Well, it's been a crazy couple of months, and so I figured it was time for a global (and personal) update to the blog :) Things have changed dramatically, and generally for the better :))
The latest news is that Alli and I are no longer together. It was with a heavy heart that I saw her leave my life as a partner, and leave Calgary for Edmonton, but our relationship has transitioned to that of business partners (as well as great friends) and I am happy to announce that she is joining me in my quest to offer a superior bootcamp experience to the residents of Edmonton. She is starting two Survivor Bootcamp classes on June 4 in Edmonton... one at 6 AM and another at 6 PM. If you know of anyone that is interested in joining up, have them take a look at the schedule found at survivorbootcamp.com - loads of outdoor fun and fitness to be enjoyed over four weeks. So much fun that most of our participants come back for a second round.
I have been busy at work with the identical venture in Calgary - I am now offering two identical classes in downtown Calgary - again, 6 AM and 6 PM five days a week. You can find more information about my classes at survivorbootcamp.com - I am currently doing this part time, while IT is still filling my days... not too much new to report on that end :)
I just wanted to throw this update out there, in case any of you were not aware of the major changes in my life as of late... it's been rough, but I feel that things are really looking up :)
Thank you to everyone for your support... hope to see you out at the races soon!!
Clinton
Thursday, May 31, 2007
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Day one of Survivor Bootcamp at Christie Pitts Park in Toronto was a fiasco. The directions were so cryptic that several students were left wandering around the park. Then the instructor got so flustered on the paperwork and administrative chores that she cut short the fitness testing! So much for benchmarks.
The website promises small classes and individual attention. But how is that possible with 19 students? (The class maximum is supposed to be 15, but they don't count so-called part-timers.) My fear is this will turn out to be a random group fitness class that happens to take place in a park and is called "boot camp" because that's a trendy title these days. Three hundred dollars for four weeks is a lot to pay for just another class.
Perhaps we just got off to a rocky start and things will come together. The instructor seems to be a fitness pro. If so, why didn't she mention her credentials? And why is there no bio on the website? The instructor didn't even give her last name, much less a phone number or email address.
So right now, this looks like a slick franchise operation whose real expertise is in marketing and iron-clad "no refund" contracts.
As in any fitness class, it all comes down to the instructor. After day one,
I have no idea if this one is any good or what the class will be like. Not good.
Today was much better. The instructor IS a pro.
But my central objection remains: the false and misleading marketing claims. Classes are NOT small. Nor can there possibly be individual attention. Fitness level is varied, but generally poor. There is lots of chatter and giggling -- kinda like a coffee Klatch in the park.
The program may be right for some people. But it claims to be for everyone. It isn't, and can't possibly be. I think the idea is to throw it a little of everything, and hope
no one is too dissatisfied. That's a legitimate approach, but not for a program that:
a) misleadingly calls itself a boot camp
b) charges $300
I doubt they'll get many repeat customers. I guess the idea is to use their marketing muscle to rope in a steady stream of new customers.
The first day is a bit of a nightmare when it comes to paperwork. There are probably a few ways to make this a little less tedious, but I think that the Christie Pitts Park instructor is brand new, and so it shouldn't be too much to ask to cut her a little slack. Hey... I've been through the process four times already - and it's a bit better than the first time, but far from perfect.
As far as the rest goes... it is a high intensity fitness class outdoors - aka Bootcamp. I have been teaching them for three years now, and this is what they look like. There are some others out there that are considerably less qualified, injure more participants, and also call themselves bootcamps... but I have to ask you - what exactly are you looking for??
If you walk in with some specific expectations, we may be able to hit them, but there is a very good chance that we won't.
And yes... everyone is different. We try to cater to everyone, but as you can imagine, meeting 100% of the people's expectations 100% of the time is pretty much impossible to do... but we try :)
Okay, you make some valid points. You can't please all the people all the time. That's as true in fitness as in any other service business.
