Monday, 14 Mar 11
This is either a very simple topic…or not.
Let me preface this post by saying, as it relates to “drop-ins”, the the term “community” has been bastardized by some.
But let me explain.
Alamo CrossFit isn’t cheap. But we deliver. We are the best and I believe we are darn well worth it. So how do you think I feel…or our coaches feel when a ‘drop-in’ from Kalamazoo who is here for a wedding wants to get a WOD in and hits our doorstep 3 minutes prior to class time?
Yeah…I’m a little miffed. I feel disrespected. Folks we cater to THIS community right here…under this roof…the ones who pay us to deliver a superior service and I’m sorry if I piss off anyone but we are not here for your WOD while you’re visiting San Antonio.
I don’t know if you can deadlift 150 or 450…hell…I don’t even know if you know what a deadlift is and frankly I need to spend time with the ACF Tribe as opposed to time watching the drop-in to make sure their movements are correct. And guess what else folks. Guess what else my fellow box owners or soon to be box owners…everyone is your friend until they rupture a disc as a drop-in at your box. This is a great community until they drop a KB on their foot because they really DIDN’T know the difference between a Russian and American swing or how to lift a KB.
Now let me back off a sec…see…if you have emailed us or called us prior, then yes, we would love to have made contact…perhaps converesed and yup…likely extended an invite from our keyboard or cell phone direct to you. That’s common courtesy. It’s my box. My business. I would never…ever…just walk into a dentists office in Kalamazoo while I am there for a wedding and expect to have service delivered at that moment. Right? So why would a blindside a box owner?
That’s the post folks…I guess it’s a little heated but I think it’s time this be addressed especially if you expect to deliver to your clients…or the cat in town for a day for a wedding.
Coming to San Antonio?
Call me…direct…(210) 279-9259…or email…direct: rick@alamocrossfit.com. That’s really all we ask.
See y’all soon…
I actually did drop in on a Saturday at Alamo CF a month or two ago while in town visiting the mother-in-law. It was my first time to drop in at a different box, so I wasn’t even sure if I would be “allowed” to do it. I made sure to e-mail Rick first for permission, and I got there super early (even before Rick!). My attitude is that I’m a guest in your house, so I play by your rules. I can understand Rick’s concern over liability since this is his livelihood, and I’m just some idiot off the street tagging along. Either way, it was a great workout and everyone at Alamo CF was very friendly and I’m very appreciative that they let me join the “tribe” for at least an hour or so.
As a fellow box owner, I understand where Rick is coming from. If I’m visiting in a town that has a box that I’ve never been to, I don’t just drop in. I love having visitors come in, it’s fun, exciting to meet people who are excited about CF too, but my first responsibility is to my members. They are the ones who deserve and are paying for my attention.
I always ask visiting athletes what their CF experience level is. Everybody is your CrossFit buddy until Something Bad Happens. Then things become complicated. If someone does get injured, it can be that person’s insurance company that comes after the gym even if the person claims it was their own fault.
Anybody who just shows up with no notice, or no CF experience who want to do a WOD has absolutely no respect for the coach and owners and should not expect to have the box bend over backwards just because they’ve heard how welcoming CF boxes are.
It’s just plain old common courtesy. When out of town I call ahead, show up early, and if they have a full class I wait or work around everyone else.
And I always sign a waiver! I insist on it.
Good Morning Rick,
I have read your blog as well as the other post. I travel a lot for my job and don’t want to miss a WOD due to work, plus working out obviously keeps the stress at bay not to mention, I get to experience other boxes. I have always called ahead then followed up with an email. I mean, it seems it goes without saying but clearly, I am mistaken here. When ‘dropping in,’ I also make the most of my workout and push to the limits, especially if the WOD involves body weight movements. However, one thing I do to minimize distractions is to not lift as heavy as I would in my own gym. I understand I am a visitor/distraction/a drop in and the last thing I want or the owner wants is an injury, me probably more than the owner. I mean think of it, an injury, out of town away from home, yeah not a good idea. I completely understand your position, and as a traveling cross fitter try to be a good ambassador as well as a minimal distraction. It is about educating the fitters who travel and if they are a problem, impose a rule and good on ya for bringing this to our attention. I hope to visit your gym some day.
Yup, I’ve even received angry phone calls from affiliate owners because I didn’t let there athletes who have been doing crossfit for two weeks and showed up 3 minutes before the workout wanting to drop in. I was told that wasn’t very crossfit like. Glad to here I’m not the only one who feels this way.
As someone who travels extensively for work, I have had the joy of dropping into 38 different boxes across this country over the last um, 10 months?
I always always plan ahead, and I always send emails/make calls to the boxes that I would like to drop into. In the emails, I’ll note who I am, where my home box is, how long I’ve been WODing, my experience (I’m a Level 1), etc. So far, I’ve had no issues and box owners have always thought of this as respectful.
I totally respect your blog about this and think it’s pretty lazy of someone to not call or send an email with plenty of notice (we are talking atleast 2-3 days) before trying to drop into someone’s box. Last minute trip? There are tons of travel WODs you can do in a living room or hotel room.
Jon,
Thank you for your service and I appreciate your comment. I admitted long ago that the CF community is way beyond this gym and this city and you are exactly right in your viewpoint, comment and post.
