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>I'm probably the worst customer for gyms [...] I get there at 430 no that's the best customer for gyms. The ACTUAL way gyms make money is by heavily over subs

>I'm probably the worst customer for gyms [...] I get there at 430 no that's the best customer for gyms. The ACTUAL way gyms make money is by heavily over subscribing a fixed amount of resources (machines/benches/space). You finding some random time to go to the gym instead of just canceling has barely any marginal cost over some one just not going and you'll talk positively about having a membership.

klipt 3y ago
I guess the most economically efficient model would be for gyms to charge per use with surge pricing. 4-5am? $2. 5-6pm? $10!
- tanseydavid 3y ago
  From the article: "There are many commercial gyms that won’t let you in on a ‘pay-as- you-go’ basis at all, even if you beg."
  - Gigachad 3y ago
    Pay as you go in general is not popular. It creates an incentive to not use the product or service and makes people feel bad about using it. Meanwhile upfront payments make you feel good about using the service. You already paid for it, using it is getting your monies worth. And if you can’t build a habit around using their service, you won’t stay a customer for long. The ideal customer is someone who pays but doesn’t use it. But these people tend to not renew their subscriptions. So realistically you want someone who habitually uses it and will remain a customer forever.
    - al_borland 3y ago
      I think the Planet Fitness model is to appeal to non-gym-goers, and to also be cheap enough where people carry the membership year to year, because it’s not a big enough charge to hurt, while making the customer feel like they have some good intentions by having the membership.
      - mariodiana 3y ago
        They pay a guilt tax.
      - browningstreet 3y ago
        People love to bag on Planet Fitness. I suppose they brought it on themselves, but things have moved on. I have multiple gym memberships: one to a world renowned powerlifting gym, another to an athletic training facility popular with professional athletes, and my local planet fitness. I have that because it’s closest to my son’s mother’s house (we meet there a couple of times per week) and it’s my “travel gym membership” since 24 Hour Fitness closed in our town. All that lead up to say: the numerous PFs I visit are regularly busy and people work out there quite regularly. I see a lot of familiar faces at each of the locations. Their clientele is no worse or less dedicated than those of the other gyms. Also, having visited their gyms in a number of coastal metro cities I’ll say that they do a really great job of maintaining their equipment.
        al_borland 3y ago
        I'd be curious to see the numbers on Planet Fitness. At $10/month, what is their percentage of members who regularly show vs never showing up. $10/month is easy to forget about, like a steaming service. A gym charging $50 or $100+/month is harder to ignore and I assume would have a higher percentage of members actually showing up. Not because people who pay more will be more likely to turn into gym rats, but because there would be fewer people brushing off the monthly charge as a rounding error in their budget over time. I've been to a Planet Fitness once as a guest of someone while on vacation. It as well kept, I was able to find some equipment for a good workout, and it was pretty crowded (in August), and I'm sure there are a lot of regulars. The question is, what percentage of the overall membership are those regulars? I'm not sure if they still do the pizza thing, but that always struck me as odd and what gave them a bad image in my book. I never wanted to be a member of a gym that appeared to be sabotaging its members. It makes it seem like the gym isn't invested in the success of its members. I felt the same way about the dentist giving me candy after a cleaning when I was a kid.
- jimbob45 3y ago
  That’s what our local gym did. It was ultra frustrating to use and they stopped offering it after a while.
- jaggederest 3y ago
  Reverse pricing is much more enjoyable for people. Free lattes in the early morning hours, free protein shakes during other off hours, early bird/night owl discount when you renew for the long term if you badge in during off-peak hours exclusively.
- danpalmer 3y ago
  I've seen gyms/pools offer reduced price off-peak only memberships.
  - TheCryptoBro 3y ago
    My gym charges cancellation fees for not attending any group class you might have signed up for. It's kinda motivating to get yourself up there but sometimes you just don't sign up because you are not sure if you will feel motivated enough to go in that day. Either way, they make money.
- silverlake 3y ago
  My gym charged a cheaper rate for swimming from 10am to 3pm. I swam on my lunch break and saved a bunch of money.
borissk 3y ago
Hmmm, not sure how much a customer taking a hot shower costs a gym.
- hattmall 3y ago
  Probably about 6 cents. Assuming a 30 minute shower with a 2.5 gpm flow rate and 110F average temperature. Maybe less if they have a more efficient water heater than resistive electric at ~11 cents per kwh.
  - dghlsakjg 3y ago
    Don’t forget that showers are expensive to build and maintain. I would guess that the amount of labor that goes into keeping the showers clean and running is far higher than electricity costs.
    - throwaway2037 3y ago
      This. 100%. In an developed country, the lifetime labour cost to maintain a clean changing room and shower room far exceeds the build cost. To be clear: A different way to think about this issue: As long as cleaning staff are paid living wages, I think this is a good way to expand your economy. Some people want to use commercial gyms; let's make it the source of good jobs.
  - dgfitz 3y ago
    To make light of the comment: what the hell does someone need to take a 30m shower for?
    - hattmall 3y ago
      Shiiiiiitttttt! 30 minutes is a quick shower to me. Idk but I typically budget about an hour for a shower, then 20 to 30 to get ready. I figure most at the gym are just rinsing though.
    - Larrikin 3y ago
      I personally don't understand the people who wouldn't want to take a 30 minute shower. So long as the water stays hot and you have the time, it's one of the more relaxing things you can do at home. Baths use way more water, and if you don't live somewhere like Japan, they aren't deep and cool off quickly without a bath warmer. Its also kind of gross to sit in a bath without already showering and getting clean before you get in. If you have a speaker in the bathroom you can listen to an audio book. Long showers have only gotten better with water proof phones becoming more common. As a kid I would put my Gameboy in a Ziploc bag just so I could stay in longer.
charcircuit 3y ago
How is that the best? To me the best custumer never even visits the gym, buys everything that is offered, and gives the business donations.

