Okay kiddies, it's pet peeve time! Last Friday, my 10 am appointment at the gym (not 3 Monkeys!) was late, so I called her. She said she had had an accident in the parking lot, so I told her I would wait until 10:30, which I did. She later asked if she would be charged (the club I work at, and most others, has a 24-hour cancellation policy), and I told her I would try to get it comped. But I had to think about it. It is up to the trainer whether we charge or not. Depending on the client and their previous behaviour or the circumstance, I often choose not to charge.
In this case, however, my previous appointment had finished at 7:30 am, so I ultimately killed three hours waiting. Assuming I had charged her, she went into the gym, complained about me and asked for another trainer. She also cancelled our appointment for today late last night.
Many people are unaware of this, but trainers are paid by the session. If I am at the gym and not with a client, I am not being paid and it is my time. It seems a lot of people also think we make a lot more than we do. A senior trainer makes about 2/3 of the rate on a client they have signed up themselves and about a third of the rate when the gym 'gives' us clients.
Let me be clear - I LOVE what I do, but I do need to be paid. The reason for the cancellation policy is the same as your doctor - it's a slot that could potentially be filled by another if there were enough time to find someone. In our case, it is also to protect the trainer, who, as in my case, made all my plans, packed my lunch and even what to wear based on the sessions I had on my schedule. It is also to discourage clients from cancelling, because like I said yesterday, you have to show up to get results!
I know you're wondering, did I charge her for today? Damn straight I did, and wish I could retroactively nail her for last week as well😈
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