BUT, this is still my business. For a moment take CrossFit / community / shared / WOD’s and all the lingo out of my original post and insert another business there. Like a Dr’s office for example. When one drills down to the essence of what we are creating, which is a business we call CrossFit or a ‘box’, then certain rules apply…and Coach has made it clear that we, as box owners, have the freedoms to set these rules…not the greater community.
Now lets look at the drop-in who we don’t know. No matter how good a coach one is or how good a class you have…he / she WILL provide a bit of distraction and take away from your regular members because you will not know their ability or skill set and will more than likely spend more time with eyes on that drop-in.
Which is why we have insurance in the millions and why CrossFit, Inc requires it of us.
AT the end of the day Jon we are ALL friends, sharing sweat and triumph…until a 45lb plate crunches your foot.
Prudence, protection of our business’ assets and devoting our time to our paying members is our first priority. It is, and I make no apologies for that.
Jon, lastly and with all due respect…my take on community did change when I became an owner vs. a member. It did and it should for anyone desiring ownership…because the buck stops with you and your decisions. I see now the challenges an owner faces each and every day and now I reflect back in a different way, when as a member, I would say “hey, can I bring my brother to class tomorrow whose here for a day?”…it’s an easy question for a member, a potential snag for an owner especially if the brother is there for 1 day and the WOD is 1RM snatch. Jeez! Talk about challenges!
I apologize for the tone of the original post…I strive to not let emotion get involved but it did…and you caught it.
Be safe Jon.
Rick
Rick,
It’s your gym, and therefore your rules, but I disagree with the tone of your blog.
The CF community is bigger than your gym, you and your sister gyms, or even your city. I’ve only been doing CF since Jun ’09, and have never joined an affiliate. I’m also currently in Iraq, far from Texas, but I’m still a part of YOUR CF community. CF’ers all have common traits and desires to grow. This plus the shared experience of completing tough WODs makes CFers quick friends. Don’t think of drop in’s as disrespectful wanderers, but rather as your CF friends who have terrible etiquette on calling ahead. Have them sign a waiver, brief them your rules, and ask that they call ahead next time. Or maybe only let them in for your open gym hours. Not everyone wants or needs the group setting.
I enjoyed your article. I frequently travel for work ( LEO) and making a habit of dropping in as many boxes as possible (up to 20 now and am writing this from South America – box down here didn’t respond to my emails), however I always make it a priority to email the box ahead of time. In addition, I will give a small bio, to include how long I’ve been doing CrossFit, what certs I have and where I currently train. This way they know what they’re getting when I walk in the door. With that said, I hope those who aren’t thoughtful enough to contact you before dropping in don’t turn you off of allowing drop ins (nor giving breaks to LEOs/Mil!).
Thanks for the article.
BrianG
Capital CrossFit
Dulles/Sterling, VA
P.S. I used to live in Kalamazoo!
Rick,
Spot on. One of our favorite travel activities is to visit the local box. It is amazing to witness the community at each box and to get new ideas to bring home. We always make a point to call, email and make a plan at each new box.
We really enjoyed the week spent with you last year.
Thanks for the comments y’all. I tried not to make it sound like a rant and we truly do love having visitors…just not at the last minute and/or un-announced. I could understand if our sign said “Ihop” and we sold pancakes 24/7 but we are a performance gym and we cater 1st and foremost to our Tribe…and second to our compadres visiting us.
Rick
Totally agree Rick.
We have drop ins on a regular basis. They take a couple of forms.
1. The personal trainer who wants to see what this CrossFit thing is all about. They know everything already, and of course 99 times out of 100, after 3,2,1 Go, you find out that they don’t know ANYTHING.
2. The friend of a member who is in town for a couple of days, and so the member brought them down to workout, secretly wanting to mop the floor with them for bragging rights later on.
3. The overseas visitor who is a member of another CrossFit gym.
Number 1′s simply aren’t allowed to drop in anymore, we got burned too often. It’s Intro Program or nothing. Cool thing about that is that trainers who are willing to learn the basics for a month are the kind of people we want in our community.
Number 2′s don’t happen anymore because we have educated our members not to do that. Bring your friends to watch for sure, or get em doing our free trial every Saturday morning, while you work out with the main class. You still get to brag over coffee afterwards coz they saw you bust out 20 pullups in a row……
Number 3′s we welcome, but yes, would prefer an email first with an indication of your experience. And we do charge a casual rate. Taking up all our attention during class is not fair to our community and neither is training for free. Also, t-shirts are expensive to make here in NZ, so please don’t turn up with an old XXL tee from your gym asking to swap it for one of ours!
Our community is very welcoming of visitors though, you’re more than likely to end up coming for coffee with us afterwards.
Rick,
I couldn’t agree more. There is a balance between what is best for the box and what is best for the CrossFit community at large – and a little common courtesy will always go a long way into making those two match up. Any time I’ve visited another affiliate I’ve contacted them ahead of time and always bought a t-shirt (as well as paid for the drop in).
I’d add that when you do drop in – do the WOD as listed, don’t try to do your own thing. Also, clean up after yourself – be a good ambassador for your home affiliate as well.
Brilliant.
So spot on, when you think about it. I can imagine this being more so for gyms that have On-Ramps, closed-class models… anything where a group gets particularly tight, a trainer is thinking of each athlete specifically for what’s on the whiteboard that day… and then a completely unknown element just floats in – that’s rough.
If I’m ever headed down to San Antonio, I promise to give plenty of notice and ask nicely.