klipt 3y ago

I guess the most economically efficient model would be for gyms to charge per use with surge pricing. 4-5am? $2. 5-6pm? $10!

tanseydavid 3y ago
From the article: "There are many commercial gyms that won’t let you in on a ‘pay-as- you-go’ basis at all, even if you beg."
- Gigachad 3y ago
  Pay as you go in general is not popular. It creates an incentive to not use the product or service and makes people feel bad about using it. Meanwhile upfront payments make you feel good about using the service. You already paid for it, using it is getting your monies worth. And if you can’t build a habit around using their service, you won’t stay a customer for long. The ideal customer is someone who pays but doesn’t use it. But these people tend to not renew their subscriptions. So realistically you want someone who habitually uses it and will remain a customer forever.
  - al_borland 3y ago
    I think the Planet Fitness model is to appeal to non-gym-goers, and to also be cheap enough where people carry the membership year to year, because it’s not a big enough charge to hurt, while making the customer feel like they have some good intentions by having the membership.
    - mariodiana 3y ago
      They pay a guilt tax.
    - browningstreet 3y ago
      People love to bag on Planet Fitness. I suppose they brought it on themselves, but things have moved on. I have multiple gym memberships: one to a world renowned powerlifting gym, another to an athletic training facility popular with professional athletes, and my local planet fitness. I have that because it’s closest to my son’s mother’s house (we meet there a couple of times per week) and it’s my “travel gym membership” since 24 Hour Fitness closed in our town. All that lead up to say: the numerous PFs I visit are regularly busy and people work out there quite regularly. I see a lot of familiar faces at each of the locations. Their clientele is no worse or less dedicated than those of the other gyms. Also, having visited their gyms in a number of coastal metro cities I’ll say that they do a really great job of maintaining their equipment.
      - al_borland 3y ago
        I'd be curious to see the numbers on Planet Fitness. At $10/month, what is their percentage of members who regularly show vs never showing up. $10/month is easy to forget about, like a steaming service. A gym charging $50 or $100+/month is harder to ignore and I assume would have a higher percentage of members actually showing up. Not because people who pay more will be more likely to turn into gym rats, but because there would be fewer people brushing off the monthly charge as a rounding error in their budget over time. I've been to a Planet Fitness once as a guest of someone while on vacation. It as well kept, I was able to find some equipment for a good workout, and it was pretty crowded (in August), and I'm sure there are a lot of regulars. The question is, what percentage of the overall membership are those regulars? I'm not sure if they still do the pizza thing, but that always struck me as odd and what gave them a bad image in my book. I never wanted to be a member of a gym that appeared to be sabotaging its members. It makes it seem like the gym isn't invested in the success of its members. I felt the same way about the dentist giving me candy after a cleaning when I was a kid.
jimbob45 3y ago
That’s what our local gym did. It was ultra frustrating to use and they stopped offering it after a while.
jaggederest 3y ago
Reverse pricing is much more enjoyable for people. Free lattes in the early morning hours, free protein shakes during other off hours, early bird/night owl discount when you renew for the long term if you badge in during off-peak hours exclusively.
danpalmer 3y ago
I've seen gyms/pools offer reduced price off-peak only memberships.
- TheCryptoBro 3y ago
  My gym charges cancellation fees for not attending any group class you might have signed up for. It's kinda motivating to get yourself up there but sometimes you just don't sign up because you are not sure if you will feel motivated enough to go in that day. Either way, they make money.
silverlake 3y ago
My gym charged a cheaper rate for swimming from 10am to 3pm. I swam on my lunch break and saved a bunch of money.

borissk 3y ago

Hmmm, not sure how much a customer taking a hot shower costs a gym.

hattmall 3y ago
Probably about 6 cents. Assuming a 30 minute shower with a 2.5 gpm flow rate and 110F average temperature. Maybe less if they have a more efficient water heater than resistive electric at ~11 cents per kwh.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  Don’t forget that showers are expensive to build and maintain. I would guess that the amount of labor that goes into keeping the showers clean and running is far higher than electricity costs.
  - throwaway2037 3y ago
    This. 100%. In an developed country, the lifetime labour cost to maintain a clean changing room and shower room far exceeds the build cost. To be clear: A different way to think about this issue: As long as cleaning staff are paid living wages, I think this is a good way to expand your economy. Some people want to use commercial gyms; let's make it the source of good jobs.
- dgfitz 3y ago
  To make light of the comment: what the hell does someone need to take a 30m shower for?
  - hattmall 3y ago
    Shiiiiiitttttt! 30 minutes is a quick shower to me. Idk but I typically budget about an hour for a shower, then 20 to 30 to get ready. I figure most at the gym are just rinsing though.
  - Larrikin 3y ago
    I personally don't understand the people who wouldn't want to take a 30 minute shower. So long as the water stays hot and you have the time, it's one of the more relaxing things you can do at home. Baths use way more water, and if you don't live somewhere like Japan, they aren't deep and cool off quickly without a bath warmer. Its also kind of gross to sit in a bath without already showering and getting clean before you get in. If you have a speaker in the bathroom you can listen to an audio book. Long showers have only gotten better with water proof phones becoming more common. As a kid I would put my Gameboy in a Ziploc bag just so I could stay in longer.

charcircuit 3y ago

How is that the best? To me the best custumer never even visits the gym, buys everything that is offered, and gives the business donations.