TRIMMING THE FAT

I am going to the gym today to divert one of my payments to June. When I originally signed up for this 'training' I explained to the bloke that I was self-employed and making the payments every month would be tricky. I was told at that time that diverting a payment would be 'no big deal'. So here we are - I need to divert a payment and the fallout is ridiculous.

I have been called almost daily to come in and sign a revised contract. I understand this and have no problem doing it buy unfortunately I have not been available to come in. I had the flu then my daughther had her first dance competition. The person I need to meet with is only in the office until 4 pm so we missed each other. Now I am being treated with condescension and disregard. It seems quite obvious to me the concept of 'valued customer' does not extend beyond 30 days past due.

Let's back this up to February 2009. Like many of us I decided it was time to join a gym. I needed to lose a substantial amount of weight (120 pounds - soak that in) and thought this was the best way to do it. As part of my membership I was asked to do a fitness assessment. Seems reasonable enough if the intention of the assessment is to ensure you are on the right 'fitness path'. What the assessment was really about was an opportunity to guilt me into paying for personal training. At the time I told the sales guy (because that's all he really was) that I could not afford it. I explained to him that I just bought a new car and that was putting enough strain on our budget. He asked why I cared more about my car then I did about myself. I was feeling bad about myself before I walked into this assessment now I felt worse. I asked him for a smaller package and he said that nothing else would 'work for me'. I needed to sign on for at least 96 sessions at a cost of $4,600 in order for me to maximize the benefits.

I went home and discussed it with my husband and we both decided that my health was more important and we bought the sessions.

At first my trainer was amazing! I loved her! She made me WANT to work out. She understood me and my needs and supported me. She worked with me to obtain my goals and I loved every minute of it! And just as I was comfortable and happy my trainer announced that she was leaving the gym. One of the other trainers had offered to take me on. I was heartbroken. Going to the gym was difficult and intimidating and uncomfortable for me and Cheryl had changed that for me. Now I was faced with starting all over again.

In walks my new trainer. We'll call her Sue. She was a nice girl, 29 years old, ambitious and fit. At first she acted excited and interested but soon her interest became contrived. She stopped asking about me or my life, she NEVER weighed me or took my measurements, I asked for a diet and she would not give me one (I am 120 pounds overweight - i need a diet!) and to top it all off she did nothing but talk about her boyfriend's ex-wife and his kids. I felt like I was paying her to listen to her problems. Normally I want to be supportive of people but when I am paying someone to get me in shape and they yawn throughout the session and talk about themselves for an hour on my dime - well now that gets under my skin just a tad...

I started going to the gym less and less. I tried to set up times to go with my friends but we couldn't get it to work. I didn't want to train with my trainer and I was and still am too self-conscious to go by myself AND I am paying for my sessions.

Now it is April of 2010 and i have 17 sessions left. I have decided to give them to my sister because I know she will love them and I could get some money back for it. Needless to say she cannot use them because I have deferred a payment and my sessions have been put on hold until arrangements for the payment can be made (which I am doing today). Now I have to endure more humiliation and meet with the woman at the gym with my hat in my hand in an attempt to get my sessions out of lockdown.

This is not to say I have given up entirely on the gym. I love to swim and want to go to the pool but as I mentioned I am very overweight. It takes an enormous amount of effort for me to appear in a bathing suit at my size. My worse nightmare is to see someone I know, and being in a small town the odds of that happening are about 99.9%. Even worse would be to see someone I dated in high school (which has already happened BTW). I know I can get back on the horse because I always do. I just wish I didn't have to have an audience watching my fat ass swing over the saddle while I do it!