6 ms·

Even though they conceded, you should still follow through on all of the above. You aren't hurting a person, it's a corporation that will only change when force

by bgun 4y ago

Even though they conceded, you should still follow through on all of the above. You aren't hurting a person, it's a corporation that will only change when forced financially or socially to do so.

SanderNL 4y ago
A small local gym is not “a corporation”.
- chitowneats 4y ago
  The "small local gym" sure was pulling some corporate B.S. on their supposed "neighbor".
- crazygringo 4y ago
  Legally it usually is, isn't it? It would be unusual for it to be a sole proprietorship. In any case, predatory/scammy practices are bad no matter what the ownership structure is. Being small and local doesn't excuse you from abusive behavior.
- chrisfosterelli 4y ago
  Technically, many small companies are corporations.
- PM_me_your_math 4y ago
  Yes, all business entities, with the loose exception of a sole-proprietorship, is a corporation under the law. There are four general types of corporations in the United States: a sole proprietorship, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), an S-Corporation (S-Corp), and a C-Corporation (C-Corp). People who whine about corporations fail to realize that 99% of the businesses they deal with everyday are incorporated entities under the law. Your pizza shop, tanning salon, dentist, ice cream shop, sandwich truck... A business entity can be a good or bad actor. Their legal status as a corporation does not mean they are automatically bad, regardless of the size or public/private status. Their actions and policies define them as either good or bad. Words have meaning and they should be used appropriately.
  - mindslight 4y ago
    My own amateur understanding is that LLCs are distinct from corporations, and that S-corps and C-corps are tax statuses rather than types of legal entities. Corporations generally have more diffuse ownership than LLCs, which is why people ascribe bad things to that specific type of entity. If there is a gym doing these tactics, and it's an LLC with a handful of owners ("members"), those owners are just asshole humans that could theoretically be punched in the face. Whereas if it's a corporation with diffuse ownership, then the policies become "just business" and "nobody's fault". Although corporations certainly can be "closely held" by a few people or a family, just as you can sell shares in an LLC to investors at arms length or have all/part of the LLC owned by a corporation or business trust. And frankly I'm surprised by the number of small businesses I see set up as a sole proprietorship or partnership and doing-business-as rather than spending the money on LLC registration fees. Although as a business gets smaller the protection created by the LLC structure also shrinks, so it's somewhat understandable.
- plagiarist 4y ago
  Even if it is an individual, the predatory behavior deserves to be financially ruinous. If they cannot run their business without scamming people they should never have had a business.
- mattgreenrocks 4y ago
  Except legal entities are literally manifest in order to absorb the fallout from situations like these. So don't be shy about using existing processes and tools to issue corrective action.
- pc86 4y ago
  As someone who used to own a couple small local gyms, they absolutely are.
- kjs3 4y ago
  If they've incorporated, they're a corporation. Being a small dick isn't per se different than being a big dick.
_yb2s 4y ago
Honestly, I was mostly bluffing... I didn't have time to do all of that, which is why I also had to quit the gym. I was planning to temporarily quit/suspend and then rejoin when I was able to, but they lost out on that possibility. I think these kind of predatory cancellation things must be in part a generational thing, and these policies are so old they haven't responded to the times. Older people I know seem to expect it or be okay with it, but millenials and younger will tend to be outraged and refuse to do business with them on principle. America Online, Sirius XM, etc. were able to retain some customers by making it hard to quit, but I think turned away far more without realizing it.
- jiayo 4y ago
  Great example. I like broadcast radio. I don't like picking and choosing podcasts, I like to just listen to "what's on". I really like some of the live music content on SiriusXM (celebrity DJs, etc). I'm their ideal customer. And they'd have captured $300-400 of my value over the past 1.5 years, if they only had self-serve subscription and cancellation like Netflix or Disney+. But since they have decided to go the NYTimes route of "everyone pays a different price, and cancelling is next to impossible", they get nothing from me.
  - terinjokes 4y ago
    I cancelled my SiriusXM subscription a fee months ago and it was a painless experience. They even refunded the amount charged a few days prior to my call, without me even asking. Cancelling my at&t account, on the other hand, took several calls to them and my bank, and in the end, I just had my bank stop payment.

by bgun 4y ago

Even though they conceded, you should still follow through on all of the above. You aren't hurting a person, it's a corporation that will only change when forced financially or socially to do so.

