The other day, I went to a spin class at the Equinox in Woodbury. And, as soon as I was off the bike, a maintenance crew came in and cleaned wiped it clean. Now that’s impressive. I remember at NY Sports Club in Oceanside how the spin instructor used to beg the participants to clean their bikes as a courtesy to the next user.
I also notice that the manager, Louis Cohen, is practically everywhere. Every time I turn, I spot him out through the corner of my eye. I personally don’t know how he does it but he knows everything that is going on and his staff respect him. I found that pretty impressive too.
The other thing that I find interesting is that not only does Louis know everyone’s name but the people at the front desk greet you by your first name. That makes you feel good.
Don’t get me wrong, everything isn’t peaches and cream there. The last couple of times, I’ve had negative experiences. For example, I took a “special” zumba class, which was more like a “cheerleading” class than a zumba class. And, the other day, I decided to take a weight class. When I walked in, the room was packed. I asked a few people what we needed but no one seemed helpful. Immediately, that put me on edge. I went up to the instructor and announced to her that I was new to the class. She told me, in front of Louis the manager, that I should look at what others were getting. Louis saw my face and said, “come on Hilary, I’ll help you.”
He really was a help and even told me that the 360 (mini trampoline) needed air. He filled it up and returned it to me. He was very nice.
However, within 10 minutes of the class, I was standing on the 360, leaned the wrong way and the next thing I knew I was projected off, flew through the air and hit my head against the back wall. I landed on the floor in incredible pain. It felt as if I had a migraine and a throbbing isolated pain at the same time.
Although I was on the floor with my head in my hand, the class continued. Some of the people around me stopped working out to find out how I was doing. Then Donna, the assistant manager, came in the room and quickly took me out of there. She got ice and brought me into the pilates room to lie down. The pain was still throbbing but I was able to talk. I told her what had happened and she was sympathetic and nice. A doctor who was taking the class followed us and told me that if I didn’t pass out, I would be okay, “just take some advil, go home and rest.”
I stayed at the Equinox for about a half hour before I decided to take a shower and go to work. As I was leaving, Louis called me into his office. “You okay?” he asked.
I told him I was. He asked if I wanted to see a doctor, which i didn’t. He also asked if there was anything he could do. I told him I would be okay. I went to get a coffee and one of the delicious breakfast protein shakes that I am addicted to and when I went to pay, the guy behind the counter told me Louis took care of it.
As I left, I couldn’t help but think that Louis, Donna, the front desk staff and the maintenance crew really know how to provide valuable customer service. Even though those classes weren’t the best, there are tons of others that are great there, including Tripp Doherty’s spin class!
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Sounds like Louis is the only one who knows what he’s doing. They should’ve snapped to when you got injured, tha’s a lawsuit waiting to be filed! I used to work in sales at the location in Roslyn. At over $1000 initiation fee, and exorbitant monthly fees, they SHOULD clean my spinning bike, and everything else in the place! Granted; the facility is gorgeous and more like a spa than a gym, but their prices are a tough sell. I would expect impecable service.
There are some really good people there. I’m very impressed with most of them. And in terms of the price and the customer service, I think it’s really outstanding. It shouldn’t matter how much you pay. Everyone should have some type of customer service built in and Equinox knows how to do it right!
I don’t know how Louis treats members, but I can tell you how he treats non-members. My 4 year old daughter told us as we were enroute from NYC to my parents house that she needed to go to the bathroom…NOW. As we pulled off 135 onto Jericho Turnpike, I realized my mom is a member of Equinox and thought, “Of COURSE they’ll let my daughter use the bathroom.” Um, NO. I explained that my mom is a member, offered her name, phone number, etc, but still the girl at the desk said no. I asked for a manager and he was, “In an VERY important meeting.” Then I asked to speak to a membership consultant, stating that I wanted to join the club and get a tour, starting with the bathroom. I was told that wasn’t possible, as my daughter is holding her rear end doing a dance. Louis finally came out and told me first to stop screaming, which was ironic since I have laryngitis! He told me it is a members only club, and I repeated the information about my mother being a member AND stating that I know all about members only clubs…I belong to one in NYC. He explained that non members aren’t allowed in because they might steal. I told him my 4 year old is hardly capable of stealing a treadmill and really just needed to poop. After much persistence, and really because I think he noticed she might go to the bathroom on floor, I was escorted to the Kids Club while the girl from the desk was instructed to wait outside the door for us…which she literally did. I commend her for following the ridiculous policy and the orders of her boss, but really, at 2pm on a Saturday in the summer it was necessary to torment a little girl? I thanked Louis on the way out, citing that I’m moving to the neighborhood at the end of the month and just got the very best reason to join Lifetime…which I plan on doing.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m sorry that this happened to you. When my kids were little and they had to go to the bathroom, my stress level was at an all time high. I experienced many similar situations at other locations including restaurants and stores. I’ve been in Europe the last couple of weeks and you have to pay to go to the bathroom and if you don’t have exact change, you can’t go…