New Client Etiquette

Dear Valued Client:

We thank you so much for choosing us to assist you on your quest towards your personal best. We want to take a moment to remind you of a few very important procedures and the type of Client Etiquette that our regular clients have grown to expect and appreciate. Please review carefully so you are fully aware of all procedures and guidelines.

Scheduling System: MindBody Online is our business management system that will provide you with time-saving benefits. To access this system, visit our website at www.nwPersonalTraining.com. You’ll notice a Mind Body Client Login in the upper right hand side of the home page. You will be required to create a username and password. Once you’ve done this, you will be able to:

Access your schedule online so you can easily check and confirm your specific training times and be able to view available time slots from wherever you have internet access.
View your account history to determine the number of sessions you have left in your account, purchase additional sessions when it is time to renew, and register for events or programs online.
Receive email confirmation for any changes to your account or schedule.
In order to utilize all the features with this new program, you will need to enter your current email address so we can quickly update you with any changes to your schedule or account. Secondly, we will store your credit or debit information. We want to assure you that your information is VERY secure. It will be maintained in encrypted form at an offsite location
following stringent security standards by our merchant processing company. Our team at Northwest Personal Training will not have visibility to your credit/debit numbers. We will obtain this information at your original purchase.

Cancelation Policy: First, we want to let you know that this policy is as important for you as it is for us. A strong cancellation policy keeps you accountable and ensures that you keep the commitment to yourself. The reality is that for most people, exercise is a ‘chore’. It becomes easy to skip a workout if you’re feeling a bit tired, stressed at work, or need to take care of some things at home. However, when clients know they will be charged for a session if they don’t show up, it forces them to prioritize their health and fitness. This policy dramatically decreases missed workouts and short-notice cancellations. It is this type of consistency that ensures great results for our clients. We are the ones to make sure you do the things that sometimes you don’t really want to do but know you need to do!

Second, a cancellation policy is also important for us as a business. The average personal training studio can expect to experience a 25-40% cancellation rate of their weekly scheduled appointments. Can you imagine losing 25-40% of your business revenues or income every week? The fitness industry is different than most other service industries in that most people do not enjoy exercise and will often find convenient ‘excuses’ to get out of a workout. A hair-stylist doesn’t need such a strict policy because most people eagerly anticipate getting their hair done; a massage therapist wouldn’t have to enforce as firm a policy because few people want to miss their massages. These industries don’t suffer from the high rate of cancellations that a personal training business does. You see, when you make an appointment with your trainer, we reserve that time for you. Your trainer spends time preparing for your session and some of our trainers drive quite a distance to be here for you. When a client cancels on short notice, it is very difficult (often impossible) for us to make a connection with another client who could possibly take that appointment. That time becomes lost revenue and a loss to the trainers’ income that cannot be recovered.

We hope you understand that we spend time regularly discussing this topic because we never want to institute policies that can potentially upset our clients. We recognize that we are in a difficult situation as a business; our number one priority is customer service but how is charging a client for an appointment they cannot make a good customer service initiative? At the same time, if we do not have a strict policy, our business does not succeed. Let’s review our cancellation policy as stated in your Client Agreement:

I understand that Northwest Personal Training operates on a scheduled appointment basis for all Private Training sessions and thus, requires that I provide 24 hours’ notice when canceling an appointment. No charge will be levied should I cancel with MORE than 24 hours’ notice. Should I cancel a session with LESS than 24 hours’ prior notice, I will be charged in full for that session. I understand that Northwest Personal Training recommends that all cancelled sessions be rescheduled to ensure consistency and fitness progress.

Our approach to dealing with this difficult situation is to educate our clients verbally and in written correspondence as to why this policy is critical for them and for our business. We are confident that if you understand our predicament, you will make every effort to give us advanced warning of a cancellation and, in the event you have to short-notice cancellation, it will be easier for you to understand the charge knowing the background information. We are also sympathetic and understand that things come up that may force you to cancel unexpectedly (illness, work and home emergencies, etc.). In the event of a short-notice cancellation, your trainer will use that time reserved to do something for you. For example, your trainer may research a health and nutrition topic of interest to you, design a new exercise program, or outline some exercises you can do at home. They may also use the time to brainstorm some new goals or pull together a report of your progress. You can also ask them to work on something specific for you during that time. We want you to understand that when you do have to cancel without 24 hours’ notice, we will use that time for you so it will not be money wasted. Our computer system will also alert you when your account has been charged due to a short-notice cancellation.

