In July we launched a member-wide survey to evaluate how we are doing as a gym. This has always been one of the many challenges with being so vested in Vitality. We have poured so much of our soul into Vitality and opening yourself up to feedback is like someone telling you your baby is ugly:)
We have watched Vitality grow from our garage back in 2009 to the new facility this past year. I can’t begin to explain how many times it has evolved over the years but one thing that has remained a constant has been our amazing community.
We got some amazing feedback from the survey and this past week we were able to sit down with Pete Laatz, who helped us analyze the results and develop some action points moving forward. So many of you had positive and inspiring comments that make some of the longer days and nights over the past 8+ years so worth it. The feedback re-enforced that our members enjoy training at the new facility and one comment that came up quite a bit was the overall size of the training space compared to other boxes. Many of you talked about how you loved the challenges that our programming offered as well as how much you enjoy the diversity and professionalism of our Coaches. Vitality scored in the top of many of the metrics surveyed among other boxes such as facility, class size, and equipment quality. There was also some feedback on how we can make things better here at Vitality. As much as I love being told how awesome this place is, the point of the survey was to find ways where we can get better.
After going through every comment from well over 250 returned surveys, we feel strongly that we can take this feedback and make Vitality even stronger. I will highlight some different areas that we are going to focus on and give some explanation on what we have identified will make us better.
Class Times
Topic – Additional Class Times On Thursdays and Morning Overlap
Discussion
Many of you that have been a part of Vitality for a number of years have heard my feelings on Thursday mornings. I have always treated Thursday as a “forced” rest day. Many of us train extremely hard and the piece of the puzzle that we overlook is usually recovery. My fix for this has been to encourage members to take Thursday as a day outside the gym without wear and tear and to give your brain a day off as well. However, with the number of people who have different schedules, I’m ready to adjust my thinking on this. In addition, the overlap between the 5:00a and the 5:45a has been a struggle that we are ready to address as well.
Resolution
We are in the process of adjusting our schedule to include Thursday morning classes on both ēvoFIT and CrossFit. We will implement the new schedule starting January 1st and will announce it in detail as soon as it is finalized. Also, we will be adjusting our morning CrossFit Schedule as of October 1st. Our new Schedule will be 5:00a and 6:00a Group Class Times on M/T/W/F.
Dual Membership Options
Topic – Create a membership option that includes both ēvoFIT and CrossFit for a single price.
Discussion
This is something that has been confusing to some of our members since we launched ēvoFIT last January. I take responsibility for this, as it is something that must not have been explained as clearly as it should have been. ēvoFIT is a completely stand-alone program that just happens to be in the same facility as our CrossFit program. The challenge with having unlimited memberships that would allow CrossFitters to utilize both programs is being able to control class sizes. In addition, there may be a CrossFitter that wants to utilize 1x/month ēvoFIT while another would want 1x/week. This makes quantifying rates extremely difficult.
As of now, we have simplified the process to the best of our ability. For those CrossFitters that would like to supplement with ēvoFIT classes, we offer punchcards that are more cost effective than paying monthly memberships to both programs. These punchcards allow you to utilize the classes when it’s convenient for you and have been discounted for those with active CrossFit memberships.
Current Punchcard Options
10 Class Punchcard: $100 (Normally $150)
20 Class Punchcard: $180 (Normally $250)
50 Class Punchcard: $405 (Normally $500)
Quite a few of our CrossFit members have purchased a 50-Class punchcard and this would last them nearly a year if they were utilizing the program 1x/week.
Resolution:
Being that ēvoFIT has gained so much popularity from our CrossFitters, we are going to work with a consulting group to help us find the most efficient membership solution to give everyone the opportunity to take advantage of this additional program. The initial conversations that we have had with them are leading to something that looks like the below:
2x/Week CrossFit + 2x/Week ēvoFIT = “x”
3x/Week CrossFit + 1x/Week ēvoFIT = “x”
Unlimited CrossFit + 1x/Week ēvoFIT = “x”
Unlimited CrossFit + Unlimited ēvoFIT = “x”
We will have more on this in the coming months but understand that this is a priority for us and we will continue to work at finding the most efficient solution for this issue.
ēvoFIT Class Sizes
Topic – Class times are full, class sizes are large, space constraints in ēvoFIT area
Discussion
As this program has exploded over the past 6-9 months, class sizes and availability are something that we feel very strongly about, and the feedback has reinforced that. So strongly that we have capped our membership and are currently not accepting new members until we can get a handle on the issue.
There are a few ways we are trying to address this. The first is we are making sure all of our current members understand the importance of signing up for class as well as canceling reservations as early as possible once they know they are unable to attend. There are many times that because of late cancellations or “no-shows”, those on the waitlist or trying to get into class are unable to do so.
We are getting better as a group at signing up and canceling but it is still something that will take time to continue to increase compliance regarding this.
Resolution
We will continue to cap our membership until we feel confident this issue has been resolved. In addition to this, we are going to be moving ēvoFIT from the back area onto the Red Side of the main gym. This will increase the S/F from 2,500 S/F to 6,000 S/F and should go a long way in helping alleviate the space issue.
Workout Posts For ēvoFIT
Topic – Members want to be able to view workout of the day in WODIFY.
Discussion
We have gotten quite a few request for us to share the workout of the day in WODIFY so members can see what they are about to get into through the WODIFY app.
Resolution
Starting in October, daily ēvoFIT workouts will be posted and able to be viewed in WODIFY.
Outside of those areas, everything else was very positive and reinforced we are on the right track. My goal at Vitality has always been to constantly improve what I can provide to our members. This has not, and will not ever be a hobby for me. Vitality is my life and as I tell Jess on Sundays, I can’t wait for Monday morning, I love this place and love what we do. No one is more vested in making this place better than I am. As always, my door is open if anyone has questions or concerns and I am happy to talk about decisions I make regarding the gym. Thanks for all your support and especially for those that took the time to fill out the survey. Without your input, it would be impossible to improve.