SanderNL 4y ago

A small local gym is not “a corporation”.

chitowneats 4y ago
The "small local gym" sure was pulling some corporate B.S. on their supposed "neighbor".
crazygringo 4y ago
Legally it usually is, isn't it? It would be unusual for it to be a sole proprietorship. In any case, predatory/scammy practices are bad no matter what the ownership structure is. Being small and local doesn't excuse you from abusive behavior.
chrisfosterelli 4y ago
Technically, many small companies are corporations.
PM_me_your_math 4y ago
Yes, all business entities, with the loose exception of a sole-proprietorship, is a corporation under the law. There are four general types of corporations in the United States: a sole proprietorship, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), an S-Corporation (S-Corp), and a C-Corporation (C-Corp). People who whine about corporations fail to realize that 99% of the businesses they deal with everyday are incorporated entities under the law. Your pizza shop, tanning salon, dentist, ice cream shop, sandwich truck... A business entity can be a good or bad actor. Their legal status as a corporation does not mean they are automatically bad, regardless of the size or public/private status. Their actions and policies define them as either good or bad. Words have meaning and they should be used appropriately.
- mindslight 4y ago
  My own amateur understanding is that LLCs are distinct from corporations, and that S-corps and C-corps are tax statuses rather than types of legal entities. Corporations generally have more diffuse ownership than LLCs, which is why people ascribe bad things to that specific type of entity. If there is a gym doing these tactics, and it's an LLC with a handful of owners ("members"), those owners are just asshole humans that could theoretically be punched in the face. Whereas if it's a corporation with diffuse ownership, then the policies become "just business" and "nobody's fault". Although corporations certainly can be "closely held" by a few people or a family, just as you can sell shares in an LLC to investors at arms length or have all/part of the LLC owned by a corporation or business trust. And frankly I'm surprised by the number of small businesses I see set up as a sole proprietorship or partnership and doing-business-as rather than spending the money on LLC registration fees. Although as a business gets smaller the protection created by the LLC structure also shrinks, so it's somewhat understandable.
plagiarist 4y ago
Even if it is an individual, the predatory behavior deserves to be financially ruinous. If they cannot run their business without scamming people they should never have had a business.
mattgreenrocks 4y ago
Except legal entities are literally manifest in order to absorb the fallout from situations like these. So don't be shy about using existing processes and tools to issue corrective action.
pc86 4y ago
As someone who used to own a couple small local gyms, they absolutely are.
kjs3 4y ago
If they've incorporated, they're a corporation. Being a small dick isn't per se different than being a big dick.

_yb2s 4y ago

Honestly, I was mostly bluffing... I didn't have time to do all of that, which is why I also had to quit the gym. I was planning to temporarily quit/suspend and then rejoin when I was able to, but they lost out on that possibility. I think these kind of predatory cancellation things must be in part a generational thing, and these policies are so old they haven't responded to the times. Older people I know seem to expect it or be okay with it, but millenials and younger will tend to be outraged and refuse to do business with them on principle. America Online, Sirius XM, etc. were able to retain some customers by making it hard to quit, but I think turned away far more without realizing it.

jiayo 4y ago
Great example. I like broadcast radio. I don't like picking and choosing podcasts, I like to just listen to "what's on". I really like some of the live music content on SiriusXM (celebrity DJs, etc). I'm their ideal customer. And they'd have captured $300-400 of my value over the past 1.5 years, if they only had self-serve subscription and cancellation like Netflix or Disney+. But since they have decided to go the NYTimes route of "everyone pays a different price, and cancelling is next to impossible", they get nothing from me.
- terinjokes 4y ago
  I cancelled my SiriusXM subscription a fee months ago and it was a painless experience. They even refunded the amount charged a few days prior to my call, without me even asking. Cancelling my at&t account, on the other hand, took several calls to them and my bank, and in the end, I just had my bank stop payment.