Been doing a lot of thinking of late.Which is code for 'increasingly cranky in my dotage' Not so unusual, I think way too much at the best of times, but of late I have been Thinking a lot about integrity. About standards. About pursuing excellence....About what I will tolerate and be associated with and what I won't.
Everything is great-yes seriously. Steady flow of clients, lots of teaching and I hope the respect of my colleagues and students. Just lectured at a College, and more teaching opportunities are opening up.Grateful indeed.
I'm getting better at practicing gratitude. I also am proud of being associated with the NSCA, Exos etc. and that I work in arguably what is one of the best facilities in the world with incredibly high standards. It's not always easy, but even with ups and downs I wouldn't trade it for the world. And yeah I occasionally think about retirement.
The point of this current post is to detail one of those experiences that made me sit up and take notice of 'What not to do'.
Last year or so a younger colleague of mine [ who is like a son to me] encouraged me to come work with him at a non profit 'Health and Wellness' Facility. Muttered something about 'raising standards'. I didn't really need the work, but this Facility was closer to home , easy to get to and what I thought was a chance to maybe build a clientele with less commute time.
On the surface it was an incredibly well run Facility, clean ,organized and when I started, the best job any company has ever done on promoting me that I have ever seen. Everytime I took a whizz there was my beaming bald forehead staring back at me right over the urinal. I was everywhere.I liked the members ,the Front Desk staff were great.So far so good.
The other Trainers with one or two exceptions weren't the friendliest lot, but hey I don't care, I still went out of my way to smile and greet them. Sometimes they would grunt at me or give me a surly nod, mostly they ignored me.
What was common with this particular facility , like all Non Profits you would have to as part of your employment volunteer to teach classes. Hmmmm not crazy about that but to get things off the ground I did..it was a great deal of fun and from what I was told I doubled the class sizes in the first month..."It will give you exposure" they said.I did get a lot interaction with members and thats the part of what I do that I love-meeting people and I hope inspiring them..I got a few clients .. and all of them turned into repeat clientele.Still it wasn't a lot.
I couldn't quite figure this out...it didn't look a lot like any of the other Trainers were doing a lot of business either..I began to observe. Good God.I did not see a single squat, hip hinge, or pushup. No cueing. NOT ONCE. But lots of bosu balls, random running around weird kind of shitty choreographed things that might resemble corrective exercises if we were on a different planet. But hey, I only worry about what I can do. Those clients hired them and not me.
I eventually did get to exchange some polite conversation with another Trainer.He was a nice guy in that slightly 'Forrest Gump' box of chocolates way....I took a chance and asked him what he did for continuing education..[I already knew the answer] He looked at me kind of puzzled.."Oh I just take the quizzes in the e mail updates every four months.." ahhhhhhh ok. Although I saw it coming I ventured to ask if he ever went to any 'live seminars'. Yep, just as I thought. Attitudes like that are a fundamental problem in our industry, the frustrating point of it is to explain it to someone like that is an exercise in futility. They don't know the difference.
A further clue was revealed one morning when I saw one of the Trainers I'd never met come sauntering in-he was unshaven huge cup of coffee in hand ,cell phone in the other, greet his client told them what to do and how many reps and sat down propped up against a pillar and began checking his phone messages and occasionally glancing at his client.....I was dumbfounded. That's not Training....That's a grotesque sense of entitlement, and the utter arrogance and lack of respect set my fangs on edge.
But the real kicker came when 'Forrest Gump' and I and I were in one of the Group studios training as it was empty...doing our thing.. and in walked an older lady maybe late fifties early sixties, long black leotard and an absolutely miserable look on her face..kind of like a Satanic Marcel Marceau [ wiki it kids]..That's right it was the Pilates instructor from Hell. Here to set up for HER Pilates class. She didn't say a word, hello or nod , she simply walked to where my colleague had been training , picked up the bands, mat etc. AND THREW IT ACROSS THE ROOM!!!!!
Yep.Are you effing kidding me?
Listen to me very carefully here. This was one of the managers . This was the first time I was meeting her. This was the very first impression I get of her. Let that sink in for a minute. No hello, no 'Hi' I am so and so.. nothing.I was directly in the path of her Tsunami of misery, and no lifeline forthcoming.I'd also like to add this was done IN FRONT OF CLIENTS...think about the terrible message that sends.
That has bugged me ever since. She didn't introduce herself say 'kiss my ass' or anything. Look maybe she was having a bad day, maybe her army of winged monkeys crapped on her carpet, but the point is you don't bring that to your job. And if you see a new employee you go out of your way to introduce yourself.Pleasantly
That's when it dawned on me...that douche nozzle propped up against the pillar while he was 'training'. The Trainer who ran his client around the gym and up and down the stairs 'Because she needed cardio'. The satanic mime Pilates instructor/Manager. The arrogant Russian trainer who had her clients on top of a bosu ball doing kickbacks and was yelling at them
Hmmm.Standards.Integrity.All these terrible Trainers, maybe I have a chance to stand out.I kept saying 'This doesn't affect me'
And then it dawned on me.The problem wasn't the Trainers per se, it was the clients-The clients and members didn't know any better because they had no concept of what to expect!