Completion of a Package: In the event you run out of sessions in your account and have not yet purchased an additional package, you will be charged the single session price for any sessions you complete before renewing. However, we encourage you to purchase session packages or enroll in SMART Training in order to take advantage of our package discount pricing. This system ensures your account will never go in the negative. As a convenience, our computer system will send an email to alert you when you are nearing the end of your package. You can click on the link and update your account right then and there. As a convenient alternative, our system also enables you to predetermine a package renewal option. For example, if you always purchase twenty sessions, at the end of your twenty session package, you can authorize the system to automatically debit your account for the next package of twenty. This will save you a lot of time and when any changes or additions to your account are made, you will receive an email update.

Personal Training Studio Etiquette

Please check in at the customer service desk each visit and inform our staff of the type of training appointment you are there for so we can track your attendance.
Because we are a Personal Training studio, our equipment area is reserved for those clients who are being supervised by a Personal Trainer.
For all Private Training sessions, we ask that you arrive early to ensure you can begin your session right on time.
When you are scheduled for a Private Training session, your Personal Trainer may ask you to come in early or stay after to perform an independent cardiovascular workout on the indoor cardio machines reserved for this purpose. They may also ask you to perform some warmup movements or cooldown stretches. Please perform these movements around the cardio
machines to assure you do not disrupt other clients working out with their trainer.
We ask that you bring a water bottle with you for each workout. To hydrate adequately, drink plenty of fluids during your training sessions.
Please be conscious of the amount of perfume or cologne that you wear while working out. Heavy amounts can be very disruptive to those with allergies.
Cleanliness is a high priority for us. If you ever notice something that has been overlooked and should be taken care of immediately, please inform our front desk customer service reps or one of our trainers and we will take care of it right away. We have hourly cleanliness checks and a thorough janitorial service is completed each night after closing. You can also assist in keeping our training studio tidy, by placing all towels in laundry baskets when finished with them, tossing all garbage in the waste baskets provided and wiping any spilled water.
To help us maintain a clean and hygienic environment, we ask that all clients wipe down equipment and mats after usage. Disinfectant spray bottles are located in the Private Training and Group Training areas.
We ask that you lock up your items in the locker area. An individual combination lock is best (that way you don’t have to carry a key around with you while you workout). In order to allow for ample locker space for all clients, we ask that when you are done with your workouts you bring all personal items and your combination lock home with you. We thank you in advance for your understanding.
You will be provided with one sweat and one shower towel each visit. When finished, please return all towels to the towel baskets provided in each locker area.
As a convenience to our clients, we offer various locker room amenities including shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, shaving cream, razors, and more. If we have overlooked stocking up on a certain supply, please inform the front desk customer service reps or one of our trainers and we will take care of it immediately.
To enhance an environment that allows you to escape the demands of the world and to enable you to focus better doing your workouts therefore enhancing results, we ask that you turn off all cell phones and pagers in all workout areas.
To maintain our relaxing environment and for the safety of your children, we cannot accommodate unsupervised children. In the event that you must bring your child with you, you can choose to have a coaching session in your trainer’s office. For liability reasons, children cannot play on any equipment unless they are actually scheduled for a training session and a parent waiver has been signed. Please do not interpret this as us not loving kids. Most of us have children and want to encourage a healthy lifestyle for them. However, in order to respect our clients’ needs for a safe and calm environment and because of our space restrictions, we cannot currently offer a children’s exercise or daycare program.
Free 2 hour parking is located in the lot on the corner of Broadway and Evergreen. Metered parking is located on all city streets in the vicinity and is Free on weekends, mornings before 8:00am and after 6:00pm on weekdays.

Group Training Etiquette

Before you start with our Group Training programs, we ask that you attend your first Private Training session with a trainer to ensure you choose the right programs based on your goals and you learn how to use the various pieces of equipment that will be utilized during Group Training programs.
When you and your trainer decide on a Group Training schedule that will work best with your life and for your goals, you will reserve space into these time slots and will be contacted if you don’t show up. This will provide you with the accountability that most people need to help them stick to their program. If you continually miss appointments, you may be given a 50 pushup punishment – just kidding – but we may ask you to sit down with us to determine a better schedule for you.
In order to take full advantage of a proper warm-up and cool down, secure your space and equipment, and so as to not to disturb your fellow workout buddies, we ask that you arrive on time and stay until the end of all Group Training sessions. If you are running late or absolutely need to leave early, we ask that you enter or exit quickly and quietly. Please understand that entering or leaving a Yoga program or any type of session during a meditative, focused segment can be disruptive to the other exercisers.
To allow your Group Personal Trainer to guide you appropriately through each workout, please advise them if you are a beginner, pregnant, have high blood pressure or any other medical condition, injury, or pain that may affect your session.
Feel free to attend multiple Group Training sessions back to back during each visit.
As a Group Training client, you can bring an invited guest to a Group Training session. This complimentary visit can only be redeemed by the same individual once.

If you have any other suggestions that will help us service you better and provide an invigorating, safe, and welcoming workout environment, please let us know.

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan and your NWPT Team