Does your academy have a cancellation policy or fee implemented if you want to back out of a contract? Interested to see how other schools manage the type of client that likes to sign contracts then back out midway.
I am speaking as a member, not as an operator.
I had heard horror stories about difficult to cancel traditional gym memberships and also martial arts academy memberships, but the policy at the bjj gym were I study is very simple: you sign a one year contract, but after 3 months you can cancel on 30 days notice. After one year it automatically renews for another year, but you can always cancel on 30 days notice. There is no penalty. The 3 months commitment at the front end is just to encourage people to give it a sincere try.
What's the point of a 1 year contract if someone can just cancel it? That's basically like having no contract at all.
it locks people into a certain rate and they still need to give a 30 day notice. I think a 3 month commitment is fair and very generous.
First time I ever even knew these contracts existed was when I went to a academy in Sacramento. Boy, what a nightmare. I told them I'll be leaving for LA back home and that I was canceling membership. They said okay, I trained there literally 5 times. I'm horrible with my personal finance and found out 3 months later they were still charging me, and I was 400miles away at that! lol
Wish I stayed on top of things more, but my home school is so relaxed on the subject I was just not used to it. But that academy should have stayed on top of their stuff too.
My gym has the most flexible arrangement I've ever seen:
2 week billing cycle, no contract, no minimum time period.
They can cancel at any time. They can also take breaks as needed. Some of them travel for work, and will train 2 weeks here and 2 weeks there.
i just train and pay when i can
I honestly think that contracts aren't good for the sport.
Yes, from the standpoint of the business owner, I can see how having a steady flow of mula is beneficial.
But I think it hurts the progression of a student of the art.
I'm in a 3 year contract atm. I've got one year left with them. The gym is excellent and we've had several ADCC competitors and winners over the years - no where near a McDojo.
But life changes our goals and right now I'm lucky if I can train 3 times a week. Also striking is not something I'm interested in working on atm.
Nevermind that training with the same guys day in day out gets stale.
I see nothing wrong with 6 month contracts - that type of time flys by...1 year tops.
Anything more than that and you'll end up having several students paying with no motivation to train. Sure that's great for business but good luck getting new students once the word gets out about the insanely long contracts.
My gym has lots of contract options. Short and expensive, very long and much cheaper, and everything in between. If you commit to 3 years, and then decide you just don't want to train anymore should the gym just let you cancel?
TrappeBier - My gym has lots of contract options. Short and expensive, very long and much cheaper, and everything in between. If you commit to 3 years, and then decide you just don't want to train anymore should the gym just let you cancel?
No, an adult who signs an agreement for three years knows what they are getting into. They should act like an adult and fullfill their commitment, unless there are some sort of unreasonable circumstances going on.
jrv -TrappeBier - My gym has lots of contract options. Short and expensive, very long and much cheaper, and everything in between. If you commit to 3 years, and then decide you just don't want to train anymore should the gym just let you cancel?
No, an adult who signs an agreement for three years knows what they are getting into. They should act like an adult and fullfill their commitment, unless there are some sort of unreasonable circumstances going on.
Exactly, don't sign a contract you're not willing to fulfill just because you don't feel like it anymore. Now if you come down with leukemia I can understand wanting to cancel early, but a contract is your word. Don't promise something you don't intend to do. Be a man.
I feel the same way, and every gym contract out there has a "Doctor's Note" clause. If you sign it you should pay for it or get sent to collections.
I can only speak for the places in my area, but yes most places that I've seen do in fact have a contract with a cancellation fee attached.
Cuex - I honestly think that contracts aren't good for the sport.
says the student who doesn't have to pay a lease (contract) utilities, facilities, equipment, advertisement, gi's bought in bulk to sell at the school. etc. etc.etc.
Bull_in_chinashop -Cuex - I honestly think that contracts aren't good for the sport.
says the student who doesn't have to pay a lease (contract) utilities, facilities, equipment, advertisement, gi's bought in bulk to sell at the school. etc. etc.etc.
This is ridiculous. Everyone knows running a business is pure profit with no overhead.
Nagster5 -jrv -TrappeBier - My gym has lots of contract options. Short and expensive, very long and much cheaper, and everything in between. If you commit to 3 years, and then decide you just don't want to train anymore should the gym just let you cancel?
No, an adult who signs an agreement for three years knows what they are getting into. They should act like an adult and fullfill their commitment, unless there are some sort of unreasonable circumstances going on.
Exactly, don't sign a contract you're not willing to fulfill just because you don't feel like it anymore. Now if you come down with leukemia I can understand wanting to cancel early, but a contract is your word. Don't promise something you don't intend to do. Be a man.
All excellent posts.
Also, academies usually give a price break to students who make the commitment to sign up for longer periods of time. Using the example above, if you sign up for 3 years, you probably get a much better rate than someone who signs up for 1 year. Don't complain about being "locked in" if you voluntarily elected to pay the 3 year reduced rate. Additionally, It would be grossly unfair to the student who signed up for only 1 year and who pays a higher rate if the student who signed up for 3 years (and pays much less) gets to quit after 1 year.
That being said, there should be cancellation clauses for moving , injury, etc. and the academy must honor those cancellation clauses without delay.
at my old academy, i was on a yearly contract. the past year i knew i didnt want to be there anymore and wanted to go to another school. so i waited until i had to resign but it turned out that i was signed up for 18 months instead of 12(this comes to play that read everything you sign because even though i thought i was friends with that said instructor, he totally slid that one by)...so in the end i had to pay 225 cancellation fee. if i chose to ride out my contract, i would of paid about 300. so i saved 75.00 plus the freedom to go train elsewhere.
yes there should be contracts... simple. the longer you sign for the better the price. You show me a commitment and i will do the same for you with a great school and great instruction.
School owners have alot of shit to deal with and rent is not cheap... most of the time.
but always have a buy out price.
Cuex - I honestly think that contracts aren't good for the sport.
Yes, from the standpoint of the business owner, I can see how having a steady flow of mula is beneficial.
But I think it hurts the progression of a student of the art.
I'm in a 3 year contract atm. I've got one year left with them. The gym is excellent and we've had several ADCC competitors and winners over the years - no where near a McDojo.
But life changes our goals and right now I'm lucky if I can train 3 times a week. Also striking is not something I'm interested in working on atm.
Nevermind that training with the same guys day in day out gets stale.
I see nothing wrong with 6 month contracts - that type of time flys by...1 year tops.
Anything more than that and you'll end up having several students paying with no motivation to train. Sure that's great for business but good luck getting new students once the word gets out about the insanely long contracts.
What gym do you train at?
1st 6 months contract with no cancellation allowed. you pay whether you come or not. there after it goes to month to month with a 30 day notice to stop paying.