And here am I an NSCA Certified Trainer,I have been trained by the company that trained the German World Cup team fer Chrissakes! They even profiled me. I'm currently training bronze medal winning Paralympian, run a Tactical Strength and conditioning program for Law Enforcement, lecture at Colleges..and I can scream until I am blue in the face and no one will hear because none of the members or clients in this facility knows the difference, because they have had to endure this absolute garbage for so long. They don't know quality or value because no one has shown them what they should expect as consumers..
To counteract that I proposed a member clinic as some of the other Trainers had done, and had to sit down with this all too typical miserable Pilates emissary of Satan and her manner to me was.. beyond condescending. She'd never heard of the NSCA, Exos or any reputable company at all. It was like talking to a wall. She was so miserable I realized I had already lost the battle in trying to improve standards as long as this pitbull [without the sunny disposition] was in a position of power..I was wasting my time. I tried to be professional.
My member clinic "Designing the Perfect Workout" had a Huge response, 22 people registered where normally they only get 6-7 The members loved it and wanted another one. I was told 'No'. I was given reasons etc. but I couldn't help but feel they weren't interested in providing service as they were more about being miserable. Again another missed opportunity to 'Raise the bar' and maybe just maybe plant the seed of something better in an otherwise well run place.It was a missing link and I so desperately wanted to try to 'fix' it
Final straw came when another manager sent out an e mail to the Trainers and I quote part of it here:
"At this time, we’d like to ask you to help us present a professional image at all times. Over the last couple of months there have been observations made that our quality standards are lacking at times.
We making an effort to improve in all areas.
Here’s what we know about successful trainers
· Their training attire is professional. They are dressed for work. Clean, neat, tidy, etc. – you get the picture
· They are focused on their client at all times – conversations are centered around the client
· They make sure their clients can focus on their reps – if the client can carry on a conversation while they’re exercising – are they really focusing or being challenged?
· Even when not training a client the trainer are presenting themselves in a professional manner. Eyes are on you at all times while in the facility and future clients could be noticing how you present yourself.
· They understand their image and the way they present themselves is very important. They are a walking advertisement of their business.
With training fees as high a $75 hour, it is of upmost importance that we all preserve the integrity of personal training and its value.
Specifically - Sleeping/sprawling/ in the member’s stretch area and around the facility is not permitted. Drinking/eating while training (or on the 3rd floor) is not permitted. Professional attire is required.
Thanks for your attention and cooperation."
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME MY JAW DROPPED OPEN. Sleeping in your place of work? On my planet that's an automatic dismissal. And yet by sending out this toothless letter they are actually condoning it. It shouldn't even have to be said. I should have cancelled my contract then and there. Seriously? You have to send a letter because these idiots don't know better? Newsflash Honey the lunatics are running this asylum, you have already shown you won't do anything....But still there may be a chance to help.. I took a chance and wrote this particular manager, I applauded her for finally trying to do something about this, and told her that I was willing to provide some feedback if she wanted to hear it. Look I'm a 'solutions' guy.. I don't have a lot of use for people who obsess about chronic problems and don't do anything about it.. Lets cut to the chase ,come up with an idea and put things into practice. Above all else , let's not waste time. She wrote me back and said "Great! Let's set up a meeting, we want to be better etc." Now in fairness I liked this person and yeah I do get that she was probably busy. But in terms of priorities and looking at building a better platform to increase revenues wouldn't trying to fix a glaring 'staring at you in the face' problem be the best course of action? Apparently not.
Never heard another word. And that silence told me that not only did they not care about their facility they also had absolutely no respect for me, nothing I could do would counteract the institutional paralysis and dysfunction.
That did it. Told them I wouldn't renew my contract.[ my colleague? He just sighed and shrugged. I took him out for lunch because he felt bad. he remains a close friend. Still give him training advice. He deserves better]
And to add insult to injury-a really nice manager who worked with my colleague at least had the class to send me an email saying how sorry she was I wasn't renewing my contract-and that it was a terrific loss. I liked her a lot , and I won't soon forget how classy she was. Aside from my colleague she was the only one to do so. Not a single one of the others even bothered to ask. Why are we losing such a qualified employee? What can we learn from our failure to keep qualified Trainers?.. They didn't care.And that is disgraceful.. and disrespectful. Rot doesn't come from within , it comes from the top and flows down.
I guess this all makes me sound a bit bitter about the whole experience..and I'd agree..But only a tiny bit..... way too many awesome thigs happening in my career to stew over this..I see it more as a learning experience , or e.g. 'experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted'Thats because I really do care about impacting the lives of others.I care about being as professional as I can.I love what I do every single day and when I am in a work environment? I only have 'good days and great days'
Standards. Quality. Integrity.E verytime I set foot in that facility [to me at least] my professional standing goes down. Everytime someone of my background and experience offers a constructive approach to building things up and it falls on deaf ears, my professional standing goes down. Well your standards can go right down the toilet but I won't go with you.
Standards. Integrity. And then the words I tell my students come back to haunt me when I give them the three pieces of advice for their career and this one is #3-
"never work for second or third rate organizations or people. It will lower your brand,cheapen your efforts, and drag you down with it."
Practice what I preach. And that will guide me for the rest of my professional life. Nobody noticed I left. And that is the cruelest wake up call of all.
