaluate your policies.
- How much of your marketing is aimed at retention of existing customers and how much is aimed at bringing in new customers? I find it amazing how many studios are just a revolving door because their focus is on bringing in new bodies instead of keeping their existing customers happy.
I can see that most if not all of the people who have responded to this thread do not agree with my perspective (and that is okay). I do find it interesting that I am the only voice of a customer. All others are the voice of a studio owner or manager. Just because you may not have received vocal complaints, does not mean that it is not an issue. Most people do not bother to complain, most people just take their business elsewhere.
@femmanus,
No smugness was intended.
I am a teacher, not a studio owner or manager. The owner of the studio I teach at does not adhere “strictly” to expiration dates especially if there are reasons beyond the students control. Usually packages expire 6 months or 1 year from purchase, which I do think is quite reasonable.
<- not a studio manager or owner either, for reference.
I am a student not owner nor teacher. I see signing up a package offering cheaper price which has an expiry date is totally fair to both parties. It is time Fernmanus learns a lesson, agrees there has been no ill-treatment.
Even there has been no name mentioned, Fernmanus owes the studio owner an apology (in this forum) for accusing him engaging in despicable acts. Fernmanus needs to accept the lost is solely due to own doings.
In this way Fernmanus can reclaim a balanced mindset which is much more valuable than the lost of approximately $450 to $600, depending on how one calculates.
I am neither a studio owner nor a studio manager.
And I"m nearly overlooking the fact the OP has not responded to any of my direct questions.
It is not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing. When one person is “right” that makes another person “wrong”. This is the genesis for conflict. To reiterate, if this product is not FOR YOU, if the package is not appealing TO YOU, if the studio is not SERVING YOU, then act accordingly. Everyone here supports that as the discernment and action that embodies Yoga itself.
The complaint doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Everyone gets the issue. And as I myself stated, I’ve been in exactly that place. Where we do not view the landscape in the same way is where the studio behavior is assessed as lacking Yoga, unfair, unkind, and unloving (extracted from the OP).
In some cases it may absolutely be these things. I hope it is not. Goodness knows there are plenty of places and people with no yoga in their yoga. We have allowed such things. Yet we continue to vote with our dollar and tolerate Yoga with no lineage, no philosophy, no foundation, no significant training of teachers … and this can and does absolutely lead to a diluted “Yoga”. But I am far more concerned with what is being offered, it’s quality, impact, and authenticity. For it is these things that are the counter-balance of what the student is giving to the studio.
I’m thinking any studio that loses this person as a student has perhaps gained more than they lost.