My gripe is how Survivor Boot Camp raises false expectations with advertising it must know is misleading. Promising individual attention and then accepting 19 students comes close to the line of unethical business practice. It falls short of consumer fraud, but it does raise doubts about the integrity of the organization.
The maximum class size is supposed to be 15. Survivor gets around this through the eyebrow-raising use of footnotes and asterisks that exempt part-time and returning students from the count.
So look at it from the point of view of the student. She has already been forced to sign an iron-clad "no refund" contract. Promised small classes, she arrives on day one to find herself lost in a crowd of 19. So she already feels betrayed and abused.
Then the instructor wastes a whole class on yet more paperwork including YET ANOTHER IRON CLAD, ONE-SIDED LEGAL DOCUMENT releasing Survivor from all liability.
Nothing has happened yet, but the student feels "processed" and disrespected. Result: there is no trust. The instructor is in a deep hole. It will not be easy to dig out.
Not that I really need to defend, but I will anyways.
From the other side :)
The registration process is a bit cumbersome (I won't get into the details) and there are often a lot of people signing up at the very last minute. Cutting the class off as full is a manual process... not to make excuses, but that's the way it is.
If I am away on a weekend, it is entirely possible to overfill a class (and I have already done it) or overlook some people by accident.
While the fine print might read like that, it is not our intention to fill a class beyond 15 ever... just so you know :)
That said, I am not operating the Toronto class, I am running two classes in Calgary and two classes in Edmonton... both Calgary classes managed to fill beyond 15 this round, but it was not intentional. I have found another instructor to help lighten the load, as I would rather have two classes, with 10 people each than have one class with 20 people... the preference IS on individual attention, rest assured.
Sometimes it's hard to see things from both angles, and I certainly do understand how you feel as a customer... I would feel the same way.
As for the waiver - it is an absolute requirement of the insurance company (and obviously a requirement to protect ourselves).
Okay, again some valid points. This is a good dialogue. (How Canadian, eh?)
Some suggestions:
1) Don't waste time on day one messing around with T-shirt sizes. (Or water bottle. Or hat.) This is the proverbial "bridge too far" on top of all the other annoying administrative crap. Selections can be made individually on other days -- preferably outside of class time. Just announce the deadline is the end of the first week.
2) In fact, why not schedule mandatory appointments -- of three minutes each -- with each student before or after class during the first week? This would guarantee dialogue -- not only about freebies, but student expectations from the class. Having the instructor say "feel free to ask me questions" after class isn't enough, given how uptight Torontonians are. Our instructor tried to go around and have everyone say why they were there in a group setting of day one. But it didn't work. The instructor was frazzled. The students only had a few seconds. And some people were to shy to tell the truth.
I agree on all counts. I think that the instructor in Toronto is brand new to the process, and it takes a couple to get the kinks sorted out (I am still not quite there yet myself).
I guess the biggie here is that while she is a fitness instructor (as am I) she may not be big into the paper side of the business ;)
Well... don't ask my participants about my ability to handle paperwork, I would imagine that is their number one complaint... after burpees ;)
teehee
if you feel to, drop me a line at clinton@survivorbootcamp.com and we can chat some more :)
In fairness to anyone following this saga, here's an update. I have now spoken to the instructor and head office and it looks like we're headed to a happy ending.
The instructor has agreed to provide "extra work" to give me and a few other advanced students the butt kicking we want. There has also been an offer to divide the class or bring in another instructor.
I am still not happy that the class was overbooked. And I don't agree with calling it "boot camp." I was expecting a military-style fitness class of greater intensity, similar to ones I have done in the past.
In any event, here's the bottom line: after just one week, I am seeing big improvements in strength and endurance. So I'm now a happy camper, which is a big turn around.
( I am a runner who started doing calisthenics again on my own two weeks before class started, and was previously in very good shape.)
Learning free weights is also kinda fun, because it's a new skill for me. I wouldn't join a gym or hire a personal trainer for weight training, but maybe I can integrate light weights into my running program after class is over.
So it looks likes things are settling down after a rocky start, and it will be a case of "al's well that ends well."
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